The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

Or "Startin' the Year Off Right!"

A review on the back cover of The Professor and the Madman boasts "the linguistic detective story of the decade." Now that is a hilarious phrase. How many linguistic detective stories was it competing against that decade? Or, more to the point, how many linguistic detective stories are there at all? I had to laugh. But let's be honest here: a LINGUISTIC DETECTIVE STORY?! If that isn't my idea of heaven, I just don't know what is.

The Professor and the Madman (subtitle: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary) is the gripping story of the relationship between Dr. James Murray, one of the chief editors of the OED, and Dr. William Chester Minor, one of the dictionary's chief contributors. Oh, and Minor was also clinically insane and spent nearly 40 years of his life locked up in Broadmoor Asylum, sending quotations to the OED without the recipients knowing his situation.

It's more wonderful than you can even imagine. Not only is it a fasicnating story, elegantly told, but the insights into the surrounding history are also equally marvelous. Winchester touches on the techniques used to compile the OED, our changing views of mental health issues, a healthy dose of lexicology, you name it. As Winchester writes it, the Murray/Minor story is a vehicle to illuminate an entire era, in addition to being the chief point of focus.

Really. This book was fantastic. I know we have some Lost City of Z and Devil in the White City fans on here; I urge you guys in particular to check this one out.