The Year of Living Constitutionally

March 4, 2024
Journalist Jacobs (The Year of Living Biblically) delivers another playful account of a zany lifestyle experiment—this time to live by the letter of the U.S. Constitution. Pointing out the uniqueness of America’s continued dependence on this centuries-old document—unlike other countries which have more recently rewritten their constitutions—Jacobs explains that those who utilize it (most significantly, Supreme Court justices) are divided into originalists, who want to “hew to the original meaning,” and those who think interpretation should evolve with the times. Originalism serves as the inspiration for his goofy attempts to live a Constitutional existence, which include dressing, eating, and acting as the founders did (he discovers that writing with a quill, which sounds like nails on chalkboard to his wife, has a kind of lulling ASMR quality for himself); questioning historian Eric J. Dolan about the best way to become a privateer (Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal” to ship captains, basically a legalized form of piracy); and acquiring a mail-order pillory for punishing his wife and teenage sons (the Eighth Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” did not apply to pillories—also, his family declined). Jacobs’s well-researched romp carefully reckons with the Constitution’s ethical blind spots while staying consistently entertaining. U.S. history buffs will have fun with this one.

March 1, 2024
An experiment in following the Constitution's original meanings. Having written previously about "living Biblically" for a year, Jacobs turns now to "living Constitutionally"--i.e., imaginatively transporting himself back to 1787 (or, occasionally, later years when amendments were ratified) in order to reflect on the Founding Fathers' legal and ethical ideals. We follow the author's (sometimes loose) adoption of late-18th-century customs as he probes, for instance, assumptions about free speech, gender roles, and civic participation and considers profound shifts in cultural sensibilities from the founders' era to our own. Much of the text is delightfully lighthearted and playful in its recounting of the author's experiences, but Jacobs consistently offers insightful and informed analysis of the actual content of the Constitution, the reasoning behind it, and the implications of social change and evolving values. Though revered by many as something approximating a sacred and infallible text, the document itself is revealed as a flawed product of its time, steeped in exclusionary prejudices and in many ways incompatible with modern sensibilities, yet still illuminating for its attempt to defend core freedoms and promote a bold version of democracy. The author's commentary on present-day interpretive debates is particularly rewarding. He provides refreshingly clear and sensible accounts of the anachronistic powers granted to the Supreme Court, the ambiguities inherent in the Second Amendment's protection of gun rights, and the competing claims made by originalists and so-called living constitutionalists. Jacobs makes the persuasive argument that, in spite of the moral limitations of the founders from a 21st-century perspective, we might learn from the 18th century's "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." A marvelously witty and wise consideration of the Constitution's legacy.

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April 1, 2024
From Jacobs, the man who brought us The Year of Living Biblically (2007), in which he chronicled his efforts to hew as closely as possible to the Ten Commandments and other biblical precepts, comes a new historical reenactment: taking the United States Constitution literally. Starting with the original text and continuing through the amendments, Jacobs turns his flair for stunt journalism into a fascinating and necessary project. But the book isn't just Jacobs wearing a tricorn hat, boiling mutton, and reading by candlelight. He also interviews dozens of legal scholars, both originalists and "living" constitutionalists (those who think the text's meaning should change with the times). His effort to set up a Jacobs-family constitution is the perfect blend of humor and poignancy. Most of all, he tries to answer the Constitution's most pressing question: is it a document of liberation or oppression? Funny but not snarky, inventive but not obnoxious, learned but not pedantic, this book will make readers think about the nation's founding document more deeply than ever.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.