MobileRead Discussion: Professor and the Mad Man by Winchestor Simon (spoilers) - Page 3

Xenophon · 04-14-2009, 10:45 AM

HarryT -- you're quite right. I should have restricted my statement to that particular dictionary, not all dictionaries. As for pro vs. pre... That was a simple typo.

Xenophon

snape · 04-14-2009, 11:43 AM

I enjoyed The Professor and the Madman, though I don't think it was Winchester's best work. I was fascinated at how long the OED project took (and, like a previous poster said, that it wasn't halted at some point along the way for any number of reasons.)

Many of Winchester's books have several story lines that intersect his main focus, and he spends quite a bit of time on each of them. Personally I like the way that type of non-fiction humanizes events and puts them into a broader perspective - era, consequences, etc. With Madman, I got the feeling it made what might have been an otherwise dry story more interesting. YMMV.

I thought both Krakatoa and Crack in the Edge of the World were fantastic.

igorsk · 04-14-2009, 07:12 PM

Sorta offtopic, but maybe this will be of interest to some.
Tom Gally, a lexicographer and Japanese translator, has a semi-blog about translation and dictionaries (heavily Japanese oriented). Some of the more interesting entries:
Japanese dictionary "officially pirated" by U.S. in 1942
Typos in a book criticizing dictionary mistakes
Dictionary advertisements

Complete index

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04-14-2009, 10:45 AM	#31
Xenophon curmudgeon Posts: 1,481 Karma: 5748190 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Redwood City, CA USA Device: Kobo Aura HD, (ex)nook, (ex)PRS-700, (ex)PRS-500	HarryT -- you're quite right. I should have restricted my statement to that particular dictionary, not all dictionaries. As for pro vs. pre... That was a simple typo. Xenophon

04-14-2009, 11:43 AM	#32
snape Language Lover Posts: 111 Karma: 71544 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Current: PRS-350, Kindle PW // Previous: PRS-505, Kindle 1, Kindle 2	I enjoyed The Professor and the Madman, though I don't think it was Winchester's best work. I was fascinated at how long the OED project took (and, like a previous poster said, that it wasn't halted at some point along the way for any number of reasons.) Many of Winchester's books have several story lines that intersect his main focus, and he spends quite a bit of time on each of them. Personally I like the way that type of non-fiction humanizes events and puts them into a broader perspective - era, consequences, etc. With Madman, I got the feeling it made what might have been an otherwise dry story more interesting. YMMV. I thought both Krakatoa and Crack in the Edge of the World were fantastic.

04-14-2009, 07:12 PM	#33
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Sorta offtopic, but maybe this will be of interest to some. Tom Gally, a lexicographer and Japanese translator, has a semi-blog about translation and dictionaries (heavily Japanese oriented). Some of the more interesting entries: Japanese dictionary "officially pirated" by U.S. in 1942 Typos in a book criticizing dictionary mistakes Dictionary advertisements Complete index