Dictionaries & Encyclopedias : The Professor and the Madman A Tale of Murder Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary P.S.
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 (P.S.) | 
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Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 2005-07-05
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List Price: $13.99
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- ISBN13: 9780060839789
- Condition: New
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 Monique's Book Corner
CD in excellent condition. Story is awesome. Time of delivery A+. Thank you.
 Very Interesting and well researched
This book is excellent for any word lover, but is a bit stilted and detailed.
It was very clever how the author put a page from the dictionary as the beginning of each chapter and the subject of that chapter dealt with the word.
From page 220..."The total length of type--all hand-set, for the books were done by letterpress, still discernible in the delicately impressed feel of the inked-on paper--is 178 miles, the distance between London and the outskirts of Manchester."
Dr. Minor, the madman, was an interesting character and the perfect person to "write" the English Oxford Dictionary...the professor, (Professor Murray) was perfect as well. You feel sorry for Dr. Minor in his circumstances, but rejoice at what he did.
His death and burial are described as this: From Page 219..."Dr. William Minor, who was among the greatest of contributors to the finest dictionary in all the English language, died forgotten in obscurity, and is buried beside a slum."
It isn't of high interest, but keeps you reading because of the history.
I was wavering between a 2 and a 3 but am going with a 3/5 rating.
Excellent tale
This book was given to me to read by someone else and just sat on my shelf for ages because it didn't feel that appealing. What a surprise when I actually read it. It is a fascinating tale of how the Oxford English Dictionary came into being. Historical, educational, based on fact, and thoroughly entertaining.
Brings the making of the OED to life
Winchester definitely knows how to tell a story. His account of the unusual relationship between James Murray, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and William Chester Minor, the American-born "madman" of the title, is unforgettable. He understands the incredible hubris of Victorian England -- its belief that Englishmen, their empire, and their language were superior and were destined to control the world -- and also the irony that men acting under these chauvinist beliefs made remarkable contributions to civilization. The OED was one of those works, and Minor, the former Civil War surgeon who was confined to an insane asylum, was the gifted amateur who contributed thousands of entries to the pioneering dictionary.
I highly recommend this book. My only hesitation relates to Winchester's rather cavalier speculation about the origins of Minor's mental illness. Although he appropriately cites contemporary psychiatric theory in the later part of his book, some of the connections that he makes between Minor's experiences and his debilitating illness are hard to accept.
professor and the madman
I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys some history stitched together with a little story telling. It is a page turner that is very intriguing, interesting and at times shocking. I have read a lot of books and wondered how they ever got published, this one however is a solid piece of story telling. Read it, you will be glad you did.
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