This is second to last favorite Jacobs book, but it was still a good read. My issue was the subject and not the writing.

I have read most of Jacobs's books and really appreciate his use of self-deprecating humor to help make certain subjects more accessible for the average reader. It is by no means a comprehensive book about the U.S. Constitution, but he hits upon a number of important issues and helps spell out some of the misunderstandings being (deliberately?) propagated in today's fraught political scene.

This is another great book by A.J. Jacobs. He explores topics in a way that is both entertaining and informative, and this topic is an important one! I really appreciate this takeaway that he had from his year of living Constitutionally: While we absolutely do not want to partake in “deluded nostalgia,” “some ideas from the past are worth reviving. Most importantly, cake on Election Day. But also many other ideas: the emphasis on the common good, the quest to control one's rage, the slow thinking, the experimental mindset, the distaste for aristocracy, and the awe at being able to cast a vote.”

Another fascinating funny book by AJ Jacobs his book Year of Living Biblically was one of my favorites the year it was published.Living and learning about the constitution was interesting eye opening and another entertaining book by the author.

Really fun and interesting book. I don't know if living constitutionally worked quite as well as living biblically as far as actual living, it was a little more living as the 18th century. Still very interesting and a fun project. I liked that he included many different perspectives on how to interpret the constitution. It also got me in the mood to listen to the Hamilton sound track.

I enjoy these books. They are a fun and light-hearted way to learn something new, while spending time with a faintly goofy but well-meaning guy next door who is willing and able to set his ego aside in the name of knowledge and entertainment. I am a lawyer so more than passingly familiar with the Constitution, but still found some tidbits in here that I was either not aware of or hadn't thought about since law school I also lived in worked in DC for a long time, so had more than passing familiarity with the political institutions and issues discussed also. While it did make some of the sections feel repetitive after a while, as Jacobs drove home issues about Constitutional interpretation and political processes, I still find his voice to be engaging and his humility about his lack of knowledge to be endearing and so the read was enjoyable throughout even when it covered material I already felt familiar with. It reminded me very much of the Living Biblically book for obvious reasons, as both focus on the concept of interpretation versus strict construction. It was an engaging read and a fun trip through our legal and political institutions.

Another delightful entrant in A.J. Jacobs’ “Year of…” experiments. He takes on the U.S. Constitution in a time when the Constitution is being used as a crutch by people who wouldn’t know it if it smacked them in the face. Jacobs deftly and with humor tackles some of the challenges of the Constitution today. He is thoughtful in his approach and instills humor throughout. It’s a terrific read and gets you thinking about the importance of the Constitution.

AJ Jacobs is one of my favorite authors and I was so happy to be given the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication. Jacobs has written a number of books like his life is a memoir; living Biblically, reading the encyclopedia and more. Following his experience following the Bible, Jacobs followed the Constitution for a year. I always learn from his books and it makes me think of things in a new way.

The book starts on Election Day and Jacobs tries to vote publicly, since voting privately is not in the Constitution. This funny fact is interspersed with other truths - the book doesn’t shy away from what the Constitution missed - African Americans, women, gay people and more. The author says he even wrote the book by hand and quill. It was hilarious to imagine him carrying an antique musket around or saying his thoughts out loud rather than social media.

This book is a refreshing and interesting way to read about early history and laws. One fascinating thing I learned was that the Supreme Court would be most surprising to the founding fathers today - it gained power at the expense of Congress and the President. The AI section where it answered as James Madison was pretty engaging as well.

This book ultimately goes the distance to dissect the document and other amendments. Honestly it seems harder to live by this one than the Bible. I cannot recommend this book enough! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

So, here the author is going to attempt to live Constitutionally, with the tools and mindset of someone living when the U.S. Constitution was originally drafted in 1787. Which I guess is OK for a white male but wouldn’t be so awesome for a woman or a person of color, right? So that’s a bit bothersome. And I notice that he still has, you know, air-conditioning and penicillin and all that good stuff. But I quibble. This is what this guy does and I’ve read a few of his books before. He’s going to act as an originalist, the people who support giving the Constitution its original meaning, the way they believe the founders would have understood it, so the most conservative of the conservative, (and the people who stripped us of the right to control our bodies, but I digress. Again.

Interesting thing I learned (and I went to law school, so shame on me)….there is no Constitutional right to a secret ballot and voting didn’t used to be secret (is that grammatically correct? It sounds wrong.). You used to go in and loudly state your preference which was then marked down and Jacobs tried to vote that way, which is funny. So, there’s a lot of low level stuff, with explanations of the Bill of Rights, federalism and what have you. Then a little about Jacobs’s half hearted efforts to get Congress to issue him a letter of marque which would allow him to be a legal pirate (the last one was issued in 1815.).

There’s also a very basic primer on Constitutional rights, originalism and an attempt at humor with a look at life in the 1700s. Then this truly chilling thought. A resident of Wyoming has three hundred times more power in the US Senate than a resident of California. I live in a state that benefits from that math and I don’t feel comfortable with it.

I liked the book fine, I guess I’m just wondering who, exactly, it is for. I feel like those most likely to read it (people like me) probably already know a lot of what is presented. Also his kids and wife must be saints or else this pays really well.