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Simon Winchester

The Professor and the Madman

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester is a story of the beginnings of the Oxford English Dictionary. James Murray took the job as editor of this work, but many others were involved in its creation. Winchester gives interesting details about several of these, such as Frederick Furnivall - thought to be the inspiration for Ratty in The Wind in the Willows. This book however, is primarily about one contributor, William Minor. Minor seemed like an ordinary contributor, but when Murray decided to visit him he was in for a surprise - Minor was an inmate of Broadmoor Asylum. Winchester has looked into this fascinating tale, separating out the myth from the reality, and the result is a highly enjoyable book.

Winchester examines the details of Minor's life, searching out reasons for his behaviour. Minor was a doctor during the American Civil War and was forced to inflict the punishment of branding on a defector. Being involved with an army punishing its own members within a country fighting itself clearly was harmful to such a sensitive person. During a visit to England he killed a man, and hence ended up in Broadmoor, where he had plenty of time to contribute to the new OED.

Each chapter starts with an entry from the dictionary. This is all very well, but some stretch to a page or more which tends to break up the flow of the book. I felt that this was a problem when several stories were being interleaved, which is otherwise very skillfully done.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 288 pages
ISBN: 0060839783
Salesrank: 11284
Weight:0.2 lbs

Published: 2005 Harper Perennial

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Paperback 288 pages
ISBN: 0060839783
Salesrank: 390767
Weight:0.2 lbs

Published: 2005 Harper Perennial

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 288 pages
ISBN: 0060839783
Salesrank: 53832
Weight:0.2 lbs

Published: 2005 Harper Perennial

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Product Description
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.

Product Description

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.

Monique's Book Corner *****
CD in excellent condition. Story is awesome. Time of delivery A+. Thank you.

Monique's Book Corner *****

CD in excellent condition. Story is awesome. Time of delivery A+. Thank you.

Very Interesting and well researched ***
This book is excellent for any word lover, but is a bit stilted and detailed. It was very clever how the author put a page from the dictionary as the beginning of each chapter and the subject of that chapter dealt with the word. From page 220..."The total length of type--all hand-set, for the books were done by letterpress, still discernible in the delicately impressed feel of the inked-on paper--is 178 miles, the distance between London and the outskirts of Manchester." Dr. Minor, the madman, was an interesting character and the perfect person to "write" the English Oxford Dictionary...the professor, (Professor Murray) was perfect as well. You feel sorry for Dr. Minor in his circumstances, but rejoice at what he did. His death and burial are described as this: From Page 219..."Dr. William Minor, who was among the greatest of contributors to the finest dictionary in all the English language, died forgotten in obscurity, and is buried beside a slum." It isn't of high interest, but keeps you reading because of the history. I was wavering between a 2 and a 3 but am going with a 3/5 rating.

Very Interesting and well researched ***

This book is excellent for any word lover, but is a bit stilted and detailed.

It was very clever how the author put a page from the dictionary as the beginning of each chapter and the subject of that chapter dealt with the word.

From page 220..."The total length of type--all hand-set, for the books were done by letterpress, still discernible in the delicately impressed feel of the inked-on paper--is 178 miles, the distance between London and the outskirts of Manchester."

Dr. Minor, the madman, was an interesting character and the perfect person to "write" the English Oxford Dictionary...the professor, (Professor Murray) was perfect as well. You feel sorry for Dr. Minor in his circumstances, but rejoice at what he did.

His death and burial are described as this: From Page 219..."Dr. William Minor, who was among the greatest of contributors to the finest dictionary in all the English language, died forgotten in obscurity, and is buried beside a slum."

It isn't of high interest, but keeps you reading because of the history.

I was wavering between a 2 and a 3 but am going with a 3/5 rating.

Excellent tale *****
This book was given to me to read by someone else and just sat on my shelf for ages because it didn't feel that appealing. What a surprise when I actually read it. It is a fascinating tale of how the Oxford English Dictionary came into being. Historical, educational, based on fact, and thoroughly entertaining.

