Born in rural Winn Parish, Louisiana, Huey P. Long grew up to become the most influential governor the state of Louisiana has ever known. Indeed, he commanded a power base that ultimately made him virtual dictator of his home state. The story of Long's remarkable life, from his turn-of-the-century upbringing to his death at the hands of an assassin in 1935, fascinates students of Louisiana politics still.

In The Kingfish and His Realm, William Ivy Hair carefully sets Long and his regime in the context of the history of Louisiana and the South. He provides both a new biography of Long and a thoroughgoing treatment of his social, political, and economic environment in light of the latest scholarship.

William Ivy Hair (1930-1992) was Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Southern History at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. He is the author of several books, including The Kingfish and His Realm: The Life and Times of Huey P. Long and Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest: Louisiana Politics, 1877-1900.

By William Ivy Hair

Jules and Frances Landry Award

440 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / no illustrations

Paperback / 9780807121245 / January 1997