Harry Byrd, Sr., was a rarity in American politics. His career as governor of Virginia, leader of the Virginia Democratic party, and a U.S. senator for more than thirty years enabled him to touch every important event and meet every significant political figure from the Great Depression to the Great Society. Best known for his advocacy of balanced budgets and his criticism of big government, Byrd influenced national legislation through his chairmanship of the Senate Finance Committee.

He was also a leader in efforts to prevent desegregation of the South. An architect of massive resistance, Byrd espoused an ideology that often put him on a collision course with the onrushing twentieth century.

1. Byrd had the longest and most influential career of any Virginian of this century. Through his control over nominations for state and national office and his imposition of conservative economic and social doctrines on the state, he left an indelible mark. This first full-scale biography of Harry Byrd will provide insight into the operation of state and national politics, the nature of political leadership, and the motives behind political action.