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by Winchester, Simon | HC | VeryGood
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Condition:
Very good
“May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend ”... Read moreabout condition
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Item specifics

Condition
Very good
A book that does not look new and has been read but is in excellent condition. No obvious damage to the cover, with the dust jacket (if applicable) included for hard covers. No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, and no underlining/highlighting of text or writing in the margins. May be very minimal identifying marks on the inside cover. Very minimal wear and tear. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitionsopens in a new window or tab
Seller notes
“May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend ...
Binding
Hardcover
Book Title
The Professor and the Madman
Weight
0 lbs
Product Group
Book
IsTextBook
No
ISBN
0060175966

About this product

Product Identifiers

Publisher
HarperCollins
ISBN-10
0060175966
ISBN-13
9780060175962
eBay Product ID (ePID)
1055996

Product Key Features

Number of Pages
256 Pages
Language
English
Publication Name
Professor and the Madman : A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Publication Year
1998
Subject
Lexicography, United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877), General, Literary, Psychiatry / General, Historical, Linguistics / Etymology
Type
Textbook
Subject Area
Language Arts & Disciplines, Biography & Autobiography, Medical, History
Author
Simon Winchester
Format
Hardcover

Dimensions

Item Height
0.9 in
Item Weight
12 Oz
Item Length
8.2 in
Item Width
5.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended Audience
Trade
LCCN
98-010204
Reviews
"A brisk, gracefully executed work of popular intellectual history, a model of its kind." -- Washington Post "An extraordinary tale, and Simon Winchester could not have told it better. . . . [He] has written a splendid book." -- The Economist "Elegant and scrupulous." -- David Walton, New York Times Book Review "There is much truth to be drawn [from The Professor and the Madman] about Victorian pride, the relation between language and the world, and the fine line between sanity and madness." -- Wall Street Journal "Winchester combines a reporter's eye for detail with a historian's sense of scale. His writing is droll and eloquent." -- USA Today "One of the great strengths of this book is historical mise-en-scene, particularly for nineteenth-century America and England...[a] marvelous work of historical and philogical imagination." -- Linda Bridges, National Review "Remarkably readable, this chronicle of lexicography roams from the great dictionary itself to hidden nooks in the human psyche that sometimes house the motives for murder, the sources for sanity, and the blueprint for creativity." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred) "The Professor and the Madman...is the linguistic detective story of the decade.... Winchester does a superb job of historical research that should entice readers even more interested in deeds than words." -- William Safire, New York Times Magazine "Winchester's history of the OED is brisk and entertaining" -- Mark Rozzo, Washington Post Book World
TitleLeading
The
Dewey Edition
21
Dewey Decimal
423/.092
Synopsis
Mysterious (mist e - ries), a. f. L. myst rium Mysteryi ] ous. Cf. F. myst rieux.] 1. Full of or fraught with mystery; wrapt in mystery; hidden from human knowledge or understanding; impossible or difficult to explain, solve, or discover; of obscure origin, nature, or purpose. It is known as one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters. The creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857, took seventy years to complete, drew from tens of thousands of brilliant minds, and organized the sprawling language into 414,825 precise definitions. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story--a story of two remarkable men whose strange twenty-year relationship lies at the core of this historic undertaking. Professor James Murray, an astonishingly learned former schoolmaster and bank clerk, was the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon from New Haven, Connecticut, who had served in the Civil War, was one of thousands of contributors who submitted illustrative quotations of words to be used in the dictionary. But Minor was no ordinary contributor. He was remarkably prolific, sending thousands of neat, handwritten quotations from his home in the small village of Crowthorne, fifty miles from Oxford. On numerous occasions Murray invited Minor to visit Oxford and celebrate his work, but Murray's offer was regularly--and mysteriously--refused. Thus the two men, for two decades, maintained a close relationship only through correspondence. Finally, in 1896, after Minor had sent nearly ten thousand definitions to the dictionary but had still never traveled from his home, a puzzled Murray set out to visit him. It was then that Murray finally learned the truth about Minor--that, in addition to being a masterful wordsmith, Minor was also a murderer, clinically insane--and locked up in Broadmoor, England's harshest asylum for criminal lunatics. The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness and genius, and the incredible obsessions of two men at the heart of the Oxford English Dictionary and literary history. With riveting insight and detail, Simon Winchester crafts a fascinating glimpse into one man's tortured mind and his contribution to another man's magnificent dictionary., The compilation of the OxfordEnglish Dictionary was one of the most ambitious and challenging language projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the vast over-seeing committee, led by professor James Murray, discovered that more than 10,000 definitions had been submitted by one man, Dr. W. C. Minor. When the committee insisited on honoring him, the incredible truth came to light: Dr. Minor was really a brilliant but severly ill inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane. This is the fascinating, unforgettable true story of a man who became the most prolific contributor of the English language and to history itself.
LC Classification Number
PE1617.O94W56 1998

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4.6
14 product ratings
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  • by thepoetandthepen
    04 Feb, 2017Top favourable review

    The Professor & The Madman

    This book was a quick read and very enjoyable. I noticed it at a bookstore and it intrigued me, so I promptly looked online for a less expensive copy. Found it! Probably the best purchase I've ever made under $5. I love books, am always fascinated with words and language, and this story of the extraordinary men behind the making of the first complete dictionary makes a great read. It's amazing that it's true, and Winchester makes it so story-like rather than a fact dumping account– you gain insight and perspective into the lives these men lead- the story develops and takes you places, transports you- just as you would find in a story with fictional characters. I found it to be interesting the whole way through, compelling until the very end. The story is quite striking, odd, and perfectly ...

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: coasbooks

  • by bus7
    24 Jul, 2019

    Life is stranger than fiction.

    Well written, excellent editing and a phenomenal true story.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: worldofbooksusa

  • by rdale0
    21 Nov, 2018

    Interesting and informative, a good history lesson as well.

    From the Civil War to Oxford by unlikely contributors to our knowledge.

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: discover-books

  • by elenawonady
    11 Jun, 2017

    enjoyable book about dictionaries

    fascinating to listen to..as well as read

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned

  • by etherbunny19
    22 Apr, 2021

    Read the Book

    Far better than the movie!

    Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-ownedSold by: second.sale

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