Greatest Sentence Ever Written
At your speed≈ 1½ hrs
Pages80
Audiobook≈ 2½ hrs
80 pages works out to roughly 24,000 words. At an average 250 words a minute that is 1½ hrs — a single-sitting read.
Only 9 readers have rated it on Hardcover so far — too few to tell you much either way.
How long does it take to read Greatest Sentence Ever Written?
Greatest Sentence Ever Written is 80 pages, or roughly 24,000 words. How long that takes depends on how fast you read:
| Your pace | Words per minute | Time to finish |
|---|---|---|
| Slow | 175 | 2½ hrs |
| Average | 250 | 1½ hrs |
| Fast | 400 | 1 hr |
Estimated at about 300 words per page. Most adults read between 200 and 300 words a minute — use the reading-speed control to set your own pace and every time on the site adjusts.
Every reading time on the site updates to your pace. Page counts are an estimate, so treat the hours as a good guide, not a stopwatch.
Common questions
- How long does it take to read Greatest Sentence Ever Written?
- About 1½ hrs at an average reading speed of 250 words per minute. Greatest Sentence Ever Written runs 80 pages, roughly 24,000 words — so at a slower 175 wpm it is nearer 2½ hrs, and at 400 wpm closer to 1 hr.
- How many pages is Greatest Sentence Ever Written?
- 80 pages, which is about 24,000 words and 1½ hrs of reading. Editions vary, so we take the figure two of our three sources agree on.
- Is Greatest Sentence Ever Written worth reading?
- Only 9 readers have rated it on Hardcover so far — too few to tell you much either way. What we can tell you for certain is the cost: 80 pages and about 1½ hrs of your time, or 1 hr if you read quickly. Whether that is worth it depends on the hours you have.
- How long is the Greatest Sentence Ever Written audiobook?
- About 2½ hrs, estimated from the 24,000 words at a typical narration pace of 150 words a minute. Real editions vary by narrator, usually by well under an hour.
From the publisher
"To celebrate America's 250th anniversary, Walter Isaacson takes readers on a ... 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"--
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