Jeff Biggers

Arizona has a long history of labor and civil rights battles, including its contentious entry into the union, as well as cyclical upheavals over immigration rights. In State Out of the Union, journalist and historian Jeff Biggers portrays the famed frontier state whose conflict over immigration and state's rights has become a national bellwether. Biggers places the state front and center in a greater American story playing out across the United States. From President Eisenhower's Operation Wetback to the legacy of Arizona native son César Chávez to the powerful influence of state politicians, like Sen. Barry Goldwater and Tea Party President Russell Pearce, Biggers reveals how Arizona has played a pivotal role in determining the nation's conservative and liberal agendas. A lasting and important work of cultural history, State Out of the Union vividly unveils the showdown over the American Dream in Arizona - and its impact on the future of the nation. Biggers is hailed as "masterful as showing how the past is prologue." by Kirkus Reviews. Publishers Weekly said, "Perhaps no issue captures better what it means to be American than the contentious legislative debate around who can become American." Biggers is the American Book Award-winning author of The United States of Appalachia, and In the Sierra Madre. He has worked as a writer, radio correspondent, and educator across the United States, Europe, India, and Mexico. His award-winning stories have appeared on National Public Radio, Public Radio International, and in numerous magazines and newspapers, including The Washington Post, The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, Salon, among others. He splits his time between Tucson and Illinois.

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At the Festival: State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown Over the American Dream On the Edge: Arizona and Immigration Sunday, October 28 Texas State Capitol: Capitol Extension Room E2.030