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The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
The Meaning of Everything The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Author: Simon Winchester
From the best-selling author of The Professor and the Madman, The Map That Changed the World, and Krakatoa comes a truly wonderful celebration of the English language and of its unrivaled treasure house, the Oxford English Dictionary. Writing with marvelous brio, Winchester first serves up a lightning history of the English language--"so...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780195175004
ISBN-10: 019517500X
Publication Date: 8/12/2004
Pages: 288
Edition: Reprint
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 13

3.9 stars, based on 13 ratings
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

garythefowler avatar reviewed The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary on + 65 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was every bit as much fun as I'd hoped it would be, most focused on the OED from its inception in 1857 through first complete publication in 1928. Purposes and goals, compilation of information, obstacles, personalities... all woven in a well-told easy read. Winchester also gives some background on dictionary development, more interesting than you might think; OED's supplements, 1989 second edition, and ongoing updates even now; plus bibliography and good index. Reads like a novel, but I'll keep it on my reference shelf.
reviewed The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A surprisingly engaging look at the men who labored for over 70-years without the aid of computers to produce the Oxford English Dictionary, a 12-volume beast originally published in 1928. A "Revised Edition" yet to be published may be as large as 40-volumes and weigh as much as a sixth of a ton. "Each printing would consume a sizeable acreage of woodland. The environment would be affected, significantly." Perhaps then, it will only see life on the Net. A great read for those who love the English language.
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reviewed The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary on + 75 more book reviews
great for bookophiles and language lovers: what does it take to put the whole english language in a dictionary?
buzzby avatar reviewed The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary on + 6062 more book reviews
Quite entertaining, addresses the foibles and fortitude of those who spent most of their lives creating the Oxford Dictionary, 1850-1928
reviewed The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary on + 59 more book reviews
unabridged


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