Excellent tale *****

This book was given to me to read by someone else and just sat on my shelf for ages because it didn't feel that appealing. What a surprise when I actually read it. It is a fascinating tale of how the Oxford English Dictionary came into being. Historical, educational, based on fact, and thoroughly entertaining.

Brings the making of the OED to life ****
Winchester definitely knows how to tell a story. His account of the unusual relationship between James Murray, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and William Chester Minor, the American-born "madman" of the title, is unforgettable. He understands the incredible hubris of Victorian England -- its belief that Englishmen, their empire, and their language were superior and were destined to control the world -- and also the irony that men acting under these chauvinist beliefs made remarkable contributions to civilization. The OED was one of those works, and Minor, the former Civil War surgeon who was confined to an insane asylum, was the gifted amateur who contributed thousands of entries to the pioneering dictionary. I highly recommend this book. My only hesitation relates to Winchester's rather cavalier speculation about the origins of Minor's mental illness. Although he appropriately cites contemporary psychiatric theory in the later part of his book, some of the connections that he makes between Minor's experiences and his debilitating illness are hard to accept.

Brings the making of the OED to life ****

Winchester definitely knows how to tell a story. His account of the unusual relationship between James Murray, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and William Chester Minor, the American-born "madman" of the title, is unforgettable. He understands the incredible hubris of Victorian England -- its belief that Englishmen, their empire, and their language were superior and were destined to control the world -- and also the irony that men acting under these chauvinist beliefs made remarkable contributions to civilization. The OED was one of those works, and Minor, the former Civil War surgeon who was confined to an insane asylum, was the gifted amateur who contributed thousands of entries to the pioneering dictionary.

I highly recommend this book. My only hesitation relates to Winchester's rather cavalier speculation about the origins of Minor's mental illness. Although he appropriately cites contemporary psychiatric theory in the later part of his book, some of the connections that he makes between Minor's experiences and his debilitating illness are hard to accept.

professor and the madman *****
I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys some history stitched together with a little story telling. It is a page turner that is very intriguing, interesting and at times shocking. I have read a lot of books and wondered how they ever got published, this one however is a solid piece of story telling. Read it, you will be glad you did.

professor and the madman *****

I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys some history stitched together with a little story telling. It is a page turner that is very intriguing, interesting and at times shocking. I have read a lot of books and wondered how they ever got published, this one however is a solid piece of story telling. Read it, you will be glad you did.

Truth is stranger than fiction ****
An engaging, informative and amazing [truth is far stranger than fiction indeed!:] read on two people who contributed significantly to the first Oxford English Dictionary; the madman being one was committed to an asylum and basically found his purpose and joy in life in contributing to the OED. It was not only an education in the OED's production, particularly the fact volunteers were called upon as the editors realised they'd need all the help they could get, but also a fascinating look at how this dictionary came about. The sad tale of the madman [a once-doctor:] only heightened the feelings of a tragedy unfolding for him, as well as the treatment such 'insane' people found themselves subject to; though there was much kindness from unexpected sources also. I found the reading a bit forced at times, but Simon Winchester knows how to write a good tale, and his in-depth research shines through, so I shall look for more books by him; and more books on the OED which is one fascinating achievement.

Truth is stranger than fiction ****

An engaging, informative and amazing [truth is far stranger than fiction indeed!:] read on two people who contributed significantly to the first Oxford English Dictionary; the madman being one was committed to an asylum and basically found his purpose and joy in life in contributing to the OED.

It was not only an education in the OED's production, particularly the fact volunteers were called upon as the editors realised they'd need all the help they could get, but also a fascinating look at how this dictionary came about. The sad tale of the madman [a once-doctor:] only heightened the feelings of a tragedy unfolding for him, as well as the treatment such 'insane' people found themselves subject to; though there was much kindness from unexpected sources also.

I found the reading a bit forced at times, but Simon Winchester knows how to write a good tale, and his in-depth research shines through, so I shall look for more books by him; and more books on the OED which is one fascinating achievement.

