Original stories & artwork by: Daniel Alarcon, Amy Bloom, Kate Bornstein, Alex Chee, T Cooper, Keith Knight, Ron Kovic, Paul La Farge, Felicia Luna Lemus, Adam Mansbach, Valerie Miner, Tommy O'Malley, Neal Pollack, David Rees, Sarah Schulman, Darin Strauss, and Benjamin Weissman.

As political dishonesty continues to infect the ongoing process of history's creation, a diverse group of America's best fiction writers take on the challenge of creating counter-narratives in A Fictional History of the United States with Huge Chunks Missing. This ground-breaking anthology seeks to challenge, tease, and expand upon the hegemonic, single-narrative of mainstream American history - moving beyond the mere canonical to create a patchwork, anecdotal history of the young nation. Here are the moments and the people left out of the textbooks. And here is what else happened - on the margins of American life - on the dates and during the historical moments we were all forced to memorize.

From an eclectic and celebrated array of authors and cartoonists - from Amy Bloom to Darin Strauss, Ron Kovic (making his short-fiction debut) to David Rees, Neal Pollack to Daniel Alarcon — come stories that sweep from 1424 (when the Chinese discovered America, in Alexander Chee's "Wampeshau") to the new McCarthyism of a post-9/11 world (in Valerie Miner's "Apprehensions"). A Fictional History of the United States with Huge Chunks Missingcalls into question everything from the moon landing to the Lindbergh kidnapping, the Vietnam War draft to the invention of anti-depressants. Riveting, inventive, timely, and politically crucial, this collection of original stories is in the best tradition of America's literary commitment to seeking truth . . . even if it happens to be revealed in fiction.

T Cooper's debut novel Some of the Parts(Akashic, 2002), was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a Quality Paperback Book Club pick. T's second novel, Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes, will be published by Dutton in February 2006. T lives in New York City.

Adam Mansbachis the author of the novels Angry Black White Boy(Crown, 2005), Shackling Water(Doubleday, 2002), and the poetry collection genius b-boy cynics getting weeded in the garden of delights(Subway & Elevated). He lives in Berkeley, California.

"This hit-or-miss collection includes new stories by a smattering of seventeen randomly linked writers, some better known (Amy Bloom, Neal Pollack, Darin Strauss) than others (David Rees, Benjamin Weissman, Felicia Luna Lemus). Each tries tackling a moment in American history, be it seemingly miniscule (the 1971 basketball game the Harlem Globetrotters lost, rendered as a charming comic strip by cartoonist and rapper Keith Knight) or generation-defining (veteran Ron Kovic skewering the Vietnam War in 'The Recruiters,' a pedantic polemic about what happens when soldiers visit a high school). Other topics include the Russian Revolution in America, the Woolworth strikers and the lunar landing. Cooper's and Mansbach's thesis is noble and intellectually rigorous: that 'the hegemonic single-narrative of mainstream American history' is essentially fiction in itself. But only Paul LaFarge's delightful McSweeney's-esque story, 'The Discovery of America,' which provides eleven possible ways the United States came to be founded, really grapples with that issue. Otherwise, we get several pieces about individuals facing the terrors of conservatism or struggling with the immigrant experience. What emerges is a mixed bag of literary ambition that sometimes smells suspiciously of rejected submissions to the New Yorker's Shouts and Murmurs department." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

As political dishonesty infects the ongoing process of history's creation, a diverse group of America's best fiction writers takes on the challenge of creating counter-narratives. Contributors include: Darin Strauss, Daniel Alarcon, Amy Bloom, Kate Bornstein, Alex Chee, T Cooper, Ron Kovic, Paul La Farge, David Rees, Keith Knight, Felicia Luna Lemus, Adam Mansbach, Valerie Miner, Tommy O'Malley, Neal Pollack, Scott Poulson-Bryant, Sarah Schulman, and Benjamin Weissman. T Cooper's debut novel "Some of the Parts" (Akashic, 2002), was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and a Quality Paperback Book Club pick. Her second novel, "Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes," is forthcoming from Penguin/Plume. T lives in New York City. Adam Mansbach is the author of the novels "Angry Black White Boy" (Crown, 2005) and "Shackling Water" (Doubleday). He lives in Berkeley, California.

"This is a people's history'with tongue in cheek, delightfully funny, imaginative, but with a subtle undertone of seriousness. I enjoyed it immensely."
--HOWARD ZINN, author of A People's History of the United States

Original stories & artwork by:
Daniel Alarcon, Amy Bloom, Kate Bornstein, Alexander Chee, T Cooper, Keith Knight, Ron Kovic, Paul La Farge, Felicia Luna Lemus, Adam Mansbach, Valerie Miner, Tommy O'Malley, Neal Pollack, David Rees, Sarah Schulman, Darin Strauss, and Benjamin Weissman.

History is distorted the moment it's recorded--and in these politically dishonest times, challenging the stories we're told is more important than ever. In this groundbreaking anthology of original fiction, a diverse group of America's best writers takes on the task of creating counter-narratives to mainstream American history. Here are some of the moments and the people left out of the textbooks. Here is what else happened--on the margins of American life, and in between the lines of our history books.

A Fictional History of the United States with Huge Chunks Missingbrings together an eclectic array of celebrated authors and cartoonists to create a patchwork, anecdotal history of this complicated country. From the Chinese discovery of America in 1426 to the new McCarthyism of a post-9-11 world, this collection recasts everything from the moon landing to the Lindbergh kidnapping, westward expansion to the sexual proclivities of Civil War officers. Riveting, inventive, and politically vital, this anthology picks up--and yanks on--America's supposed commitment to seeking the truth . . . even if that truth is revealed in fiction.

T Cooperis the author of the novels Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes(Dutton) and Some of the Parts(Akashic). T lives in New York City. For more information visit www.t-cooper.com.

Adam Mansbachis the author of the novels Angry Black White Boy(Crown), Shackling Water(Doubleday), and the forthcoming The End of the Jews(Spiegel & Grau/Doubleday). He lives in Berkeley, California. For more information visit www.adammansbach.com.

T Cooper's debut novel Some of the Parts, was a B&N Discover Program selection and a Quality Paperback Book Club pick. Her work has appeared in many publications, including the New York Times, the Believer, and The Future Dictionary of America (McSweeney's Books). Her second novel, Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes is forthcoming from Penguin/Plume. T lives in New York City.