The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary [Paperback]

I'm in full agreement with the critique posted Octobert 22 by a reveiwer from CT. This book seemed thrown together capriciously, as if bits of information were written on confetti and blown out of a cannon.

Still, I gave the book two stars for content; albeit some of that content, in the form of footnotes, seemed like filler.

The Oxford English Dictionary is a peerless reference work. Winchester tells the story of how it was conceived and brought to fruition by the work of numerous talented men and women from the mid eighteen hundreds up until the 1920s. He describes the painstaking work that developing each etymology and definition involved and the many personalities involved, most especially the greatest of the Dictionary's editors, Sir James Murray. There are also many vignettes of some of the others who spent time and energy creating the Dictionary, including J.R.R. Tolkien, who created many of the W definitions.

This is a delightful book that will entertain you even if you rarely have occasion to consult the OED.

I think what makes book better is that Winchester has more meat to chew on. The making of the OED was not a simple affair and the whole thing seems to have very nearly met its end on more than one occasion. The book reads like a fantastic novel, complete with good guys and evil villains. And along the way you get to learn a good deal about a) the English language, b) lexicography (Dictionary study) and c) the English society that produced such a monumental (in all meanings of the word) work.

I felt a little cheated towards the end when the last 70 odd years of the OED are wrapped up in a few pages. I would have found it fascinating to learn more how the work of gathering up new words for the planned 2007 edition has changed since the original plan in the 1860s. And Winchester still tends to wander just a bit too much for my taste.

All in all a good solid read that will entertain and edify at the same time.