{"product_id":"9780812973839","title":"Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long","description":"\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor\/Contributor(s):\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eWhite, Richard D.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRandom House Trade Paperbacks\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9\/19\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBinding:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003ePaperback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd style=\"\"\u003eNEW\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003eFrom 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhite 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhite’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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eKingfish \u003c\/i\u003eis a balanced, lucid,  and absolutely spellbinding portrait of the life and times of the most incendiary  figure in the history of American politics.","brand":"Random House Trade Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43383105519871,"sku":"9780812973839","price":21.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0452\/0886\/2873\/files\/9780812973839_s600x595.jpg?v=1775586262","url":"https:\/\/massivebookshop.com\/products\/9780812973839","provider":"MASSIVE BOOKSHOP","version":"1.0","type":"link"}