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The Oxford Dictionary
The making of the Oxford Dictionary depended on a Professor who spent his life in an asylum for the insane. The man had killed someone and had delusions and dreams of hurting himself. Good story.
The making of the Oxford Dictionary depended on a Professor who spent his life in an asylum for the insane. The man had killed someone and had delusions and dreams of hurting himself. Good story.
What a sad, sad story. As much as the author puts this in the context of the creation of the OED, it's really a sensational retelling of the decline of a poor, sick, crazy man who had the time, inclination, and intelligence to contribute to the OED. I think the best part of the book was the bibliography; I'm looking forward to picking up some of the books the author listed.
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3.5, because the I'm tired of the "mad genious without whom this particular advancement of human knowledge or capability would have not been carried out, and therefore whose misdeeds and/or victims should be pardoned or at least overlooked" archetype.
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Jan 30, 2009
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