Ask a logophile or crossword-puzzle addict what the holiest of holy reference works might be, and you're almost certain to receive a three-letter acronym in reply: the OED. The Meaning of Everything is its story. Now in 20 volumes and still growing, the Oxford English Dictionary is an astounding monument, one that, like the Great Wall and the Roman Forum, seems to have been around forever. But, writes the always interesting explorer Simon Winchester in, it took decades--and considerable sums of money--to bring it into being. The Scottish autodidact James Augustus Henry Murray, surrounded by a small army of underpaid and overworked helpers, laboured over it for more than half a century, seeing into print "a total of 227,779,589 letters and numbers, occupying fully 178 miles of type" that brought the elusive histories of words such as walrus (courtesy of JRR Tolkien) and cow ("the female of any bovine animal", courtesy of Murray himself) into sharp relief. The making of the great dictionary over the years and decades seems an unlikely topic for a sometimes romantic, sometimes suspenseful tale, but Winchester delivers just that. Those who cherish words will find it a constant pleasure. --Gregory McNamee
"Winchester's book is a wonderfully thorough account of the mechanics of dictionary compilation, the tribulations of a project of this scale, and the array of brilliant and often eccentric characters who brought it to completion."--
The Dallas Morning News"Full of engaging characters and incidents."--
Wall Street Journal"As inspiring as it is informative. A dazzling detective story and a poignant group portrait. A must-read for every language lover."--
Seattle Times"Devastatingly brilliant.... Fascinating, witty, extremely well-written.... Winchester makes words exciting. He obviously loves them."--
The Boston Globe"The extraordinary story of the making of the
Oxford English Dictionary is a subject perfectly suited to Winchester's magpie mind.... It can be recommended in all seriousness to committed Scrabble players. Here, for instance, you will learn that the first edition closed with the definition of 'zyxt, ' a Kentish dialect word for the past participle of the verb 'to see.' Here, too, you will find words like 'aa, ' an obsolete term for a stream or watercourse. An affectionate and frankly partisan study of the making of a great dictionary."--Robert McCrumm,
Los Angeles Times"Winchester has no peer at illuminating massive and complex endeavors through the quirks and foibles of the brilliant and powerful personalities who carry them out."--
Chicago Sun Times"Winchester tells the story with great verve in an easy-going, anecdotal style that's delectably readable."--
Christian Science Monitor"Fascinatingly told. Winchester brings to life the trials and tribulations of creating the OED, particularly the never-dull personalities of those who were involved. Moreover, he delightfully, admiringly gives us an appreciation of the wonderfully adaptive, ever-expanding English language."--
Forbes Magazine"Supremely readable. Teeming with knowledge and alive with insights."--William F. Buckley,
The New York Times Book Review"Entrancing.... An engaging read...resonates with all the chauvinism and misgiving, the self-congratulation and self-doubt that emerge when we think about our language."--
Chicago Tribune