When you think, you read it all something new pops up. *****
The book is well balanced between the history of the OED and the life and times of Dr. William Minor, (a major contributor). Simon Winchester can hold back all the good stuff and disperse it throughout his writing. So just when you think you read it all, some new fact or weird quirk shows up. Interspersed with the story are relevant definitions, as they would appear in the OED. His description of Broadmoor makes you want to sign up on the waiting list.

When you think, you read it all something new pops up. *****

The book is well balanced between the history of the OED and the life and times of Dr. William Minor, (a major contributor).

Simon Winchester can hold back all the good stuff and disperse it throughout his writing. So just when you think you read it all, some new fact or weird quirk shows up. Interspersed with the story are relevant definitions, as they would appear in the OED. His description of Broadmoor makes you want to sign up on the waiting list.

A 200+ page magazine article **
An interesting story, but not so interesting that it should fill a 200 page book. The book doesn't seem to flow at all and there are leaps of supposition (did he go mad because of the witnessing of the field punishment?, did he have a relationship with the murder victims widow?)that detract from the books value. The title makes you think there would be some sort of connection between the madman and the professor - there isn't, the professor is the editor, the madman sends in quotations. They meet occasionally, that's it! It is a story of two seperate people that rarely affect each other. I didn't enjoy this book and wouldn't recommend it - unless the thought of writing a dictionary excites you?

A 200+ page magazine article **

An interesting story, but not so interesting that it should fill a 200 page book. The book doesn't seem to flow at all and there are leaps of supposition (did he go mad because of the witnessing of the field punishment?, did he have a relationship with the murder victims widow?)that detract from the books value. The title makes you think there would be some sort of connection between the madman and the professor - there isn't, the professor is the editor, the madman sends in quotations. They meet occasionally, that's it! It is a story of two seperate people that rarely affect each other.

I didn't enjoy this book and wouldn't recommend it - unless the thought of writing a dictionary excites you?

Interesting, but drones on! ***
This book isn't bad, but I found it hard to read. Granted this could be because it is written in American English, so the style of description doesn't suit me, but the author just drones on and on. Not content to use a phrase such as 'he walked through the train station', you are more likely to find 'he walked through the ornate train station of sturdy buttressed peaks which were not at the time so uncommon, and yet reminiscent of the great exhibition in the way they towered through the sky and reminded one of the reminiscent......' and on and on. Although the background to why the dictionary was conceived is interesting, the details of Prof what's his name's wife's friend from childhood who has nothing to do with this story isn't. What is worse in this book is how you are lead to believe that there will be this dramatic and exciting meeting, the collision of two worlds, yet you are sadely not to get one. I read this book because it may serve as a good anacdote with my research into volunteer generated information, yet I will not re-read it, and probably not recomend it to a friend. 3 stars as the base story is good, but the writing is appauling. If you want a great historical story from this time, I STRONGLY recommend The Ghost Map: A Street, an Epidemic and the Hidden Power of Urban Networks

Interesting, but drones on! ***

This book isn't bad, but I found it hard to read. Granted this could be because it is written in American English, so the style of description doesn't suit me, but the author just drones on and on. Not content to use a phrase such as 'he walked through the train station', you are more likely to find 'he walked through the ornate train station of sturdy buttressed peaks which were not at the time so uncommon, and yet reminiscent of the great exhibition in the way they towered through the sky and reminded one of the reminiscent......' and on and on. Although the background to why the dictionary was conceived is interesting, the details of Prof what's his name's wife's friend from childhood who has nothing to do with this story isn't. What is worse in this book is how you are lead to believe that there will be this dramatic and exciting meeting, the collision of two worlds, yet you are sadely not to get one. I read this book because it may serve as a good anacdote with my research into volunteer generated information, yet I will not re-read it, and probably not recomend it to a friend. 3 stars as the base story is good, but the writing is appauling. If you want a great historical story from this time, I STRONGLY recommend The Ghost Map: A Street, an Epidemic and the Hidden Power of Urban Networks

