the professor and the madman book review

The British government initially funded the project.The book faced all sorts of problems throughout its design: The book also covers all of the trials, tribulations, and challenges that arose during the creation of the OED. The two men eventually become friends, and most of the book explores their unlikely relationship and its impact on their lives. Minor was a former army surgeon who suffered from delusions and hallucinations, which led to him murdering an innocent man in the streets of London one morning.ĭespite being committed to an asylum, Minor contributed thousands of definitions and citations to the OED through correspondence with Murray. Minor was a major contributor who also happened to be committed to an insane asylum. Murray was the editor and leader of the project. The book primarily focuses on the tale and relationship of two unlikely characters involved in creating the OED: James Murray and Dr. The first version of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) It took 12 'tombstone' size books to capture all of the words they had recorded. It took them over 70 years to complete the first version (1857 - 1928).īy the end of the project, the team had defined 414,825 words with over 1.8MM supporting quotes used to illustrate different interpretations of each word.

Believe it or not, there was no real comprehensive dictionary of the English language until 1857, when a group of ambitious lexicographers decided to create one.Īs you might imagine, creating a book of every English word and every use of that word was, for lack of a better word, a tremendous amount of work. The Professor and the Madman tells the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

The two main characters and the story of the creation of the first real, comprehensive dictionary could have been really gripping, but somehow this just missed the mark.

It’s interesting, but it feels like it doesn’t really go anywhere satisfying.

The professor and the madman book review