Illinois Authors

The Illinois Center for the Book banner

Jeff Biggers

Born: 1963 in Ohio
Pen Name: None

Connection to Illinois: Jeff was raised in Illinois and he currently divides his time between Illinois and Italy.

Biography: Jeff Biggers is a writer, editor, journalist, and critic. He has worked as a writer, educator and community organizer across the United States, Europe, India and Mexico. His award-winning stories have appeared on NPR, PRI, and in travel, literary and music magazines, and national and foreign newspapers. Biggers is also a frequent blogger on ''Huffington Post'', ''Alternet'' and ''Common Dreams''. A contributing editor to ''The Bloomsbury Review'', his work has appeared in scores of American and foreign newspapers, magazines and numerous anthologies, including ''Coal Country'' and ''We All Live Downstream''. He has been a commentator on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and for Pacific News Service national syndication.


Awards:
  • -- American Book Award
  • -- Lowell Thomas Award for Travel Journalism
  • -- Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award
  • -- Illinois Arts Council Creative Non-Fiction Award
  • -- David Brower Award for Environmental Reporting
  • -- Delta Award for Literature
  • -- Plattner Award for App

Primary Literary Genre(s): Non-Fiction; poetry

Primary Audience(s): Adult readers; Young adult readers

Email: contactbiggers@gmail.com
Website: http://www.jeffbiggers.com
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Biggers
Jeff Biggers on WorldCat : http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=jeff+biggers


Selected Titles

In the Sierra Madre /
ISBN: 0252074998 OCLC: 62858059

University of Illinois Press, Urbana : ©2006.

"In the Sierra Madre is a groundbreaking and extraordinary memoir that chronicles the history of one of the most famous, yet unknown, regions in the world. Based on his one-year sojourn in a remote village among the Raramuri/Tarahumara in Mexico's renowned Copper Canyon, award-winning journalist Jeff Biggers offers a rare look into one of the most resilient indigenous cultures in the Americas, the exploits of Mexican mountaineers, and recounts the fascinating parade of argonauts and accidental travelers that has journeyed into the Sierra Madre over centuries.

No lonesome road :
ISBN: 0252071573 OCLC: 846496620

University of Illinois Press, Urbana : ©2004.

  Reckoning at eagle creek :
ISBN: 0809333864 OCLC: 874970360

Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Illinois : 2014.

State out of the union :
ISBN: 1568587023 OCLC: 812193309

Nation Books, New York : ©2012.

"Days after President Obama beseeched his fellow lawmakers in the State of the Union to come together as a people, Republicans, Democrats, Independents, "and find common ground, even as we're having some very vigorous debates," the extraordinary effect of Arizona's sagebrush rebellion had already rippled across the country. In the alarming and fascinating State Out of The Union, award-winning author Jeff Biggers shows how the Arizonification of America is in full swing. More than 25 state legislatures have already introduced copycat anti-immigration bills of Arizona's controversial SB 1070. But immigration reform is just the opening salvo-in Arizona, and for the 2012 elections. With one of the most radical Tea Party factions in control of its legislature, Arizona and its growing bevy of wingnut politicians have not only dislodged Sarah Palin as one of the most popular jokes on late night TV shows, but have set in motion one of the most alarming challenges to federal authority in history. The legislature has passed several bills challenging federal authority on gun laws, Medicaid, and the rights of undocumented children to attend school or go to the emergency room. One bill debated in the state congress proposed prohibiting "courts from considering international law or legal percepts of other nations or cultures when making judicial decisions." Another bill required federal environmental inspectors to register with the sheriff whenever its representatives enter one of Arizona's fifteen counties. One Forbes reporter wrote that the bill could be summed up in three words: "Stay outta Arizona." As a precursor to the 2012 election, Arizona defiantly unveiled its vision of a Tea Party America--that may be our future"--

The United States of Appalachia :
ISBN: 1593761511 OCLC: 61362717

Shoemaker & Hoard : [Emeryville, CA] : ©2006.

Challenges stereotypes to profile Appalachia as a cradle of American independence and artistry, tracing the region's history to show that many of the nation's freedoms and founding moments found their origins there.

The United States of Appalachia :
ISBN: 9781582439945 OCLC: 607886878

Shoemaker & Hoard : [Emeryville, CA] : ©2006.

Few regions in the United States confound and fascinate Americans like Appalachia; yet no other region has been so misrepresented by the mass media. With humor, intelligence, and clarity, Jeff Biggers shows how a remarkable procession of innovators from the hills of Appalachia helped to define and shape America.--Jacket.

 

 

Accessibility