Sensationalized Version of a Gripping History ****
The Professor and the Madman is the yellow journalism version of the history of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Sir James Murray, Dr. William Chester Minor, the treatment of the criminally insane during the Victorian period. I was particularly offended by the overly graphic details of Dr. Minor's self-mutilation (if you don't have a strong stomach, skip that section) and playing up of the fictionalized (and often repeated as fact) version of how Sir James and Dr. Minor first met. If the story weren't so interesting, I would encourage you to avoid the book. Writing the first edition of the OED took 70 years and employed an unusual organizational method that has since become popular for monumental knowledge tasks -- relying on volunteers to do the bulk of the work of finding quotations that use each word in different ways over time. As someone who has always admired the OED, I enjoyed learning more about the process involved in its development. Unfortunately, that material is scattered throughout the book rather than concentrated where you can find it for a brief read through. The examples are good, however, if the material is needlessly diluted. Thinking about that monumental effort will give you just the right foundation for appreciating how mental illness can affect parts of one's faculties while leaving others undisturbed, as the paranoid Dr. Minor employed his extensive free time in the Broadmoor Asylum for Criminally Insane and personal wealth to become of the most organized and helpful contributors to the OED. Dr. Minor's story is the actual focus of the book. Unless you are quite interested in ironies, mental illness, and how the Victorians treated the criminally insane, you will probably find this book has more of Dr. Minor than you really care to know. It's a tragic story, but not one that I would have sought to read if the OED development process material hadn't been in the book. As background for that comment, you should know that I have a strong interest in criminal insanity and wrote my law school thesis on the subject. The book tells its story to make you feel the pain of being Dr. Minor quite well, but The Madman and the Professor won't advance your knowledge of mental illness or legal concepts of responsibility very much. I was attracted to this book in part due to my work in leading the 400 Year Project, seeking ways to make improvements in everyone's lives at 20 times the normal rate between 2015 and 2035. I came away impressed that just a few people can make a remarkable contribution to an all-but-impossible project. I will redouble my efforts to locate such people for the 400 Year Project. Tackle the impossible to find out what you can really do!

Sensationalized Version of a Gripping History ****

The Professor and the Madman is the yellow journalism version of the history of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), Sir James Murray, Dr. William Chester Minor, the treatment of the criminally insane during the Victorian period. I was particularly offended by the overly graphic details of Dr. Minor's self-mutilation (if you don't have a strong stomach, skip that section) and playing up of the fictionalized (and often repeated as fact) version of how Sir James and Dr. Minor first met. If the story weren't so interesting, I would encourage you to avoid the book.

Writing the first edition of the OED took 70 years and employed an unusual organizational method that has since become popular for monumental knowledge tasks -- relying on volunteers to do the bulk of the work of finding quotations that use each word in different ways over time. As someone who has always admired the OED, I enjoyed learning more about the process involved in its development. Unfortunately, that material is scattered throughout the book rather than concentrated where you can find it for a brief read through. The examples are good, however, if the material is needlessly diluted.

Thinking about that monumental effort will give you just the right foundation for appreciating how mental illness can affect parts of one's faculties while leaving others undisturbed, as the paranoid Dr. Minor employed his extensive free time in the Broadmoor Asylum for Criminally Insane and personal wealth to become of the most organized and helpful contributors to the OED.

Dr. Minor's story is the actual focus of the book. Unless you are quite interested in ironies, mental illness, and how the Victorians treated the criminally insane, you will probably find this book has more of Dr. Minor than you really care to know. It's a tragic story, but not one that I would have sought to read if the OED development process material hadn't been in the book. As background for that comment, you should know that I have a strong interest in criminal insanity and wrote my law school thesis on the subject. The book tells its story to make you feel the pain of being Dr. Minor quite well, but The Madman and the Professor won't advance your knowledge of mental illness or legal concepts of responsibility very much.

