The study of two demagogues, whose vast popularity explains much about Depression-era America. This is a book about two remarkable men-Huey P. Long, a first-term United States Senator from the red-clay, piney woods country of northern Louisiana; and Charles E. Coughlin, a Catholic priest from an industrial suburb near Detroit. From modest origins, they rose together in the early years of the Great Depression to become the two most successful leaders of national political dissidence of their era.

Reprint. Originally published: New York : Knopf, 1982.

The kingfish ascending -- Beyond Louisiana -- Crisis and renewal -- The radio priest -- "Roosevelt or ruin" -- Searching for power -- The dissident ideology -- Organizing -- Followers -- Uneasy alliances -- The last phase.