The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary

Rating:
Summary: Extremely positive.
Review: In an era when the best-seller lists are littered with celebrity biographies and useless self-help titles, it's refreshing indeed that such a fascinating and extraordinarily well-written book could hold strong on the NYTimes bestseller list for more than six months. Congratulations to Mr. Winchester---he's created a true masterpiece which won't soon be forgotten.

Rating:
Summary: Poor writing.
Review: Good history, fair story and really bad writing

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful page turner book
Review: What else can I add to what has already been said. I read this book in two days, it is entretaining, informative and very interesting.I like the book because it has drama, suspense. Prior to reading this book I did not know anything about the Oxford English Diccionary and how it came about. I never thought that a story about putting together a diccionary could be this interesting. In addition, and although I have read plenty about the American Civil War, the brief description of the battle of the Wilderness by this author is stunning.

Rating:
Summary: Slow, but good
Review: I'll admit that this is a slow read; however, I was interested in how the OED was compiled and in the story of Murry and Minor, so I trudged on through. The book is full of fascinating information and worth the persistence it may require. Could it have handled differently, thus making it a snappier read? Of course. In taking the book as it is, though, I still liked it and was pleased to have stayed the course.

Rating:
Summary: Not for anyone who actually uses the OED!
Review: The story is fascinating, but the author manages to disappoint on nearly every page. For some reason, Mr. Winchester chose a particularly condescending tone for a book one might think would appeal to people with enough intellectual firepower to make it through without having their hands held. Do we need both a definition of "bedlam," and then a repetition of the same information within the chapter? And if you're the kind of reader who uses the OED, aren't the odds pretty good that you know where the word came from in the first place? The story would have made a much better New Yorker article than a full length book, and I can only hope the New Yorker would have found an author to do the tale justice.

Rating:
Summary: Overrated and boring
Review: Another talentless writer lands on the bestseller list due to good publicity. The subtitle on this book is completely misleading---murder had nothing to do with the OED. Winchester describes the history of the dictionary ad nauseum. What could've been an interesting ten-page article is padded into a deadly boring 250-page book, with little interaction between the title characters. And, there's a particularly gruesome scene near the end. Don't waste your time or your money!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting story, terrible book
Review: While the central story of W.C. Minor and the OED is an interesting one, it is poorly served by this volume, one of the worst-written books I can remember reading in recent years. Mr. Winchester's ineptitude is both large and small scale, and one wonders whether an editor ever gave the book more than a cursory glance.

Rating:
Summary: Stick with the dictionary
Review: It's amazing how a book so short on a subject so interesting could be so tedious. The writing is pretentious and verbose. The most interesting parts of the book are the definitions excerpted from the OED. Whence arises the question, Why bother with this turgid little tome when you can read the OED itself?

Rating:
Summary: A very rewarding surprise
Review: If you love language; if you love the precision of words, you will love the tale this book tells. Unlike many, who in reviewing the book were critical of the type,layout, melodramatic cadence of the author; I found, these elements enhanced the telling of the tale.And it's a much less physical challange to read in bed then say, "A Man in Full".

Rating:
Summary: An engrossing look at madness and lexicography
Review: I saw Simon Winchester discussing his work on C-SPAN's Book Notes, and found the story (and the story telling) too interesting to pass. The book details the lives of two men in vastly different circumstances who chance upon each other through the work surrounding the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. While many have criticized Winchester's style of jumping from one life to the other, I find that it complimented the subject matter quite nicely. That he often offers brief diversions on various background subjects (including lexicography), is another enhancement of the book. Yes, he is somewhat academic, but he tells the story beautifully.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who has a love of words.