The pretext for this book is rather slight one of the significant volunteer contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary was, although an intelligent and educated man, also an inmate of an insane asylum, confined for a murder committed while in the throes of a schizophrenic paranoid delusion.
While, as a revelation, this fact may be less than earth-shattering, Winchester uses this story of the inmate, Dr. W.C. Minor, the man he killed, George Merrett, and the main editor of the OED, Dr. James Murray, as a vehicle for all kinds of interesting details he goes on quite a number of tangents, but theyre always immensely well-written and fascinating! Winchester isnt afraid to stray from dry, historical writing he definitely makes guesses, fleshes things out for colorful effect but his research is also obviously thoroughly done, and he also stops short of fictifying (ok, thats not a word, but I think it should be) his topic its always made clear when his scenarios are theoretical.
Id highly recommend this book not only for those interested in dictionaries and lexicography, but for anyone interested in Victorian England, the Civil War, treatment of the mentally ill, or any of a number of other topics...

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Really engaging - you'd never think that the creation of the Oxford English dictionary would have such crazy history, but reads like a really great detective novel, even though it's completely factual. Couldn't put it down, amazed by what I learned from reading it.

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An absolutely fascinating history mingling two stories: the making of the Oxford English Dictionary and one of its leading contributors, a brilliant, but insane American confined in a British asylum. Full of fascinating facts and quirky personalities, it reads more like a novel.

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This is a great story if you like murder books that incorporate a lot of history of the peoriod and also combines two very diffrent stories into one. I loved that this book teaches you such interesting history and teaches you about the great undertaking of the compiling of the first edition of the Oxford dictionary. If you love language you will love the passion it shows towards it and the part a man in the hospital for the criminally insane played a large roll in the compiling of quotes.Not a breezy read but a good one.

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This is a wonderful, and slightly twisted, book on the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. It's full of history and all sorts of interesting linguistic tidbits for other geeks like me.

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Fascinating and detailed account of the devotion thousands of word-lovers in the creation of the OED, the grand keeper of the English language, as told through the work and life of one contributor, imprisoned for life for murder. I've read it twice and will read it again.

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I really enjoyed reading this book. I knew nothing about the Oxford Dictionary, much less about the people involved in the making/writing of it. I am going to try and get some more of his books.

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This is the third book by Simon Winchester I have read so far and actually I believe my favorite. I found the subject matter very entertaining and was surprised by the amount of material that made up the overall story of an item so taken for granted in the present day. I liked the book on the Yangtze and was not very impressed by the book about William Smith but I thought this was a great read.

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Written in a style reminiscent of the era it speaks about, this book tells an intriguing tale, gives a lot of extra information, and intrigues you with words and their definitions.

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A fascinating story. When I selected it I had doubts. Then I read it and was very impressed by just about everything in it. It almost reads as romance of people involved in a 70 year project going through generations to great the greatest dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary. One would not think that writting a dictionary would be anything but the ultimate bore. Its not.

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As biographies are a collection of individuals and locations, I found Mr. Winchester's writing to be a perfect weaving of these elements. This little vloume contains so much information of the events, culture and restrictions imposed that one can hardly go away with out a greater appreciation for the fortitude of these particuar persons.

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This book lingered on my bookshelf for years because frankly, I was afraid it was going to be boring. I need not have worried; this book captured my attention and held it for all 242 pages and dare I say it: left me wanting more. The book is at its heart the story of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) but it's also a story about a murder, a civil war veteran who is psychotic, and a scholar who just needed some help in writing this huge book. The story covers about 80 or more years of history, both American and British, specifically as it relates to Oxford University. The author makes the story come alive and be interesting without being dull.

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I agree with Rachelle that it was sort of pieced together, but considering the Dictionary was put together over such a long period of time, the story is the piecing together in itself.

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