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I'm currently reading The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester (bought from BooksOnBoard). It's the fascinating tale of Professor James Murray, a man who rose from a poor Scottish family to become the head of the team producing the first OED, and his friendship with Dr W.C. Minor, a major contributor to the dictionary, who, it turned out, was an American Doctor, Civil War veteran, and convicted murderer, who sent in his entries from the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Very well written and researched, oozing with period atmosphere, and altogether a Good Read.
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