I was attracted to this book in part due to my work in leading the 400 Year Project, seeking ways to make improvements in everyone's lives at 20 times the normal rate between 2015 and 2035. I came away impressed that just a few people can make a remarkable contribution to an all-but-impossible project. I will redouble my efforts to locate such people for the 400 Year Project.

Tackle the impossible to find out what you can really do!

The Genius Behind the Modern Dictionary *****
Here is another one of those great Winchester-style historical stories that proves that improbable ideas often happen when obsessively brilliant people come together on a mission to change the world around them. In this particular work, Simon Winchester, a prominent British biographer, provides a very colorful description of what one of those unlikely ideas was - the compilation of the modern Oxford dictionary - and who the cast of illustrious movers and shakers(the Group of 40) was that made it happen. Up until the mid-1800s, work on a comprehensive English dictionary had gone nowehere. It was either too big a task for the resources at hand or not lucrative enough to attract the big publishers of the day. This story is a compilation of the adventurous, the infamous, the heroic, and the downright bizarre. For this project to happen, certain factors had to make their presence felt: the sudden expansion of the English language through the rapid growth of the British Empire and the personal passion of gifted people to see it through. On this second score, how would anyone in their right mind ever conceive of a medical doctor(Minor) doing a life sentence at Bradmoor Asylum for murder linking up with a linguistics professor(Murray) to spearhead the development of the world's most exhaustive and authoritative lexicon. Of the two, it is Dr. Minor, the certified lunatic, who comes in for the most attention because his path to fame was definitely the one `least traveled'. The reader gets to follow this polymathic character through the life-changing horrors of the American Civil War, his subsquent vagabond travels around England, before his eventual run-in with the law in the back streets of London. It is only when he was locked up in a home for the mentally insane did his true academic brilliance surface. Minor was a surgeon who had a passion for saving lives but, also, as an amateur philologist, had a passion for the study of literature and language. This book shares a lot about how the original Oxford dictionary was technically contrived and why it comes to us today as one of the ultimate authorities on the origin and use of English as a global language. An all-round fine read.

The Genius Behind the Modern Dictionary *****

Here is another one of those great Winchester-style historical stories that proves that improbable ideas often happen when obsessively brilliant people come together on a mission to change the world around them. In this particular work, Simon Winchester, a prominent British biographer, provides a very colorful description of what one of those unlikely ideas was - the compilation of the modern Oxford dictionary - and who the cast of illustrious movers and shakers(the Group of 40) was that made it happen. Up until the mid-1800s, work on a comprehensive English dictionary had gone nowehere. It was either too big a task for the resources at hand or not lucrative enough to attract the big publishers of the day. This story is a compilation of the adventurous, the infamous, the heroic, and the downright bizarre. For this project to happen, certain factors had to make their presence felt: the sudden expansion of the English language through the rapid growth of the British Empire and the personal passion of gifted people to see it through. On this second score, how would anyone in their right mind ever conceive of a medical doctor(Minor) doing a life sentence at Bradmoor Asylum for murder linking up with a linguistics professor(Murray) to spearhead the development of the world's most exhaustive and authoritative lexicon. Of the two, it is Dr. Minor, the certified lunatic, who comes in for the most attention because his path to fame was definitely the one `least traveled'. The reader gets to follow this polymathic character through the life-changing horrors of the American Civil War, his subsquent vagabond travels around England, before his eventual run-in with the law in the back streets of London. It is only when he was locked up in a home for the mentally insane did his true academic brilliance surface. Minor was a surgeon who had a passion for saving lives but, also, as an amateur philologist, had a passion for the study of literature and language. This book shares a lot about how the original Oxford dictionary was technically contrived and why it comes to us today as one of the ultimate authorities on the origin and use of English as a global language. An all-round fine read.

When you think you read it all something new pops up. *****
The book is well balanced between the history of the OED and the life and times of Dr. William Minor, (a major contributor). Simon Winchester can hold back all the good stuff and disperse it throughout his writing. So just when you think you read it all, some new fact or weird quirk shows up. Interspersed with the story are relevant definitions, as they would appear in the OED. His description of Broadmoor makes you want to sign up on the waiting list.

