The compilation of the OxfordEnglish Dictionary was one of the most ambitious and challenging language projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the vast over-seeing committee, led by professor James Murray, discovered that more than 10,000 definitions had been submitted by one man, Dr. W. C. Minor. When the committee insisited on honoring him, the incredible truth came to light: Dr. Minor was really a brilliant but severly ill inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane. This is the fascinating, unforgettable true story of a man who became the most prolific contributor of the English language and to history itself.

Author: Simon Winchester
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Harper
Published: 08/26/1998
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.41h x 5.90w x 0.96d
ISBN: 9780060175962


Award: 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee - General Nonfiction


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/1998 pg. 959
Publishers Weekly 07/20/1998 pg. 196
Library Journal 08/01/1998 pg. 114
Booklist 08/01/1998 pg. 1941
New York Times 08/30/1998 pg. 12
School Library Journal 12/01/1998 pg. 36
LJ Best Books of Year 01/01/1999 pg. 57
School Library Journal 03/01/1999 pg. 233
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 01/01/1999 pg. 86
Library Journal 01/01/1999
Library Journal 08/01/1998

About the Author
Winchester, Simon: -

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.