My First Book Is About To be Published

It’s titled US Constitution 101, and here’s the backstory

Over a year ago, the publishing company Simon & Schuster approached me to author a book that would describe the Constitution in a way that the general public would find interesting, informative, and engaging. Simon and Schuster had been following my blog posts on Medium.com and watched my two Ted-Ed Lessons on YouTube. Based on this, they concluded that I was the right person to write this book.

Initially, I declined, thinking I couldn’t manage it. At the time, I was already juggling a full-time teaching position at San Marino High School, dedicating ten hours a week to my role as the Class Companion Teacher Advisory Board and Community Outreach Manager, giving seminars to teachers across the country for the Bureau of Education Research on block scheduling and civil discourse, and fulfilling my duties as an iCivics fellow. Needless to say, my plate was full.

In turn, Simon and Schuster suggested I get a co-author to share the workload. That’s when I contacted my friend and AP social studies YouTube “edu-celebrity,” Tom Richey. Tom is an incredibly talented educator and graciously stepped in, agreeing to work countless hours and carry the lion’s share of the burden. I can’t thank him enough for his help and dedication. Although the Simon & Schuster page lists the book as written by Tom Richey and Peter Paccone, it would be more accurately titled “By Tom Richey with Peter Paccone.”

In any event, Simon & Schuster was so impressed with “our” work that a month ago, they informed us they would hire a voice-over actor to make the book an audiobook.

I can’t wait for you all to read it!

The book, both in print and audio format, is scheduled to hit bookstores on September 27. Click here to pre-order. Below, a sample from the book.