When you think you read it all something new pops up. *****

interesting story ****
This is a marvelous book about the Professor, James Murray, the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Madman, Dr. William C. Minor, one of the Dictionary's most prolific contributors, despite his incarceration in an asylum for the criminally insane after committing a senseless murder provoked by his delusions. The book tells the stories of each of these protagonists as well as the making of the OED itself, and nicely wraps up all of the connections, even to the point of showing what happened to the murdered man's family (whose widow visited Minor regularly for months).

interesting story ****

This is a marvelous book about the Professor, James Murray, the primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the Madman, Dr. William C. Minor, one of the Dictionary's most prolific contributors, despite his incarceration in an asylum for the criminally insane after committing a senseless murder provoked by his delusions. The book tells the stories of each of these protagonists as well as the making of the OED itself, and nicely wraps up all of the connections, even to the point of showing what happened to the murdered man's family (whose widow visited Minor regularly
for months).

Quick read for philologists, historians, and others. ***
I like reading the occasional historical fact (rather than historical fiction) "novelette," and The Professor and the Madman was definitely easy to get through. One can learn much from books like this, particularly the way normal people lived their day-to-day lives in a certain time and place. A few things I liked about this book: 1. One will assuredly learn a thing or two about the English language, in reading it. You will learn some obsolete words, the origin of some words, and just get a refresher of other, more common words. Each chapter begins with a dictionary entry of a particular word, some very normal words, some more exotic words. 2. The parallel lives of the two main characters are interesting to follow. One feels real emotions for both. There are a few shocking moments in the book, which stand out quite a bit in front of the otherwise fairly tame narrative. 3. I grew up with the Oxford English Dictionary, and I always wondered how they compiled all the words. It was great learning about how they did that. 4. The book covers an array of themes and topics, and a fairly diverse geography. Mental illness, civil war, sexual propriety, crime and punishment, one can learn a little bit about a lot of issues in the reading of Simon Winchester's book. I wouldn't recommend the book to just anyone, though. It can be kind of slow, and sometimes one simply grows tired of bouncing back and forth between the two main characters. It is also fairly short; one sort of wishes for more detail on certain events. In some places, the book reads like a crime/detective novel from the 19th century, in others it is more like a biography. It sort of skips around from one style to the next, almost as if different parts were written at very different times by an author in very different states of mind. Overall, though, this book is a nice, quick read, a good plot, and you will learn a thing or two from it.

Quick read for philologists, historians, and others. ***

I like reading the occasional historical fact (rather than historical fiction) "novelette," and The Professor and the Madman was definitely easy to get through. One can learn much from books like this, particularly the way normal people lived their day-to-day lives in a certain time and place.

A few things I liked about this book:

1. One will assuredly learn a thing or two about the English language, in reading it. You will learn some obsolete words, the origin of some words, and just get a refresher of other, more common words. Each chapter begins with a dictionary entry of a particular word, some very normal words, some more exotic words.

2. The parallel lives of the two main characters are interesting to follow. One feels real emotions for both. There are a few shocking moments in the book, which stand out quite a bit in front of the otherwise fairly tame narrative.

3. I grew up with the Oxford English Dictionary, and I always wondered how they compiled all the words. It was great learning about how they did that.

4. The book covers an array of themes and topics, and a fairly diverse geography. Mental illness, civil war, sexual propriety, crime and punishment, one can learn a little bit about a lot of issues in the reading of Simon Winchester's book.

I wouldn't recommend the book to just anyone, though. It can be kind of slow, and sometimes one simply grows tired of bouncing back and forth between the two main characters. It is also fairly short; one sort of wishes for more detail on certain events. In some places, the book reads like a crime/detective novel from the 19th century, in others it is more like a biography. It sort of skips around from one style to the next, almost as if different parts were written at very different times by an author in very different states of mind. Overall, though, this book is a nice, quick read, a good plot, and you will learn a thing or two from it.