I really enjoyed this, and I'm betting that anyone interested in the stories of words will also. The life of Dr. Minor and his interaction with Professor Murray is interesting, but the process involved in putting together a major dictionary takes my breath away.

FUTURE READERS: I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did, and then take a moment to post your comments in this journal - it's free, and you can be anonymous if you like. Then when you're done, please share it with others so it can continue its journey. Everyone should have the fun of finding a free book!

Placed in MarysGirl's Wrap It Up book box.

Incredible story of the making of the English Oxford Dictionary and one of the major contributors, Dr. Minor, a mentally ill man in a lunatic asylum.
I have always had a love for dictionaries and take a peculiar pride in the Oxford English dictionary as one of the great accomplishments of men. My son owns a copy of the two volume reduced print set. We pull it out sometimes on Shabbos when we are sitting around the table and the meaning or derivation of an English word comes into question. I love that on Shabbos we put away our computers and talk to one another, free ourselves from electronics for a day. For us that often encompasses using the OED.
I never knew the history behind its creation however and this book tells the fascinating story. It is very sad because Dr. Minor was truly sick and confined to a mental hospital for more than 40 years. I thought he was treated pretty well though. He had his own 2 rooms with a fireplace and wall to ceiling bookshelves, including his shelves of very rare old books. I also think his confinement was completely necessary as he suffered from paranoia, delusions and sexual deviancy and had already murdered someone. He was quite a scholar and found relief and purpose in the work on the OED. For many years it was unknown that the contributor Dr. Minor was a patient of the lunatic asylum but once that was known he was often visited by Professor Murray who oversaw the last few decades of the making of the OED. It took 70 years to create this dictionary. Dr. Minor was an American although he spent his childhood in Ceylon and most of his adulthood in England, still I think we Americans can take our fair share of pride in the creation of the OED.

This book is going in to the Anything Goes Non-Fiction Book Box. Weirdly, it is going right back to the original owner who is the next recipient of the box! Maybe she will be happy to see it again before she sends it on to further readers. For myself, I almost never mind giving up a book, but it is a bit of wrench to give this one up. It is really good.

Released in to the Non-Fiction book box and is on its way to judyslump612.

I am selecting this book from the Anything Goes Non-Fiction Book Box, it looks really interesting and I am looking forward to reading it.

This was a charming and fascinating look at one of the great works of scholarship in history. The Oxford English Dictionary took over 70 years to produce its first edition, and remains the definitive text on the historical development of the English language. It could not have been published without the unpaid efforts of over 800 dedicated volunteers - including Dr. William Minor, an American Army surgeon, incarcerated for almost 40 years in an English insane asylum for murdering a London brewery worker during an attack of a delusional paranoia that afflicted him his entire life.
The Professor and the Madman focuses on Minor's contribution to the work of Sir James Murray, the Scots genius who was the OED's first and greatest editor. Minor, when he wasn't being delusional, was a brilliant, assiduous reader, devoted to the English language and delighted to be part of the enormous project.
This book is a very quick read, and a delightful one.

Releasing as a selection from the ABC VBB, Happy Reading!

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This book arrived yesterday. I hope to read it soon. It's been on my wish list for a long time.

Reading now.

Who’d believe this story if you’d just heard it from a friend: one of the biggest contributors to the huge Oxford English Dictionary was an inmate in an asylum for the insane.

Simon Winchester tells the tale and shares lots of fun words from the OED in the process. A great nonfiction story.

Off to a new reader!

Came back in Medicine Chest V. I'll send it on its way again.

Here's my original review:
Lovely book on the monumental task of compiling the OED. Turns out there was more of a story than we all thought. The task of compiling all the words in the English Language was given out to volunteers. Among them was an unlikely reader; a madman from America locked up in Broadmoor Insane Asylum. His contributions for the next 20 years is traced, as is the unlikely acquaintenship with the editor. Simon Winchester is always interesting and this is a neat book. I hope you like it!

Sent off in the MaryZee's Biographies of Things Bookbox!

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I've read this before so I'm leaving the book in the box for someone else, but wanted to add my comments.

I would never have believed that an account of the compilation of the first comprehensive English-language dictionary could be this fascinating - or downright weird! The task itself is mind-boggling to contemplate; even if we weren't spoiled with instant-access everything nowadays, the idea of even beginning to collect examples of use of Every Known English Word makes me quail.

But as if that weren't enough, one of the most prolific contributors to the dictionary project - with whom editor Murray had corresponded happily for twenty years - turned out to be confined in an asylum for the criminally insane... Makes one wonder where some of those Wikipedia entries come from! Anyway, it's an entertaining and informative book, with the nice touch that the chapters are prefaced by appropriate definitions from the OED in lieu of the usual quotes.

When I saw this in MaryZee's Biography of Things bookbox I grabbed it right away! This book has been on my "Books I want to read someday" wishlist for the longest time. Thank you, all!

A wonderful book! I was tempted to keep this in my PC as I have quite a collection of books about books, but in honor of MaryZee I also feel compelled to let it keep travelling. Iwillrejoice's "P" books bookring made its way to me earlier this week, so I will be adding this to the bookring. Happy travels, little book.

I have chosen this book from iwillrejoice's ABC (Alphabet) Bookrings - US version - Books Beginning with the Letter P. Thanks for sharing!

This book was a fascinating read. Thanks again for sharing it!

This book was left on a bench outside Hot Topic.

Found in Zeeks Pizza