I’ve read several of Jacobs’ previous books, most notably The Year of Living Biblically, in which Jacobs tried to follow all the commandments of the Bible as literally as possible. This book follows in the same footsteps: Jacobs attempts to live for a year living according to the US Constitution as literally as possible, and also trying to adopt as much of the 18th century as possible into his lifestyle (writing the book on cotton-rag paper with a goose quill, dressing in 18th century fashion, and reading news on paper once a day or less). Some of his experiments are fun but harmless, such as joining a Revolutionary War reenactment society or bringing back the tradition of baking cakes on election day. Some are obviously silly, such as creating a (hand-written) petition to have multiple presidents instead of only one. Some are downright dangerous, such as drinking untreated water from Central Park (an attempt to survive without regulatory agencies). Interspersed with these experiments are deeply nuanced and deeply researched explorations of how the Founders would have interpreted the Constitution contemporaneously, and the fights over how we view it today. Altogether, it’s a fun, quirky book that sneaks in a whole bunch of modern scholarship, a combination that always appeals to me.