kontoniemi

The Professor and the Madman tells the story of how the Oxford English Dictionary came to be, and especially follows two of its main contributors: The professor, James Murray, and the madman, Dr. William Chester Minor. I enjoyed the whole history, but I found the exploration of WC Minor's madness especially interesting. I've got a "mad" person in my life, and I found that Minor's experiences somewhat parallel the experiences of my relation. Not sure if I mentioned how much I liked his style in my review of his book, Krakatoa, but since this is the second book I've read that he's written: Its confirmed! And I'm gleefully waving the "Simon Winchester Rocks" flag! I love how he takes what can be a very boring and linear history, then weaves a web around it by finding all these other little threads of story, legend and biography to follow that all come together to create an intricate, symmetrical, meaningful and complete book. I really appreciated the postscript of this book and how it explained the dedication in Winchester's wonderful style. He could have just said, "I dedicated this book to G.M. because...," but instead he came at the explanation like a slow hug: A little unsure of what's happening at the beginning, but ultimately fulfilling. This audiobook is well read by David Case. I had to select the version read by the author himself in Goodreads, because they don't have the Case version, which is ISBN 0736651608. Case also sounds like how I would imagine Simon Winchester would sound, so that's an added bonus. He does a few accents to help illustrate the different people in the book and gives more than just a flat reading. This is a library edition of the audiobook, which may be why it seemed geared towards the visually impaired because the reader reads the entire dust jacket. Most of the audiobook productions I've listening to are catered to people like me, who are listening in their car and have abandoned the book cover for the convenience. I just really want to read every single one of Simon Winchester's books! I've learned so much, not just about the main topic of the book, but so much more about the world and different people in it. I recommend this to anyone obsessed with words, etymology, lexicography, or interested in the early diagnoses of dementia. Addendum November 18: I got ahold of the other audiobook version by Harper Collins that is read by the author. I only re-listened to the endnotes, but I enjoyed Winchester himself reading that wonderful postscript and his acknowledgements. There is also included an interesting conversation between Winchester and John Simpson about writing the book and the OED. I highly recommend this version if you have a choice.

2023-01-24 22:27