Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long

by Richard White and Richard D. White Jr.

Book Overview

From the moment he took office as governor in 1928 to the day an assassin's bullet cut him down in 1935, Huey Long wielded all but dictatorial control over the state of Louisiana. A man of shameless ambition and ruthless vindictiveness, Long orchestrated elections, hired and fired thousands at will, and deployed the state militia as his personal police force. And yet, paradoxically, as governor and later as senator, Long did more good for the state's poor and uneducated than any politician before or since. Outrageous demagogue or charismatic visionary? In this powerful biography, Richard D. White, Jr., brings Huey Long to life in all his blazing, controversial glory.

White taps invaluable new source material to present a fresh, vivid portrait of both the man and the Depression era that catapulted him to fame. From his boyhood in dirt-poor Winn Parish, Long knew he was destined for power-the problem was how to get it fast enough to satisfy his insatiable appetite. With cunning and crudity unheard of in Louisiana politics, Long crushed his opponents in the 1928 gubernatorial race, then immediately set about tightening his iron grip. The press attacked him viciously, the oil companies howled for his blood after he pushed through a controversial oil processing tax, but Long had the adulation of the people. In 1930, the Kingfish got himself elected senator, and then there was no stopping him.

White's account of Long's heyday unfolds with the mesmerizing intensity of a movie. Pegged by President Roosevelt as "one of the two most dangerous men in the country," Long organized a radical movement to redistribute money through his Share Our Wealth Society-and his gospel of pensions for all, a shorter workweek, and free college spread like wildfire. The Louisiana poor already worshiped him for building thousands of miles of roads and funding schools, hospitals, and universities; his outrageous antics on the Senate floor gained him a growing national base. By 1935, despite a barrage of corruption investigations, Huey Long announced that he was running for president.

In the end, Long was a tragic hero-a power addict who squandered his genius and came close to destroying the very foundation of democratic rule. Kingfish is a balanced, lucid, and absolutely spellbinding portrait of the life and times of the most incendiary figure in the history of American politics.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812973836
• ISBN13: 9780812973839
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

The biggest pie eater of them all.

Huey Long often described his corrupt counterparts as pie eaters. Well, Huey and his cronies were the biggest pie eaters. What Huey wanted was total power, and he set out to get it by dominating Louisiana politcs. His rule precluded all others from even having a say so in the political process. Louisiana is even now a corrupt state as witnessed by Edwin Edwards rule or by the Katrina disaster. This is a great read. I think the definitive read was William's book, but who wants to read 700 pages on a subject. This is a better summary history of a person who could have become a dictator. Fortunately, Roosevelt became President and Huey was cut down by a assassin's bullet (or maybe one of his bodyguard's stray bullets). The author does a nice job of detailing the short rise and fall of this demagogue. Huey did some good, but also did a lot of bad. This book portrays both characteristics. I wish the author would have portrayed the assassination in more detail. Otherwise a great book.

Populism, Image and Results

Ever since Robert Penn Warren's "All The King's Men," Huey Long has owned a special place of contempt in the American consciousness. His popularity in Louisiana has given the rest of America to hold Louisiana in a special kind of contempt. Louisianans are stereotyped as ignorant, credulous "booboisie" (to use H.L.Mencken's term) because of their loyalty to a man like Long. This grasps a very important point, though: is the highest form of democracy the ability of leadership to deliver results? Long was not just about rhetoric and image. People of his "type" are often the only politicians willing to act for regular people, and this fact is held dear by many in Louisiana who might still remember the kingfish. He did not merely promise things like free schoolbooks and new roads, but he delivered them. The same is true for, believe it or not, free medical care. And, much contrary to the times, these resources were made available to all regardless of race or status. After Katrina, we're eager to see Louisiana as worthless. But, incredibly, instead of blaming FEMA, majority opinion casts the people of New Orleans in the villains' role, and "All The King's Men" gives us that permission. White's book restores a needed sense of balance to this perception. If there is any conclusion to be drawn, it might be that Long delivered too much, not too little. In so doing, he might have inadvertantly fashioned a sense of trust in the effectiveness of government which was tragically misplaced.

Rx for Joe Klein

I haven't yet read Joe Klein's "Politics Lost." But from skimming reviews and catching glimpses of interviews, I understand his thesis to be that political strategists have made today's major party candidates into inauthentic, poll-driven automatons, given to an excess of caution and risk avoidance. If that's true (and I agree it is), then Huey P. Long was the antithesis of today's listless politicians. According to Richard White's new book, Huey was nothing if not authentic, and audacious, and bombastic, and corrupt -- and ruthless, most of all. Few politicians could deliver a rhetorical stem winder like Huey. And it did not much matter if his deeds didn't live up to his words. Even while barnstorming the country championing radical social welfare policies, White says, Huey never pushed to enact a minimum wage, establish old-age pensions or reform child labor laws back in Louisiana. He built up LSU and did much to promote higher education - only for the children of his supporters. Like most demagogues, he never let facts get in his way. He lambasted millionaires for his state's economic plight, even though no one living in Louisiana in the 1930s was earning a million dollars a year, according to White. Nevertheless, Huey's brand of combative populism had wide resonance with sharecroppers and poor rural whites, many of whom he enfranchised by repealing the poll tax. White says Huey contemplated a third-party run against FDR in '36, hoping to siphon enough votes from the Left to allow the Republicans to re-take the White House. As the Democratic nominee in '40, Huey felt he would then be in a strong position to capture the Presidency as the nation remained mired in the Depression. A bold, perhaps fanciful, scheme -- one that an assassin's bullet prevented from being put to the test. Beloved by half of Louisiana, reviled by the other half, there was no middle ground with Huey P. Long. The name still evokes strong feelings more than 70 years after his violent death.

great stuff

Huey P. Long, who dared to even fake an assasination attempt on himself, is one of those great American originals and here we have him in all his color and charm, his wit and power. A book that truly tells his tale and tells it well so the reader never puts it down. A good contribution. Seth J. Frantzman

Kingfish - Louisiana's first dictator

I thoroughly enjoyed "Kingfish." White provides a wonderfully written and marvelously concise book that reads more like a novel than some dreary historical tome. The story of Huey Long, Louisiana's power-hungry governer and senator, is fast paced, to the point, and refreshingly free of long-winded academic analysis and ten-dollar words. White does not fall into the trap of attempting a psyco-history where he tries to "channel" Huey and read his thoughts. He also doesn't speculate about Huey's real killer or whether or not he was a great democrat or a great dictator. Instead, he uses solid research lay Huey bare and expose his many strengths and weaknesses. For the most part, White steps back and lets the colorful Kingfish tell his own story through his own purple words and scrappy behavior. And what a story it is. Long was loved by thousands and hated by thousands more and did more good - and more harm - to an American state than any leader in our history. Every American should know the story of Huey Long, our country's most outrageous and dangerous politician. For those who know little of the turbulent Kingfish, White's solid biography is the place to start.