"The Year of Living Constitutionally": Book Talk w/ author A. J. Jacobs hosted by LWV

Aug 15, 2024 at 12:00 PM

Join the League of Women Voters South Bay for a conversation with bestselling author
A. J. Jacobs who will speak about his latest book: "The Year of Living Constitutionally."

What does it mean to live by the Constitution? How does the Constitution fit into our democracy today? And ask your questions.

A. J. Jacobs is a journalist, lecturer, "human guinea pig" and author of four New York Times bestsellers including, "The Year of Living Biblically".

Don't miss this event!


ABOUT: "The Year of Living Constitutionally."

For the full, entire book synopsis, go here: https://ajjacobs.com/books/the-year-of-living-constitutionally/

A.J. Jacobs learned the hard way that donning a tricorne hat and marching around Manhattan with a 1700s musket will earn you a lot of strange looks. In the wake of several controversial rulings by the Supreme Court and the on-going debate about how the Constitution should be interpreted, Jacobs set out to understand what it means to live by the Constitution.

In The Year of Living Constitutionally, A.J. Jacobs tries to get inside the minds of the Founding Fathers by living as closely as possible to the original meaning of the Constitution. He asserts his right to free speech by writing his opinions on parchment with a quill and handing them out to strangers in Times Square.

Jacobs consents to quartering a soldier, as is his Third Amendment right. He turns his home into a traditional 1790s household by lighting candles instead of using electricity, boiling mutton, and—because women were not allowed to sign contracts— feebly attempting to take over his wife’s day job, which involves a lot of contract negotiations.

Much like he did with the Bible in The Year of Living Biblically, Jacobs provides a crash course on our Constitution as he experiences the benefits and perils of living like it’s the 1790s. He relishes, for instance, the slow thinking of the era, free from social media alerts. But also discovers the progress we’ve made since 1789 when married women couldn’t own property.

Now more than ever, Americans need to understand the meaning and value of the Constitution.