Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
Kingfish  By  cover art

Kingfish

By: Richard D. White Jr.
Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.34

Buy for $16.34

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Outrageous demagogue or charismatic visionary? In this powerful new biography, Richard D. White, Jr., brings Huey Long to life in all his blazing, controversial glory. 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, Huey 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, Huey did more good for the state's poor and uneducated than any politician before or since.

With Kingfish, White has crafted a balanced, lucid, and absolutely spellbinding portrait of the life and times of the most incendiary figure in American politics.

©2006 Richard D. White, Jr. (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"LSU professor White's latest is lively and well researched." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Kingfish

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    363
  • 4 Stars
    141
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    319
  • 4 Stars
    103
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    303
  • 4 Stars
    116
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great detail about The Kingfish

I dont think there's anything left for me to ask about Huey Long after listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Everyone should know

I was astounded to learn about this man’s life. I certainly hope he is not forgotten

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Biography

The Kingfish is a must read for political aficionados. He was a dictator in Louisiana. Running the state while he was in the senate was unprecedented. Louisiana is still paying the price for Huey’s corruption. However we must admit Huey was a character and I doubt there will be another like him. The author did a fantastic job explaining how Huey’s rise to power was in good intentions for the poor in Louisiana. But he became power hungry and in the end he wanted to be a dictator and all the good he did for the poor fell by the wayside. Sometimes I wonder if he was not assassinated could he become president. We will never know and we can only speculate.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mixed feelings

The book is excellent. However, the man was a tyrant and screwed over his state, even after his death.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Told me everything worth knowing about the man

informative. told me everything worth knowing about the man. Covered his entire political life.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellenf follow up to All the King's Men!

I listened to this book after All the King's Men by RPW. I wanted to know something about the real model for Willie Stark. I found that truth was stranger than fiction! What an amazing (and dangerous) character. Excellent writing and performance I thought.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very intriguing American story.

A good book on the larger than life politician who left ripples that still are felt in Louisiana today. The Narrator is good though a bit monochromatic. It would have been nice if someone with a little twang in their voice read it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting listen

I had no clue what Huey Long was really like. He may have been brilliant, but man, was he power driven and had no qualms about ruining people!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent!

This is a very well-researched, informative, and entertaining account. After reading this book about Huey P. Long, I can now see how Hitler managed to take over a Germany while the rest of the world slept. Long accomplished pretty much the same thing in what was supposed to be a democracy. His outrageous, oppressive, illegal activities will make you sick to your stomach after only about 3 hours. Overall, he may have done a lot for the people of Louisiana but his contributions were mainly self-serving and left out a large portion of the state's population - African-Americans, many of whom were free landowning people long before the Civil War. This country allowed him to run ramshod over everyone and everything, both in Louisiana and in the US Senate. His "reign" was more like a dictatorship. All of which makes him a lot like Hitler in the long run. I wondered what took so long for Long to be shot to death - this book really could have been over in about 30 minutes! Not a political assassination - more like justifiable homicide. Richard D. White, Jr. expertly captures the life of man who was out of control. Well worth the price of admission.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable....!

I liked it 3.5 stars. Interesting history.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful