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The Professor and the Madman, masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Average Customer Rating:

The Professor and the Madman

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It is an interesting book, explaining how the Oxford English Dictionary was put together by volunteers supplying definitions and quotes for every word in the English language. In the back of the book is a call for additional volunteers to work on keeping the dictionary current! The man who made the largest number of contributions was Captain William Chester Minor, late of the United States Army, whose residence at the time he was making contributions was Broadmoor Asylum for the criminally Insane, Crowthorne, Berkshire. He was committed to Broadmoor for the murder of George Merrett in February 1872. Captain Minor suffered from what today would be diagnosed as Schizophrenia - although his problem was not diagnosed until 18 November 1918 after the British government formally returned the aged Civil War captain to the United States Army. Interestingly, the author makes the statement that schizophrenia, then called dementia praecox, is early onset Alzheimer's, or at least it was so believed in 1918.

Supplement, Addendum, Prequel, Sequel, Corollary

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Though it was written before "The Meaning of Everything" it could easily serve as a chapter or appendix to the book. Winchester does a superb job of telling both the early history of the OED while at the same time setting down the 'odd' collaboration between Professor JAH Murray (of Oxford) and the Madman Dr. WC Minor (or the Broadmoor Lunatic Asylum). Their relationship was to span forty years and affect the OED in a way that no other relationship did. Minor (who was an American Doctor and Civil War Veteran) had come to England to "try and get his head straight" after the horrors he saw during the Civil War. While in England he murders an innocent man and is sent to the 'Lunatic Asylum' for the rest of his life. While there he gets involved with the creation of the OED by sending in slips that demarcate word meanings and usage. His work (voluntary) is so specific and exact that he is asked by Murray to 'find' citations for certain words and to also look for earlier usages and meanings. Murray finally meets Minor after seven years of correspondence an is amazed at the work this so called 'lunatic' has been able to send into the OED over a period of years. They never become what you would call 'fast friends' but do establish a corresponding association that is both respected and admired by all those who work on the OED. I listened to this book on CD and found Winchester's reading of his own book to heighten the enjoyment of it. Knowing when to put emphasis on the proper parts of the book to specifically call your attention to a passage or section, made the book thoroughly enjoyabale. Zeb Kantrowitz

Three-and-a-half stars, really.

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The first time that I had ever heard about the Oxford English Dictionary, I was a freshman at Bryn Mawr-- straight from the sticks. I had tested out of needing to take the freshman English classes, and had plunged straightaway into classes that were aimed at upper classman. While eventually that turned out to be fine, my very first class was with a peach of a gentleman who clearly found me an unlettered barbarian who should have been sent back to the freshman comp classes-- or even worse. I was not only an unlettered barbarian, but a *stubborn* unlettered barbarian and we fought about absolutely everything. A little bit over midway through the semester, he marked me down on a paper because I used the word "meld". He scribbled in the margin: "Not a word!" Furious, I went to the library and came back with a popular dictionary and I held the entry for "meld" under his nose during his office hours. He icily slammed the book shut and glared at me. "If it is not in the Oxford English Dictionary," he said, "it is not a word!" That began my lifelong love-hate relationship with the OED. At least with the idea of the OED. I've somehow never managed to acquire my own copy. (I keep telling B. that I'd love one for my birthday, but I'm pretty sure that he doesn't believe that I'm serious.) But still, The Professor and the Madman was kind of a natural for me. People have been recommending it to me ever since it appeared; I've had several offers to lend it to me (I don't borrow books); I've had it regularly suggested on Amazon. I finally picked up my own copy second-hand. And now, reader, I've finally read the book. And-- honestly-- it's a little bit anticlimactic. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice book. It's one of these new breed of nonfiction books that read mostly like magazine articles writ large. Winchester delivers a very good magazine article writ large. It is surely entertaining, very interesting, decently written and a good story. What else could you want? I would have *perhaps* wanted a little more about the history of the Dictionary and a little bit less about Minor. But this isn't a fair remark, as that was the subject of the book. But that would have added more substance, and if I have a criticism it is surely that the book is not very substantial. Know someone who loves words? This is probably an excellent gift. It's unlikely to be controversial, and they will probably get a kick out of it. Do not expect too much, and you will not be disappointed. (I really appreciated, by the way, that Winchester included a list of suggestions for further reading. I will definitely be following some of those up.)

Psychological thriller that can't be put down

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Absent the anti-Christian bias of his geological disaster books, Winchester writes a very good tale about a fascinating sidebar of history during the compilation of the OED. The madman was an American military surgeon (son of missionaries to Sri Lanka!) who served in the Union army during the Civil War, whose slow spiral to insanity culminated in the shooting of an innocent man in London 15 years later. The professor was the editor of the OED who corresponded with the madman for 20 years at the asylum outside London where he made a full-time career of volunteering word lists and quotes to the OED editorial team. How their histories shadowed and paths crossed, and how the OED came to be, make for a great story. The book was lavishly praised and worthily so, reading like a psychological thriller that can't be put down. I literally read through this in less than 24 hours in just a few sittings.

the madness of scholarship

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Many academics and scholars border on creative madness, take Kierkegaard and Nietzsche for example. This book is marvellous reading since the dull subject of dictionary making is enlivened by eccentric personalities and mental disturbance. It reveals how a dictionary as prestigious as the Oxford English Dictionary was put together. Any author who can make such a dry subject as exciting as a murder mystery deserves a good deal of credit and acclaim.