Tell a friend about this book...
Friend's Email:
Subject: I have found a book that I think you would enjoy
Member $avings: $16,078,859.64
|
Books Available: 4,139,096
|
Members Online: 2,418
Your source for swapping books online - Read...Swap...Save!
How To Swap Books?
Sign Up
Search 
Kiosk
All Books
Book Browser
Advanced Search
Books Posted Today
Member Book Reviews
NYT Best Seller List
Newbery Medal Winners
Pulitzer Prize Winners
Most Traveled Copies
Club Wish List
Login
Community
Member Directory
Discussion Forums
Blog
Donations
Live Chat (6)
Box-O-Books
Book Journal
Maps
The Eclectic Pen
Fun Stuff
Top 50s
Pulse of PBS
Spread The Word
Photo Gallery
Recipes
Club Tag Cloud
Member Testimonials
Help Center
Kiosk
Need Help?
Search - The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
|
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Author: |
|
|||
Book Information
|
|||||
Other Versions of this Book: Audio CD (Unabridged), Paperback, Audio Cassette (Unabridged), Hardcover
Book Description:
The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary--and literary history. The compilation of the OED, begun in 1857, was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.
Members who requested this book also requested:
Similar books to this author and title:
 |
Genres:
Top Member Book Reviews
Jeff P. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
A bit wordy, but an interesting story about the OED and one of it's more "colorful" contributors.
Lorelie L. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
It is known as one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters. The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857, took 70 years to complete, drew from tens of thousands of brilliant minds, and organized the sprawling language into 414,825 precise definitions. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story-a story of two remarkable men whose strange 20 year relationship lies at the core of this historic undertaking. You'll love this book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is a bit dry at times as it discusses the requisite history of dictionaries and the English language. It takes some time to get moving, and seems to spend fairly little time discussing the titular characters. It occasionally muddies fact with myth.
Those quibbles aside, it's a good story. Both the tale of the OED and the history of the insane Dr. Minor are fascinating and at times uplifting. It also reads fairly quickly, and is well-written overall.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderful book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A fascinating true story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary and the important part played by a brilliant, insane American who was institutionalized after murdering a man he had mistakenly assumed was threatening him.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Story of how a man locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane helped provide numerous entries for the first addition of the Oxford Enflish Dictionary.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
A fascinating story. When I selected it I had doubts. Then I read it and was very impressed by just about everything in it. It almost reads as romance of people involved in a 70 year project going through generations to great the greatest dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary. One would not think that writting a dictionary would be anything but the ultimate bore. Its not.
Book Wiki
Common Title
Series
Original Publication Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
People/Characters
Real Places
Fictional Places
Important Events
Awards and Honors