.png) Title page forHuey Long (1969) | |
| Author | T. Harry Williams |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Huey Long |
| Genre | Biography |
Publication date | 1969 |
| Publication place | United States |
Huey Long (1969) is a biography of Louisiana Governor and US SenatorHuey Long written by historianT. Harry Williams.[1] The work was well received, winning aPulitzer Prize and aNational Book Award.
Williams spent 12 years writing and researchingHuey Long in order to write the 896-page work.[2][1] Due to the lack of documents regarding Long, Williams collectedoral history. Beginning in 1955, Williams interviewed those who had known Long.[1] He outlined his work in a 1959 address to theSouthern 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 toKirkus Reviews, Williams "made pretty darn sure that his is going to be the definitive biography of Long."[1] Williams reportedly regardedHuey 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 theNational Book Award for History and Biography,[4] the work won the 1970Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography.[5]