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The Professor and the Madman

a Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Aug 21, 2015wyenotgo rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
An extraordinary book, surely an example of truth being stranger than fiction. It centers upon the peculiar but astonishingly productive collaboration between a brilliant Oxford Don and an equally brilliant but clearly deranged former American army doctor. In its day, a project aimed at creating the world's first real, complete dictionary was surely an audacious undertaking and it clearly required the dedicated labors of many people, not just the two main protagonists of Winchester's book; but surely without both of them it never could have been accomplished. Fascinating, arcane, enlightening and thoroughly entertaining.