Welcome to Gap Fest Reeds. I'm David Plotz, one of the hosts of Slate's political Gap Fest.

Like Henry Kissinger or possibly a Kardashian, Alexander Petri has written a new book that has her own name in the title.

Alexander Petri's U.S. history important American documents I made up.

Alexandra is, of course, the extremely funny columnist for the Washington Post, and if you've read her there, her new book will not be at all surprising, but it will still be a billion percent delightful.

She has retold the history of America through a series of funny and entirely manufactured documents.

Walt Whitman's songs, Not of Myself, other lists by Joe McCarthy, John and Abigail Adams tri-sexting, the Gettysburg Address as written

by Aaron Sorkin, 50 States of Gray, audience feedback for our American cousin, one I really like

big women, Louisa May Alcott's unsuccessful first draft of little women, which begins,

Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents, Grumble Joe lying on the enormous rug.

Joe was 60 feet tall and people were like ants to her.

Anyway, you get the idea.

So, Alexander, welcome to Gap Fest Rees.

And congratulations.

Thanks for having me.

So I feel like Hamilton was American history recast into a modern musical form, hip-hop storytelling.

Alexander Petra's U.S. history is the same thing, except you've picked another quintessential

modern form, the satiric sketch comedy. So good for you. It's the Hamilton. It's the Hamilton of

books. I will take that. Can we put that on it somewhere? The funny thing is you were mentioning that it had my name on the cover. And I'm like, I really did not think it was going to be like this forward. I thought it was just going to be like AP and also like a little tiny thing with my name. But it turns out that if you don't want the college board to get upset, you have to make it very clear that it's actually me. As a big nerd growing up and continuing to be an enormous nerd,

I was always really fascinated with those books of documents that they would give you. And they'd be like,

here, read these 30 sermons from the 19th century. And then we will ask you very detailed questions about them.

And now you'll understand American history. And I always wanted to just make a book that could

plausibly be confused for one of those books of documents and hopefully cause you some

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