This is what comes from wandering aimlessly in the bookstore. I saw this in a stack of books recommended by a store employee and something about it caught my eye. I think it was the sub-title: “A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.” I mean really. How can you pass that up?  According to the back cover, when the OED was being compiled, one man contributed more than ten thousand words. Naturally the overseeing committee wanted to honor the man. That’s when they discovered that Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane.

Who knew reading about the making of a dictionary could be so fascinating? I’m hoping the book lives up to the description.

More when the book is finished.  ....

Okay. Fascinating might have been too strong a word to use, but it was a nice, interesting read. I most enjoyed when the story focused on the story of Dr. Minor and his relationship with Murray, the editor of the OED. The book lost me a little when it really dwelved into the history of the actual dictionary.