"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."

The statement above is the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence. Historian Walter Isaacson believes it is the greatest sentence ever written, so he titled his 2026 book "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written" and analyzed it.

He broke the sentence into words and phrases. He spent a chapter analyzing each - discussing the authors' intent in their choice of language, the context and society in which it was written, and revisions from the original draft.

Isaacson breaks his analysis into seven chapters, each of which breaks down a fragment of the historical sentence.

- We
- Self-Evident Truths
- All Men
- Created Equal
- Endowed by Their Creator
- Certain Inalienable Rights
- Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Each chapter spans only a few pages, but the fact that he devotes an entire chapter to the word "We" should tell you the thoroughness for which he strives.

Some chapters speculate on the meaning of words. When discussing the phrase "All men," it is natural to ask whether eighteenth-century authors used it to include all humanity, including women. A letter from John Adams to his wife Abigail indicates they did not.

Some chapters describe changes to the text from the first to the final draft. The phrase "self-evident" replaced the original "sacred," for example. Jefferson's first draft contained a condemnation of slavery. Southern delegates successfully lobbied to have this section removed.

Some chapters examine the origin of ideas. "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" as human rights evolved from the writings of John Locke, who wrote of the rights to "life, liberty, and property."

Walter Isaacson is known for writing massive biographies. His biographies of Kissinger, Franklin, Einstein, Jobs, da Vinci, and Musk each weigh in at over 600 pages. By contrast, "The Greatest Sentence Ever Written" is less than a hundred pages. He added a few appendices to beef it up to over 50 pages.

Now is a good time to reflect on the Declaration of Independence as we approach the 250th anniversary of its signing. Despite feeling more like a pamphlet than a book, this volume is an enjoyable read.