Walter Isaacson (Steve Jobs) is known for his biographies of great people; in The Greatest Sentence Ever Written, he takes on an even more formidable subject: the Declaration of Independence. More specifically, he unpacks the document's powerful second sentence--which he calls "the greatest... ever crafted by human hand"--breaking it down clause by clause and offering it as a reminder of the shared foundational values of the United States.
Isaacson starts, appropriately, with the first clause, "We the people," acknowledging the hidden limitations of that supposedly inclusive phrase while asking for patience: "We'll deal with that when we get to the discussion of 'all men.' " Of that phrase, he later asks, "Did they mean it to refer to all people?" and then answers, bluntly: "Actually, no." Isaacson's respectfully neutral tone allows room for thoughtful criticism of the Founding Fathers without contradicting the patriotic sentiment that infuses his work, especially when he pivots away from language and focuses on broader ideals such as "Common Ground" and "The American Dream."
While some might find Isaacson's earnest urgings naïve in the face of deep political divides, he believes the United States might begin to heal "by reflecting on our fundamental principles, the ones proclaimed in the Declaration's great sentence." A timely accompaniment to the 250th anniversary of the country, the book also includes appendices containing additional primary sources, such as excerpts from works by John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as Thomas Jefferson's first draft of the Declaration, making this a helpful, pocket-size reference for those interested in U.S. history. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian