The Year of Living Constitutionally with A.J. Jacobs

Magic City Books is proud to welcome bestselling author A.J. Jacobs for an event to celebrate his new book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning, on Wednesday May 15. The event will start at 7pm and will be hosted at The Synagogue|Congregation B'nai Emunah (located at 17th and Peoria).

This is a ticketed event, each ticket comes with one (1) hardcover copy of The Year of Living Constitutionally ($30.00 value) by A.J. Jacobs and one (1) seat at the event on May 15.

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. As politicians and Supreme Court Justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret the Constitution, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how this storied document fits into our democracy today.

Tickets are on sale now, The Year of Living Constitutionally will be published by Crown Publishing on May 7, 2024. Ticket holders will be able to pick up their copy of the book at Magic City Books starting May 7. Books will also be available for pickup at the event on May 15th.

All tickets include a copy of the book, there is a limit of four tickets per transaction. Please provide the full name and email address of each ticket holder so that all event notifications and information can be sent to all attendees.

If you have a ticket and are unable to attend the event, you will be able to pick up your book at Magic City Books during normal business hours. The last day for ticket holders to pick up The Year of Living Constitutionally by A.J. Jacobs is Friday, June 28, 2024. We will make an efort to have signed books available for pick up but can not guarantee a signed copy.

About The Year of Living Constitutionally

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically chronicles his hilarious adventures in attempting to follow the original meaning of the Constitution, as he searches for answers to one of the most pressing issues of our time: How should we interpret America's foundational document?

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. He 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.

The book blends unforgettable adventures--delivering a handwritten petition to Congress, applying for a Letter of Marque to become a legal pirate for the government, and battling redcoats as part of a Revolutionary War reenactment group--with dozens of interviews from constitutional experts from both sides. Jacobs dives deep into originalism and living constitutionalism, the two rival ways of interpreting the document.

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. As politicians and Supreme Court Justices wage a high-stakes battle over how literally we should interpret the Constitution, A.J. Jacobs provides an entertaining yet illuminating look into how this storied document fits into our democracy today.

A.J. Jacobs is a journalist, lecturer, and human guinea pig whose books include Drop Dead Healthy, The Year of Living Biblically, and The Puzzler. A contributor to NPR, The New York Times, and Esquire, among other media outlets, Jacobs lives in New York City with his family.