The Last Hayride

by John Maginnis

A wild and hilarious odyssey through Louisiana politics. In 1983 Edwin Edwards, one of the most investigated, reviled, and successful figures in American politics was at top form and wanted to be governor again. The politics of the Cajun governor, who ran the state for eight years with equal parts charm and savvy while leading a personal life as freewheeling and uninhibited as his politics, is exposed in all his glory.

Genres: Politics

Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Billy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louisiana gubernatorial race reporting for 1983. Edwin Edwards was in for my time in La. and beyond- '72-80. Then he was out due to term limits for 80-84, but running for reelection as soon as he left office. This book is full of colorful anecdotes and Edwards' quick sharp sense of humor, but it is also chopped up feeling. If you don't know the persons mentioned other than Edwards and Treen, it is very hard to follow. From today's perspective, Edwards seems to foreshadow Trump in many ways.

[Christie Maloyed · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read for Louisiana Politics.

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew of John Maginnis from a state political column regularly published in the Shreveport Times, where Maginnis would make sense of the often complicated state of Louisiana politics. This book is his coverage of the 1983 race for governor with Edwards versus Treen, and the crazy factor is upped by quite a bit. I entered Louisiana after Edwards's four terms as governor, but I had certainly heard of him and the air of corruption that surrounded him along with many other local politicians. Maginnis covers it all, and I got a strong sense of Edwards's charisma --- his ability to get reelected despite his womanizing and practice of semi-dirty politics. The structure of the book is a bit strange --- you get three chapters in the past tense, and then everything else (from the start of the campaigns) is present tense. Maginnis swings from topic to topic (one chapter on New Orleans, one chapter on north Louisiana, etc...), but the narrative narrows down at the end of the races. And, as expected, it's darn funny; Louisiana politicians have always been able to say the ridiculous (intended or not).

[Randy Stapilus · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was one of those books that made me want to write something in the same field - state politics, though Maginnis' was Louisana and mine was Idaho. (I did get that Idaho book done a few years after reading this one.) Hayride is a fine depiction of Louisiana politics through the lens of a campaign for the governorship by Edwin Edwards, showing how he succeeded through an awareness of how politics in the state worked in practice, not in theory. A fun read and one of the best state politics books I've read.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Governor Edwin Edwards but this book just made me fall more in love with him. He is the most sexious Cajun man EVER!

[Sean Chick · Rating 2 out of 5]

At times entertaining but utterly lacking in real analysis. The election itself was pretty tepid to boot.