Every Man A King : Huey Long 1933 [ First Edition ]
$250
In stock
Description
Well-Preserved First Edition of Huey Long’s Autobiography, Every Man A King Published by National Book Co in New Orleans in 1933
Long, Huey P. Every Man A King: The Autobiography of Huey P Long. National Book Co. Inc. New Orleans, LA. 1933. First edition.
Autobiography of the US Senator and Governor of Louisiana, Huey P Long, published two years before his assassination.
A controversial populist, Long’s rise from a rural lawyer (with a year of law school) to railroad commissioner and onto ever higher office led to his election as governor of Louisiana on his second attempt in 1928. Known as “The Kingfish”, Long’s unassailable popularity among the lower and working classes stemmed from his social and infrastructure policies, including free school books and lunches for poor children and building many of the roads, bridges, and highways that still connect the river and bayou riddled state of Louisiana, paying for many of his policies with increased taxes on the Standard Oil Company. Authoritarian in tactics, including the use of armed guards and vote tampering, Long’s methods to seize power earned him comparisons to an American Caesar as well as Hitler and Mussolini during his lifetime. Claiming to be neither a fascist nor a communist but “sui generis”, Long, a nominal Democrat, was a noted critic of both political parties and a vocal opponent of Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, claiming they did not go far enough to help Americans in the Great Depression. Under Long’s proposed, “Share Our Wealth” program, personal wealth was to be capped at $10 million and redistributed to provide for the common good and to make “Every Man A King”, as per the title of this book and the song Long wrote himself to promote it.
Simultaneously controlling the governor’s office while serving as senator, Long was arguably the single most powerful politician in the United States when he planned to run for president against in FDR in 1936 but ultimately was assassinated on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol in 1935.
Long’s life and career served as the inspiration for Robert Penn Warren’s classic novel All The King’s Men as well as Randy Newman’s song “The Kingfish”.
343pp. Orange cloth boards with red and black lettering and décor to front and spine. Corners and spine ends bumped. Small stain front board near joint. Spine faded. Text block and pages toned. Small foaded stain top text block near spine. Illustrated with photo frontis, photographs, and numerous cartoons. Occasional doggearring. Plates stained at top gutter margin. Original dust jacket, worn, with losses to edges, corners, and spine ends. Worst losses to top and bottom spine. Soiling and wear to spine. Past creasing back wrap. Some interior staining. Good.
If you liked this book you might also enjoy this copy of the complete record of the Leslie Woman Suffrage Commission. You might also enjoy this first American edition of Tristes Tropiques by Claude Levi-Strauss.
