Sunday, May 25, 2014

The Professor & the Madman by Simon Winchester

I'm sheepishly admitting that I've had the unabridged audio version of The Professor & the Madman by Simon Winchester since at least 2008... And, I FINALLY listened to this awesome nonfiction work over the course of three days! 

I've heard nothing but wonderful things about The Professor & the Madman by Simon Winchester from several people who've read it. All I can say is that The Professor & the Madman exceeded all of my expectations about it. can't believe that I waited this long to listen to this amazing book!! 

Here are some of the basics about the audio version of The Professor & the Madman. It is read by the author. The total listening time is approximately 7 hours and 20 minutes. The following is the plot summary from Audible:
Hidden within the rituals of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary is a fascinating mystery. Professor James Murray was the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War, was one of the most prolific contributors to the dictionary, sending thousands of neat, hand-written quotations from his home. After numerous refusals from Minor to visit his home in Oxford, Murray set out to find him. It was then that Murray would finally learn the truth about Minor - that, in addition to being a masterly wordsmith, he was also an insane murderer locked up in Broadmoor, England's harshest asylum for criminal lunatics. The Professor and the Madman is the unforgettable story of the madness and genius that contributed to one of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters.
The Professor & the Madman is very multi-dimensional read and is packed with numerous historical facts... We not only learn about the lives of Professor James Murray & William Chester Minor in quite a bit of detail, but we learn about the history of the Oxford English Dictionary and about the history of the modern dictionary as well. Plus, other historically related facts... A very fascinating book to read or listen to for sure. I also thought that Simon Winchester did a wonderful job of narrating his own book.

I'm giving The Professor & the Madman a 9 stars out of 10 stars rating.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

2 comments:

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving me a comment!! This is a wonderful book and I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it!

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