Overview

An esteemed journalist delivers a compelling on-the-ground account of the construction of President Trump's border wall in San Diego--and the impact on the lives of local residents.In August of 2019, Donald Trump finished building his border wall--at least a portion of it. In San Diego, the Army Corps of engineers completed two years of construction on a 14-mile steel beamed barrier that extends eighteen-feet high and cost a staggering $147 million. As one border patrol agent told reporters visiting the site, ""It was funded and approved and it was built under his administration. It is Trump's wall."" 14 Miles is a definitive account of all the dramatic construction, showing readers what it feels like to stand on both sides of the border looking up at the imposing and controversial barrier. After the Department of Homeland Security announced an open call for wall prototypes in 2017, DW Gibson, an award-winning journalist and Southern California native, began visiting the construction site and watching as the prototype samples were erected. Gibson spent those two years closely observing the work and interviewing local residents to understand how it was impacting them. These include April McKee, a border patrol agent leading a recruiting program that trains teenagers to work as agents; Jeff Schwilk, a retired Marine who organizes pro-wall rallies as head of the group San Diegans for Secure Borders; Roque De La Fuente, an eccentric millionaire developer who uses the construction as a promotional opportunity; and Civile Ephedouard, a Haitian refugee who spent two years migrating through Central America to the United States and anxiously awaits the results of his asylum case. Fascinating, propulsive, and incredibly timely, 14 Miles is an important work that explains not only how the wall has reshaped our landscape and countless lives but also how its shadow looms over our very identity as a nation.

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9781797110318

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Reviews

Deeply reported and lyrically wrought, DW Gibson's investigation illuminates the border's complex ecosystem and the wall's looming power of disruption. -- Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Delves into the human element behind these 14 miles...Written in a narrative style, this engaging book will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about who lives along the border and what a wall means to them. -- Library Journal [A] empathetic, voice-driven account...Gibson's multifaceted portrait makes a meaningful contribution to the question of what a humane and sensible immigration policy would look like. -- Publishers Weekly [A] fascinating collection of voices that shows not just how the wall works (or doesn't), but what it says about our national identity. -- San Diego Union-Tribune

[A] fascinating collection of voices that shows not just how the wall works (or doesn't), but what it says about our national identity. -- San Diego Union-Tribune [A] empathetic, voice-driven account...Gibson's multifaceted portrait makes a meaningful contribution to the question of what a humane and sensible immigration policy would look like. -- Publishers Weekly Delves into the human element behind these 14 miles...Written in a narrative style, this engaging book will appeal to anyone interested in learning more about who lives along the border and what a wall means to them. -- Library Journal Deeply reported and lyrically wrought, DW Gibson's investigation illuminates the border's complex ecosystem and the wall's looming power of disruption. -- Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Author Information

DW Gibson is the author of the award-winning book The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the Twenty-First Century and Not Working: People Talk About Losing a Job and Finding Their Way in Today's Changing Economy. He shared a National Magazine Award for his work on an oral history of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. His work has also appeared in Harper's, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Village Voice, and The Caravan. Gibson is a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and a frequent guest host for WNYC programming. He is the author of 14 Miles. Ramón de Ocampo, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, was a cowinner in 2018 of the Audie Award for Best Multi-Voiced Performance. A graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, he has been seen on television, film, and stages all over the world, including recurring roles on such television shows as The West Wing, 12 Monkeys, Sons of Anarchy, and Medium. He is the winner of a prestigious Obie Award for his stage work.

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