The Professor and the Madman

A detailed Summary of The Professor and the Madman

The Professor and the Madman, written by Simon Winchester, is a biography about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. Winchester, who is an author, journalist, broadcaster and foreign correspondent, has written for many magazines and newspapers distributed worldwide. In an interview between Winchester and a host of C-SPAN, Winchester was asked where the idea for the book came, he replies "Well, it came to me in a rather bizarre way. I was reading a book on lexicography in the bath one morning, as one does, I suppose, just before breakfast, and it was a book--a wonderful book called "Chasing The Sun" by a man called Jonathan Green. And it had a reference--it said, `Readers will be familiar with the extraordinary story of Dr. W.C. Minor, an American lunatic murderer, who was a prodigiously energetic contributor to the OED.' And I remember sitting up in the bath, Archimedeslike, dripping and saying, `Well, I know nothing about this.'" Winchester's main foundation for this book is to clarify the tale of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary

The formation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857 and took seventy years to finish. Tens of thousands of individuals organized the expansive language into 414,825 exact

I had my doubts about this particular book. I got this book, when the report was first assigned. I attempted to read, but found the first chapter dreadfully boring, and returned the book to the bookstore. I forgot about the report until I was reminded a week ago. I went to go and find a different book, but had no luck, so I bought the book again. I am glad that I did end up with this book. I enjoyed The Professor and the Madman immensely. I have no recollection of ever hearing about the authors of the Oxford English Dictionary. I told one of my friends about this book, and he asked if he could borrow it as soon as I finished using it for my report

A search for author information on Winchester produced this. http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/authorInfo.asp?authorCode=208118&userid=2UHBJHVHUL&mscssid=EB4B5PL8R3SM9LB4KXAN43GBAGP60U5C

Air date: November 8, 1998 on C-SPAN, and then transferred to the internet. www.booknotes.org/transcripts/50488.htm

Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the Madman. New York, N.Y. Harper Collins. 1998

Murray was shocked, but that didn't dissuade him from visiting Minor. Although Minor constantly complained about people molesting him while he slept, people breaking into his room at night, and his personal possessions being vandalized Murray ignored the strange comments and went on with his visits. Minor's stepbrother began writing appeals to the court, asking that his brother be allowed to transfer to a hospital in the United States. James Murray, who spent more than 40 ye

Some common words found in the essay are:
Minor Minor, Toni Morrison, English Dictionary, James Murray, Oxford Dictionary, WC Minor, Broadmoore Minor, William Minor, Minor American, Harper Collins, oxford english, english dictionary, oxford english dictionary, professor madman, wc minor, james murray, minor minor, george merrett,

Approximate Word count = 1036
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels