Biography of Sen. Dennis DeConcini Receives Southwest Book Award
The memoir recounts DeConcini's rise from county attorney to U.S. senator.

Johnny Cruz
March 11, 2008



"Senator Dennis DeConcini: From the Center of the Aisle," by former U.S.Sen. Dennis DeConcini and Jack L. August Jr., has received a Southwest Book Award, an honor that has been bestowed upon outstanding literature for the past 36 years.

Instituted in 1971, the Southwest Book Awards are sponsored by the Border Regional Library Association and encourage the writing and publication of noteworthy works about the Southwest. To be awarded this honor, a book must be deemed of the highest quality in the context of both the current year’s entries and the existing body of literature about the Southwest.

This political memoir, which Gov. Janet Napolitano called a "fascinating account of the life and times of one of Arizona’s most distinguished leaders," provides a first-person historical analysis of the most significant aspects of DeConcini’s life in public service.

Co-authored by August, "Senator Dennis DeConcini" reaches beyond the typical reflections of a political memoir. In doing so, this book provides penetrating and revealing insights into the inner workings and colorful characters of Arizona politics and the U.S. Senate.

Since its release in the fall of 2006, the memoir has earned praise from newspapers across the state.

Currently a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, and a contemporary of Arizona greats like Sandra Day O’Connor, Barry Goldwater and Rose Mofford, DeConcini is an Arizona icon in his own right. Starting his public career as the Pima County attorney, DeConcini orchestrated an unprecedented rise to a seat in the U.S. Senate, which he held for 18 years.

A vigilant centrist, DeConcini was not bound by strict party alliances but was instead deeply rooted in the independent political environment of Arizona. Giving insights into today’s political climate, DeConcini’s biography regales readers with stories of the reasoning behind the many decisions he has made over the years.

August is a former Fulbright Scholar, National Endowment for the Humanities Research Fellow and Pulitzer Prize nominee in history for his volume "Vision in the Desert: Carl Hayden and Hydropolitics in the American Southwest." He is currently the executive director of the Barry Goldwater Center for the Southwest and visiting scholar in legal history at Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.

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Holly Dolan

UA Press

520-621-3920

hdolan@uapress.arizona.edu