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Summary: A flawlessly told-tale
Review: One would think that a story about the making of a dictionary would be severely boring, but Winchester's in-depth research, fresh prose, and excellent description's of Murray and Minor kept me reading and reading. Very well-done.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting story, but boring at times
Review: I was fully looking forward to reading this title, but what I found was a well-researched and interesting plot, but a lack of riveting progression through the book. I believe there is nothing wrong with the substance itself, for I thought that was very intriguing. However, the style in which it was presented was somewhat boring. Thats not to say the story of the Professor and the Madman is boring, but only the presentation was a little on the dull side. Therefore, if you wish to learn of the backround of the OED and the two principal characters behind it, this title is very informative in that aspect.
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Summary: The surprise of the year
Review: I picked up this book at an airport quick-store, to pass time on a short flight. WAS I SURPRISED. A fabulous story with lots of smaller tales and factoids to educate AND entertain. I highly recommend it for anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be fooled
Review: Of course the OED itself is a masterpiece, and the book's cover photo is quite provocative. But the fascinating fact of Dr. Minor's contribution is not *nearly* enough to hang a book on. It shows. The "drama" is histrionic and manufactured,Winchester's self-indulgence is stomach turning (see the multi-page acknowledgments section), and everywhere is padding and fluff. Reading one review of the book is a more than adequate substitute for this disappointment.
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Summary: More than meets the eye
Review: A terrific and enlightening story, and a well-packaged education on lexicography and the history of the English (and language, for that matter). It made me think about other things as well, such as the motivations behind our contacts and friendships with others, about the ways our minds miraculously balance order and necessity with the pull of chaos, and about the centuries (nay, millennia) of embedded unconscious assumptions within every word we use and action we take. Not a major achievement in the "literary" sense, but very stimulating.
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Summary: oed history will not put u to sleep
Review: very interesting look at dictionary evolution..can u believe shakespeare didnt have access to a dictionary? the madman in this story was a great character..the making of the oed and the people involved is a riviting story;believe it or not..have fun looking up words in the oed
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Summary: Excellent audio book.
Review: We enjoyed listening to the audio book. A fascinating story about Dr. Minor and the creation of the OED. We did not learn enough about Professor Murray. Better a short shrift than a short ... The reviews before this one are very enlightening and entertaining. Most of the criticisms are fair but that does not mean the story is not worthwhile. I was very glad to know it and thought the author charming.
Rating:
Summary: Did Winchester's writing style make anyone else itch?
Review: The story of the Dr. Minor is interesting, and that of the making of the dictionary is fascinating. However, I found myself rolling my eyes at Winchester's stiff dramatizations, and at phrasing that vacillated between cheesiness and stuffiness. I also thought the writing was sometimes awkward when moving around in time and subject, causing some unnecessary repetition.
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Summary: O for a better writer!
Review: The author stretches material sufficient for a New Yorker article into an entire book, filling in the gaps with speculation. An example of this is the small section where the author speculates on whether Dr. Minor and the wife of his murdered victim engaged in an affair or thought about engaging in an affair and proposes this as a cause for Dr. Minor's self-mutilation, while admitting there exists no evidence to this effect. The material required better scholarship, writing and focus to truly make it come alive. This book is still an enjoyable and quick read, but does not give the material the treatment it deserves.
Rating:
Summary: The Surgeon of Crowthorne
Review: The British version is entitled "The Surgeon of Crowthorne". (We prefer something a bit less sensational!)It was a fascinating read for me, as a former Editorial Assistant on the OED Supplement. The only point of fact I would mention is that the second supplement was in four volumes - not four separate supplements as Winchester suggests. The original OED was written in a corrugated iron shed in Murray's garden. The second supplement was written in a terraced house in a quiet backstreet off Walton Street in Oxford, with only one typewriter in the building. Quotations came in from all sorts and conditions of persons. (One I remember was a label from a can of baked beans.) So maybe a contributor from a lunatic assylum isn't so surprising.
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