The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
America’s bestselling biographer reveals the origins of the most revolutionary sentence in the Declaration of Independence, the one that defines who we are as Americans—and explains how it should shape our politics today.
“Isaacson uses a jeweler’s loupe to scan what gives his snappy little book its engaging title….Isaacson skillfully teases fresh pith and resonance out of those familiar words.” —The Wall Street Journal
“A short, smart analysis of perhaps the most famous passage in American history reveals its potency and unfulfilled promise.” —Kirkus Reviews
To celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a fascinating deep dive into the creation of one of history’s most powerful sentences: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, this line lays the foundation for the American Dream and defines the common ground we share as a nation.
Isaacson unpacks its genius, word by word, illuminating the then-radical concepts behind it. Readers will gain a fresh appreciation for how it was drafted to inspire unity, equality, and the enduring promise of America. With clarity and insight, he reveals not just the power of these words but describes how, in these polarized times, we can use them to restore an appreciation for our common values.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestselling biographer Isaacson (Elon Musk) takes a word-by-word look at America's founding in this timely, if somewhat negligible, volume. The sentence under Isaacson's consideration is the most famous one from the Declaration of Independence—the one beginning, "We hold these truths to be self-evident." In its 35 words, Thomas Jefferson, with assists from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin (who added "self-evident" to replace Jefferson's "sacred"), delivered the philosophical underpinning of America. Isaacson dedicates short chapters to each of the sentence's components, along the way offering well-worn and familiar critiques and factoids. In his chapter on "We," he discusses Enlightenment notions of natural rights and social contracts that influenced the founders. In "All Men," he raises an eyebrow, pointing out that women were not included. In "Created Equal," he takes a stab at America's founding hypocrisy—the fact that, "of the fifty-six signers, forty-one owned slaves." Isaacson makes clear he has more than history on his mind: "As we reach the 250th anniversary of the Declaration," he writes, "we are embroiled in increasingly polarized debates." But he's not taking up any debates with this book, nor is he putting forth any solutions to polarization. While it's a clever conceit, there isn't much original thinking here.
