The Professor and the Madman

By: Simon Winchester

Narrated by: Simon Winchester

Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©1998 Simon Winchester (P)1999 HarperCollins Publishers Inc., All Rights Reserved, Harper Audio, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"The linguistic detective story of the decade." (New York Times Magazine)

If you liked Krakatoa, you'll probably enjoy this!

What did you love best about The Professor and the Madman?

Another fascinating Simon Winchester read. Love his voice, and love his writing. If you're a fan of neat, historical nonfiction, you'll probably really like this listen. Like 'The Devil in the White City'--but with a brisker pace and better eye for interesting detail rather than every detail. You won't be disappointed.

Crazy good.

I've been a big OED fan for years and this was a jolly good read. That's a talent, making an interesting story about dictionary writing.

A strange yet intriguing tale...

What did you love best about The Professor and the Madman?

Simply that it was unlike anything I ever read or really would think to read.

What other book might you compare The Professor and the Madman to and why?

I'd have to say, this is a pretty unique book. I can't compare it to anything else.

What about Simon Winchester’s performance did you like?

I always love it when the author read their own books. They usually give so much more emotion to their characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

the second half, yes!

Any additional comments?

I can honestly say when I started this book I thought it was boring. I was wondering why I even purchased it. But towards about the middle I was glued to it. Hang in there, its a good book, just dry in the beginning.

Enthralling

What a great story! I enjoyed this so much I immediately downloaded another book by the same author. I am a fiction girl in general, but this book made me want to delve into more history. Highly recommended.

Very interesting book!

Would you listen to The Professor and the Madman again? Why?

No, once was enough.

What other book might you compare The Professor and the Madman to and why?

None

What does Simon Winchester bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's a great narrator and brings life to the book.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

How.a madman played such an important role of creating this dictionary.

Any additional comments?

I really wasn't sure if I'd like this. Being interested in and loving dictionaries, I thought I'd try it. I'm so happy I did! Even if not interested in dictionaries, it's still a great read!

Fantastic Read

I loved every minute of this surprisingly captivating book. A great read from start to finish

Meandering; worth the ride

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. Early on it seems to deviate from the point, but it slowly brings it full circle. My expectations of the story this book would tell were a little different than what it developed, however in the end I am glad I choose this book.

Exhaustive

The interesting parts of The Professor and the Madman make up only about half of the book. The other half is a dry, exhaustive, and exhausting account of every detail in the lives and events that are even tangential to the main story. I'm surprised at all of the positive reviews. I must not be the right kind of audience.

Yet another OED History Story

I love the OED and stories about it. If you love the OED and its history, you should mildly enjoy this book.

This is another of the several histories about the creation of the OED. This one involves one of the many volunteer readers for the OED who was particularly excellent and also happened to be an institutionalized insane murderer.

This is a nicely written little history with interesting characterizations and an unusual (if a bit simplistic) story.
If you are not into the OED and its history there is a good likelihood you will find this boring.

I enjoyed the clear and engaged narration.

Immensely entertaining and educational!

What does Simon Winchester bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I rather think this might have been a fairly dry read, with all of the definitions and historical references. Listening to it, especially by the author, allowed inflections and tones to be come through as intended. I think this also helped pace the book in a manner where I could keep up, rather than having to go back and reread sections that I had gotten lost in or not understood fully, as I think might have been the case if I had read it myself.

Any additional comments?

As many of my friends and family already know due to my daily raves, I enjoyed this book immensely more than anticipated. What I started reading due to an intriguing title and premise, has quickly become one of my most fervent recommendations to anyone looking for their next book. The amount of research that went into this work and the topics covered is simply staggering (as noted when you get to the acknowledgments section at the end of the book). What results is an entertaining, but also tremendously interesting and educational tale, spanning several continents and nearly a century (rather more than a century if you include the references to modern dictionaries and the current study and treatment of the mentally ill). I stopped several times while reading in order to look up in more detail some topic that had been woven into this history and grabbed my interest, and as a result have added several titles to my wishlist I would have otherwise never known about nor had any interest in reading. Also of note, I have never been a huge fan of non-fiction, so the fact that I found this title so entertaining speaks volumes for the way Winchester was able to sort through the mountains of information and weave together such a cohesive narrative. I truly cannot recommend this book enough!