Professor and The Madman, The : Unabridged

Rating:
Summary: interesting story
Review: This is a marvelous book about the Professor, James Murray, the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Madman, Dr. William C. Minor, one of the Dictionary's most prolific contributors, despite his incarceration in an asylum for the criminally insane after committing a senseless murder provoked by his delusions. The book tells the stories of each of these protagonists as well as the making of the OED itself, and nicely wraps up all of the connections, even to the point of showing what happened to the murdered man's family (whose widow visited Minor regularly
for months).

Rating:
Summary: A Riveting Story
Review: Who would have thought that a story about a dictionary would be so fascinating? Simon Winchester, that's who! But then, the dictionary about which the story tells is no ordinary dictionary, but is the venerable Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

Simon Winchester is a consummate storyteller. His prose is light, serious, readable, detailed but never tedious, scholarly but never dry, amazingly fascinating. From the dedication of the book to the very poignant and touching ending (where you find out the identity of the person to whom the book is dedicated), Winchester makes connection after connection in the series of events and unlikely characters that resulted in one of the English language's most monumental achievements.

*The Professor and the Madman* is a superb story. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A Typical Best-seller
Review: Typical American journalistic writing. A man who's obsessed with his childhood memory, so - what else could he do - he turned mad. Well, the old plot again. Not a bad book for train/subway journey.

Same question as one of the below reviewers asks: "Is this really worth a book?" or should the anectodte remains a single-line mention in the literary history?


Rating:
Summary: Interesting, informing, and overall pretty good
Review: I must say that this was the first non-fiction book that I had picked up in a very long time and was quite happy that I took the opportunity. I always imagined that it was hard work to put together a dictionary but I never would have guess as to the actual amount of work it takes. This book really gave insight into a part of life that we sometimes take for granted.
However, this book was just not a history lesson; it was also the story of one man in particular who contributed a great lot to the writing of the English Oxford Dictionary. The story of how he went mad and spent his time in an asylum finding literary examples for words in the dictionary. This aspect of the book took it away from a history lesson and turned it more into a novel/biography with a bit of history mixed in with it. Truly interesting to see how people were treated before the use of a lot of medicine and techniques that we use today.
I thought it was wonderfully written, however at some parts it was a little dry, but when you thought you just needed to find something else to read Winchester would reveal a little more information to the reader and keep you hooked for just a little while longer.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning a little about the history of the English language and the life of a truly interesting person.


Rating:
Summary: Ancedotes of History
Review: Is this really worth a book?

That is a question worth answering. It is a single but interesting ancedote filled with trivia about mental illness, Civil War justice, the history of dictionaries, and finally self-mutilation.





Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This was utterly absorbing to me. It's an entirely fascinating story of a highly interesting man, well written, well put together and carefully documented. I recommend it without reservation.

Rating:
Summary: The story behind the OED
Review: Winchester's thoroughly researched history of two of the most notable men involved in the making of the OED is a fascinating and scholarly work. It is a bit tangential at times; however, within this construct, the overall direction and meaning of the work is preserved.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable with a few flaws
Review: This book--part true crime, part literary history, part human interest story-was difficult to put down. It tells the story of two of the personalities behind the making of The Oxford English Dictionary. One, the professor James Murray, was the editor of the tome. The other, Dr. W.C. Minor, was a major contributor to The OED, a former American army surgeon, and a raving lunatic. The Professor and the Madman also narrates the process of compiling The OED and throws in some fascinating etymology. This more "academic" portion of the work is written modestly enough that it should interest even those with only a passing curiosity for the English language. The chapter headings, which contain definitions of words appropriate to the chapter's content, are an interesting touch.

Winchester is an able if not a masterful writer. There is nothing complex or poetic or particularly profound in his narrative, but he tells a fascinating story and captures the reader's interest. I will offer two critiques, however, both of which relate to the author's unskilled method of foreshadowing. Winchester would occasionally drop a hint that leaves the reader hanging, which is fine, if the reader has some concept that his whetted appetite will eventually be satisfied. But after dropping these hints the author would move on as though he had simply forgotten about them, leaving the reader little idea that he planned to reveal all later. (One such example is when the author mentions that only one word was ever lost from the OED. The reader immediately thinks in frustration, "What word?" But Winchester continues his narrative as if he has no intention of revealing the secret. Much later in the book the author mentions the fact again, and this time he reveals the word, after the reader has already given up hope of learning it.) Secondly, this inexpert foreshadowing also tends to obscure the chronology of the story from time to time. Despite these minor frustrations, however, the book is an excellent read.



Rating:
Summary: A good story. Not a good book.
Review: I wanted to read this book as soon as I heard about it. I waited quite a long time for it, as it wasn't being printed in the U.S. yet.

I would be happy if I hadn't waited. I would be happy if I'd forgotten about it completely.

The story is a good one. Making a dictionary for the first time is a good story--undertaking the process using only paper, no computers, no phone calls, stacking up those papers for years and years. Interesting. Stories about madmen are intriguing. Looking into the unknown and actually getting a glimpse of what's there is interesting.

Putting the two together has real potential.

Still, the author tells the story in a way that makes the madman into a cobbled together character who is pitiful and helpless. We also expect that the professor will be a person involved in the madman's life.

Neither of these things is true.

I see that I am in the minority in not liking this book, but I object to the hyperbole used. The way the author is somehow trying to blend Jack the Ripper with the idea of a person having _A Beautiful Mind_ creates an unfortunate picture that shows both the professor and the madman to be duped or shortchanged by life.

This isn't called historical fiction. It's history told poorly. It's history misrepresented. It's history turned into a soap opera and human beings turned into fictional characters.

Rating:
Summary: pretty not bad
Review: Makes a great story about insanity and the human potential. Genius is inextricably linked to madness in the interaction of different characters and also in a single individual. Books like this are fascinating because they take everyday objects and bring them into a historical context--every time I use my dictionary now I think of the story behind it, and how that may only be the tip of the iceberg. Wincester's prose is manageable for the most part--sometimes it doesn't flow smoothely, but one doesn't have to plow too strenuously to get through this fairly short book. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in madness and/or the origins of household objects we take for granted.