According to Richard White, political biographer and dean of the E.J. Ourso College of Business, there’s no one quite like Huey P. Long. 
The larger-than-life politician is the subject of White’s 2006 biography, “Kingfish: The Reign of Huey P. Long.” East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s “One Book, One Community” program is featuring the book as its 2016 shared read. 
The biography chronicles Long’s dramatic life, drawing the reader into a plot that seems almost too outrageous to be realistic, White said. 
“Fact is much crazier than fiction,
especially in Louisiana,” he said. 
White used third person correspondence from the archives in Hill Memorial Library and Long’s own words to allow the story to unfold organically. The color and drama of Long’s life required little embellishment, he said. 
From fist fights in the Hotel Monteleone to systematically seizing control of the state, Long executed everything with a signature flair and ruthlessness, White said, and his ambition and desire for power knew no bounds. 
On multiple occasions, Long told trusted associates he intended to divide the Democratic Party’s vote in the 1936 presidential election. The division would extend the effects of the Great Depression and pave the way for his presidency in 1940, he said. 
“He only had one thought in mind, and that was power,” White said. “Power came before money, or food or sex or anything. I’ve never found a person in history who got power like he did in a democracy without ever making a compromise.”
Long’s heavy-handed approach led to divisiveness between pro-Long and anti-Long factions across the state. The division became so heated, residents of Cajun French towns in south Louisiana pronounced surnames differently if an individual was a Long supporter or adversary, he said. 
The lasting impression Long’s leadership left on the state and its people led many to approach White with family anecdotes of the senator, he said. 
White said he was especially struck by the story of Carl Weiss, Long’s alleged assassin. Shortly after the book’s release, White was approached by a man whose grandfather was Weiss’ neighbor and professional associate, he said. 
The man explained that the day before Long’s assassination, Weiss was building a crib for his newborn son in his grandfather’s woodworking shop. He said he’d be back the next week to finish the piece, but Weiss was killed immediately after Long’s assassination and was never able to complete the crib, he said. 
Long’s legacy created one of the most divided political landscapes in U.S. history, White said. Now, his story is uniting readers through the “One Book,One Community” program. 
East Baton Rouge Parish Library assistant library director Mary Stein said the program began in 2007 in an effort to mend community schisms produced by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The program’s goal is to provide a forum for civil conversations about important and difficult topics, she said. 
Much like strangers connect over Super Bowl advertisements in the grocery store check-out line, “One Book/One Community” provides residents from across East Baton Rouge Parish with a shared experience, she said. 
“With ‘One Book, One Community,’ whether you’re black or white, rich or poor, you can meet together over the pages of a book,” Stein said.
Stein said feedback for the biography has been positive and participants are excited to read about the state. Discussing the state’s history and recognizing Louisiana’s unique attributes is important for the state’s future, White said. 
“People in Louisiana take for granted their state,” he said. “We don’t realize how good a place it is to live. Even with problems of politics and poverty, it’s still an absolutely wonderful place to live, and we can make it better.”