Huey Long (1969) is a biography of Louisiana Governor and US Senator Huey Long written by historian T. Harry Williams. [1] The work was well received, winning a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award.
Williams spent 12 years writing and researching Huey Long in order to write the 896-page work. [2] [1] Due to the lack of documents regarding Long, Williams collected oral history. Beginning in 1955, Williams interviewed those who had known Long. [1] He outlined his work in a 1959 address to the Southern Historical Association. [3]
The work is sympathetic to Long, painting him as a tragic figure and emphasizing his leftist leanings over his often claimed fascist tendencies. According to Kirkus Reviews , Williams "made pretty darn sure that his is going to be the definitive biography of Long." [1] Williams reportedly regarded Huey Long as "the ultimate writing endeavor of his life." [3]
The work was a popular bestseller and well-received by critics. [3] In addition to garnering Williams the National Book Award for History and Biography, [4] the work won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. [5]
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