Huey Long by T. Harry Williams Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Huey Long
Book Review: The Kingfish!
Summary: 5 Stars
As I picked up this book to learn more about depression era politics, I thought that this would be just another boring book about a politican. But as I kept on reading I started to realize that this is the best biography about powerful politicans. No one except for FDR could match Huey's hold on people and subordiantes. You have to understand that Long controoled all the branches of government in Louisiana. The judicial, legislative, and executive. No one person has been able to control a state the way Long did. What I like more about this book is William's style in telling the story. He puts in boring statistics and the seconds that with an interesting or funny side note, which made the book easier to read. No wonder he recieved the Pulitzer Prize for biography for this book. But what is more important is that Williams helps you and even him in trying to understand the man, which is important when reading any biography. He just didn't tell what he did but why he did it or William's comes to his on conclusions based on his research. It is a lengthy book, but don't worry just sit and read and let yourself be absorbed. You will not regret it. Praise to T. Harry Williams, he has written the best biography that anyone could possibly read. Thanks!Book Review: The Most Fascinating Policitical Biography Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
Other than Lincoln, Huey Long is the most interesting figure in American political history. Brilliant, outrageous, effective, a seeker of social justice and hope for the poor; a truly great speaker.
This biography is the best I've ever read of a political figure. Absolutely compelling. Huey's magnetic personality comes through the pages in a way that should be a model for all biographers: but then, there aren't many figures who are as fun to read about as Huey. There has been no one like him; nor is there another biography like this one. I'm reading it for the fourth time, and it is still hypnotic.
Book Review: The classic portrait of an American enigma.
Summary: 5 Stars
Williams has sustained much criticism for his seeming endorsement of Long's philosophy, which simply goes to show how controversial the man's legacy still is. While Williams' book is, in fact, slanted towards the pro-Long camp, it is one of the best political biographies to the written in the last fifty years. This compelling portrait of a man who was considered a fascist by some and a communist by others provides a sense of time, place, and character that is not seen often enough in current political biography.Book Review: The finest political biography ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
Since reading Williams' great bio of Huey Long, I have become fascinated by the Kingfish and have been looking for anything about him to absorb. That says a lot about the book. While Caro's books on LBJ are considered the gold standard of political bios, this book is slightly better. It is so detailed and so fascinating that you can breeze through the nearly 1000 pages in no time. I suppose the one thing that stands out is how Williams is able to effectively show that Long was not the political boogeyman he is often painted as by historians like Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and many others. Yes, Huey was a flawed man and showed some dictatorial shades. But he also did many great things for Louisiana and was forced to use political heavy-handedness to deal with the vicious party machines that had controlled Louisiana prior to Long's emergence in 1928.
One could argue that Williams was a little too pro-Kingfish. He attempts to tone down many of Huey's character flaws and doesn't spend much time on Long's movement of state militia troops into New Orleans in an attempt to oust Mayor Walmsley. Nevertheless, despite this flaw, the book does well to balance against the very anti- Long views espoused by most historians.
I would suggest reading this book along with Garry Bouldard's book on Long's "siege" of New Orleans, and Ken Burn's outstanding Long biodrama. Both are available here on Amazon. Either way, this book was the best biography I have ever read and I would recommend it to any one with an interest in politics or with an interest in reading a compelling book.
Book Review: Though 30 years old, still the definitive Kingfish biography
Summary: 5 Stars
Many on-line reviews of the book critique it as "slow", "plodding", "pro-Long", etc. Any definitive biography by definition covers all available detail on the life of its subject. Harry Williams does that indeed. In fact, by the standards of biographers such s Barbara Tuchmann, it is somewhat restrained. It is probably impossible to be ambivalent regarding Huey Long, but Willimas does look at hims as objectively as could be imagined. He seems to separate Huey the man- often coarse and boorish- with Long the master politician. Indeed, in the chapter "Power Unto Himself", he points out that Long changed, with the focus of his efforts shifting from what he could do for Louisiana to what he could do for himself. It is a masterful book, and after reading it, one feels tempted to style oneself as an authority on Long. If there is a serious shortcoming, there is no epiloug to analyze the Long legacy, itself huge as personified by brother Earl and son Russell.