Rating: 
Summary: A yarn and more.
Review: Having read Winchester's book for the second time, I'm far more impressed by its achievement. In the final pages the narrator refers to his account of the making of the OED as a "yarn". And indeed it is an entertaining as well as edifying story, especially considering the potentially dull if not lethal nature of the subject matter. But there's also a subtext running through this docu-novel that is more about the nature of language itself than about the creation of the world's most famous dictionary. Discretion bids me not to give away the real hero of this text but, contrary to my first impression, it's neither of the story's two main characters. Suffice it to say that Winchester's favorite word is "serendipity," roughly equivalent to the "jouissance" that was so dear to the French semiotician/post-structuralist, Roland Barthes. Read the book to its very last page (including the bibliographical material and acknowledgments we normally dismiss) and not simply to the end of the "story proper." Now look at the first page preceding the title. At this point I experienced my epiphany about the life of the "word" and fully appreciated Winchester's clever game.
Rating:
Summary: The Most Interesting Book of Its Kind
Review: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is a compelling history of one man, utterly insane yet smart as anyone else, another man, extremely brilliant, and the making of one of the greatest dictionaries that man has ever known. Beautifully written, Winchester makes an attempt at a highly intellectual subject and writes it for the bulk of modern people. Winchester is obviously an expert on the subject. This book makes the reader wonder: Is there any real difference between being mad and being a genius? Who is to say that one man is insane and the next is incredibly brilliant? A book to be read by all, The Professor and the Madman is so well told that it is almost impossible to ignore the points it brings up. The reader will surely enjoy every page of this classic book. Not only did it tell a story of a man who went insane, but it described in great detail how the idea of Oxford English Dictionary came to be, and how hundreds of men and women devoted much of their time to its making. One of these men, being the longest staying patient at the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, or the "Special Hospital (p.117)", was perhaps one of the greatest contributors to the dictionary, sending in, from his cell at Broodmoor, about 10,000 entries. The Professor and the Madman is a sad story that tells of one man's fame and another's misfortune. If the reader has never read a book of this context, this should definitely be a treat. Winchester is a very skillful man when it comes to the art of research and writing. Never before has any book had so much meaning and significance as this one. Not only does it teach a lesson about insanity and intelligence, but it also broadens the reader's vocabulary immensely. Winchester does a fascinating job of making the story come alive. He is not a one of those writers who simply states the facts and fails to include the interesting details that make a book fun to read. After reading this book, the reader feels touched, like one who has just lost a distant member of their family. William Chester Minor is this distant member. However insane he may have been, his story will touch all that read or hear about it. It is quite dull in very few parts. These few parts are brushed aside with other enticing information. When Winchester writes about how the lexicographers entered the lists and how damp and humid their surroundings were, he himself has seemed to forget for the most part, those interesting details. He makes up for these dull lapses with more intriguing information about the great dictionary and the men and women who put it together. Altogether, The Professor and the Madman is a wonderful book and should be read by everyone who enjoys a classic. As Mark Twain once said, "A classic is something everyone wants to have read but nobody wants to read." It is virtually impossible to dislike this book and it should be required to be read in all schools.
Rating: 
Summary: slight but fascinating history
Review: This is a fascinating, if slight, tale about one part of the massive Oxford English dictionary's creation. Basically, the story recounts how a paranoid bi-polar man helped write and research a huge portion of the world largest dictionary. The professor is the then editor who befriends the man, not knowing his new-found contributor reside in an insane asylum.
Along the way we get fascinating peeks into the creation of the OED, Victorian and Edwardian views on mental health and quite a few other asides.
I am not sure that this is a book so much as a long magazine article (think New Yorker style). Occasionally it seems that Winchester overuses foreshadowing and previewing to "fluff" the work up into book length. At one point he mentions that the event he was going to talk about was the most important even in the 20th century. What he does talk about next is very interesting, but he offers no clue as to how, even in the context of the story, the event was "the most important event." Hyperbole like that is strewn throughout the book and does not need to be. This story is fascinating on its own.
A good light read. It is probably an excellent introductory text for College students as it is more of a springboard to other topics than a complete in-depth exploration of anything on its own.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but short for the money
Review: In this rather short book, Simon Winchester writes about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, and specifically about two of the main forces behind it, Professor James Murray, editor of the dictionary project through much of its composition, and Dr. W.C. Minor, who submitted tens of thousands of early literary usages of words. Dr. Minor was an inmate at an institution for the criminally insane, having killed a man. Mr. Winchester is a master of the book about obscure, but important elements of history, having written a number in this genre. It is a fascinating story, and it is to be regretted that there isn't more of it. Although it is never explicitly stated, it would appear that records were hard to come by. Thus, the book (I read it in trade paperback) is 242 pages (including 21 pages of postscripts), with fair size margins, good size print, and each of the eleven chapters starting with a OED definition which occupies anywhere from half a page to a page and a half of the text. Then there are digressions-well, suffice it to say, that the kernel of the story is relatively small, when all is said and done. Undoubtedly, Winchester did the best he could with the material he could find. But the reader hoping for much material about Dr. Minor and how he made this mammoth contribution to the dictionary will be disappointed, since that portion occupies a relatively small part of the text. Somewhat recommended, but you might want to glance at it in a bookstore rather than buying it blind.
