A New York Times Notable Book The Professor and the Madman 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 making of the OED was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, … were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, was stunned to discover that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. But their surprise would pale in comparison to what they were about to discover when the committee insisted on honoring him. For Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.
Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman “is the linguistic detective story of the decade.” (William Safire, New York Times Magazine)
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
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I read this book some years ago when it was published under its original title: The Surgeon of Crowthorne. I was surprised and delighted when I started reading. It’s about the foundation of the Oxford English Dictionary – and I thought ‘hello, this looks as though it’s going to be a very dry and dull book.’ Was I ever wrong? I couldn’t put it …
What a cool story this was! I love words and learning about the development of the ultimate word reference book – the OED – was fascinating… It has always amazed me to think that someone had to compile the dictionary – obviously I realize it had to be written, as every book did, but for some reason thinking about one person/set of people …
One would not expect a history of the Oxford English Dictionary to be particularly interesting, but indeed, there is quite a story behind it. A tremendous amount of the dictionary’s research was done by a convicted murderer mired in severe mental illness. This book recounts the strange tale of how W.C. Minor came to write significant portions of …
The Professor and the Madman is the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, a daunting task for Professor James Murray and the committee that supervised the project. Begun in 1857, it was a project that took decades to complete. The committee was only too happy to accept definitions from volunteer lexicographers. When they realized …
most likely the definition of a “madman” has changed over the century, in part thanks to medications, but maybe too, the cultlures’ tolerance for madness has softened somewhat. Whatever the case, this is account of how the first dictionary was created interested me more than I thought it would when my mom recommended it..
We have a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary in our house along with the magnifying glass it takes to read any entry. And I’ll note that just reading down a page, entry after informative entry, is entertaining. But I never knew how it began, and the story is more wonderful than I ever could have imagined, And now I can take pride in the fact …
Not at all what we would expect of these scholarly volumes. Wonderful reading.
Quite an interesting story. Not what I expected at all, but it kept me interested.
Absolutely fascinating story of how much of the Oxford English Dictionary was born in a prison.
Interesting beginning for the many references we use today. Blures the barrier between brilliance and those we traditionally– and erroneously– think of as being stupid. Great read.
this one was really interesting. about mental illness, the civil war and the making of the oxford English dictionary.
It’s always interesting to learn how the things we take for granted were originally generated.
An American Civil War serviceman’s crime in London confines him to a life sentence. It is from his jail cell that he makes major contributions in a British professors volunteer call for his endeavor to define language.
Despite the tragic path of life, …
Not sure what I expected, but it was so boring that I couldn’t even get halfway through!
Very interesting to anyone who uses and loves the Oxford English Dictionary.
It demonstrates how a mentally ill individual could still have an impact.
Strange but true circumstances which led to the unlikely creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Very well written, the story reads like a novel.
I understand that the book may not be entirely accurate, but I still really enjoyed this book.
It was interesting, but I think it overly lengthy and therefore loses momentum. I couldn’t wait to finish so that I could read something else.
Fascinating