The Greatest Sentence Ever Written

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. (Nov.)