Rating:
Summary: A little book about a big book
Review: Part biography, part history, The Professor and the Madman is the tale of two of the pivotal individuals in the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Although the title implies a balance between the two people, this is more a story of the "Madman", W.C. Minor, a doctor beset by mental illness, confined for life after murdering a man during one of his more paranoid episodes. Minor gets a chance to find some personal redemption by his vast contributions to the OED. His unique approach to research, along with his involuntarily large amount of free time, made his the single largest contributor to the OED. Murray (the "Professor"), the editor of the OED during a large portion of its creation, corresponded with Minor and was a huge force in maintaining the OED's existence during its early years. This is a book about genius. Winchester draws a lot of parallels between the lives of Murray and Minor and shows how the gift of genius can be both a blessing and a curse and can lead to triumph or tragedy. Well written and a delight to read (its only real weakness is the lack of an index), this book is definitely worth the time to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and Accessible
Review: Being a dictionary enthusiast, especially of the OED, I was excited to come across this book. It reads quickly, and has a wealth of factual information and also some fun speculation. The author uses lots of words which are themselves fun to look up, but also has OED references printed right in. I suggest that any fan of the OED read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Triumph through tragedy
Review: While the title and subtitle might grab one's attention, the fact that this book is about the compiling of the Oxford English Dictionary might seem like a dry topic. However, Simon Winchester's book is an extremely well-written and researched portrayal of little-known history. "The Professor and the Madman" is an engaging read that draws its readers into the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and therefore into a time when dictionaries were scarce - a fact that is unfathomable today. Winchester begins his tale by setting up the "madman" character, Dr. W.C. Minor, an American in London, who winds up in an asylum for committing murder. He then transfers to set up the character of Professor James Murray, the man who would be chief editor of the dictionary's progress for several decades. The narrative alternates between these two men's lives, until they finally meet through the work of compiling the millions of words that make up the English language. Dr. Minor, although insane, contributed largely to the formation of the dictionary - a labor of love, as it turns out, for both men. Their stories are interspersed with the history of certain words and the attempts at previous dictionaries, all of which set out to record the majesty of the English language. Winchester's portrayal of these two men and the dictionary that consumed much of their life is fascinating. As I mentioned earlier, it seems strange to think that a book about a dictionary wouldn't be dry; yet Winchester tells this extraordinary tale with intelligence, wit, and tenderness which captures the tragedy of Dr. Minor's confined life. As well as recounting Minor's impeccable and invaluable work for the dictionary, he recounts the struggles that haunted Minor throughout his imprisonment, and indeed his life. Winchester's book is a true testament to the power of words, as well as the ever-mysterious workings of the human mind.
Rating:
Summary: Rollicking history
Review: Winchester has a marvellous knack of being able to bring to life rollicking stories from the past, which in other hands may appear dry and boring. The plot cracks along, making this a fast (and informative) read. If you like this, I also recommend "The Map That Changed the World", also by Simon Winchester.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Facet of History
Review: The Professor and the Madman contains a small, fascinating facet of history. It explores the 70 year effort to create the Oxford English Dictionary, but focuses on the story of two men in particular. Dr. Murray, the first editor to make any significant progress on the OED, and Dr. Minor, a prolific contributor to the effort. The drama comes from the fact that Dr. Minor was a murderer and long-term inmate in a mental institution. The OED is not a dictionary like the one you will find on your shelf. Each letter has its own volume and each word entry has several supporting quotations to demonstrate the proper usage. Dr. Murray broadcast a wide plea for volunteers to supply appropriate quotations from literature. Dr. Minor provided a consistent stream of high quality contributions. The stories behind these two men humanize what could otherwise be a dry recital of facts and figures. The author delves into the tragic events that unfold in Dr. Minor's life as well as detailing the struggles of Dr. Murray to organize such an immense undertaking. There is enough history to satisfy history buffs, but also enough side stories to entertain the casual reader. The writing style is somewhat formal, but not so stilted as to be difficult to read. Simon Winchester now has another book out about the Oxford English Dictionary: The Meaning of Everything. If you are interested in a broader view of the history of the OED instead of focusing on the story of Dr. Murray and Minor, then that might be a better choice.
Rating: 
Summary: Uh, okay...
Review: When I saw Simon Winchester's name on the cover, I expected great things. I'm still waiting... When one picks up this book, one expects a story about the two men involved in the making of the Oxford Dictionary. One expects that because two men are in the title, two men will be the primary subject of the book. Yet the men are in the book only sporadically. What could have been an intriguing story of how two men of unequal status came together to form the world's most comprehensive dictionary turns into a fact-fest.
Simon Winchester does indeed get the facts straight. He tells exactly how the making of the dictionary came to be. He tells facts. But he doesn't show us exactly why we should care. His grammatically correct albeit at times pompous prose had me putting the book down several times. Yet the fact that I picked it up again shows that the book does indeed have merit. My objection is that the story promised isn't the story that's delivered. I also object to feeling talked down to and feeling as though once again, I'm forced to read a story about the superiority of the British empire. The tale did have some humorous moments in a way only British wit can make you smile, and the "real" story is intriguing enough. It's just not what I bargained for.
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