A Fictional History of the United States: With Huge Chunks Missing

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.

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.

Fiction. Politics and History. Edited by T Cooper and Adam Mansbach, this anthology takes on the challenge of creating counter-narratives in an age when rampant political dishonesty infects the always-ongoing process of history's creation. In A FICTIONAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES (WITH HUGE CHUNKS MISSING), a diverse group of writers offer up accounts of history not written by the winners, complicating traditional, received views of the American narrative with their own revitalized depictions. Contributors include: Darin Strauss, Daniel Alarcon, Amy Bloom, Kate Bornstein, Alex Chee, Ron Kovic, Paul LaFarge, David Rees, Keith Knight, Felicia Luna Lemus, Valerie Miner, Tommy O'Malley, Neal Pollack, Scott Poulson-Bryant, Sara Schulman and Benjamin Weissman.