Book 498.
I've read three other books that proclaim to be about Everything -- Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and Ken Wilber's A Theory of Everything and A Brief History of Everything. Bryson's book is a breezy scientific non-fiction book and Wilber's are based on his Integral Philosophy. However, the book that conjured the same feelings in me as Winchester's was What Should I Do With My Life? by Po Bronson, because Winchester's characters handling the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary were all forced to make the decision on whether to devote a lifetime to putting the dictionary together -- or not.
I was most intrigued with the desire of numerous volunteers and editors to devote themselves to a cause that was at times seemingly impossible to acheive. I couldn't help but wonder if I could devote myself to such an endeavor, even though I would probably never see the project's conclusion. I'm grateful to those who did and I just felt grateful I only had to read about it. The irony of the title, The Meaning of Everything, is that the dictionary became everything to the people who were sucked into participating.
My favorite character has to be the skulling, young lady afficianado, lawyer, scholar Fredrick James Furnivall. He nearly kills the dictionary, but he is out rowing on the Thames at the age of 80+ and somehow seems to have more a grasp of the meaning of everything, than those obsessed with the meaning of words.
My favorite character has to be the skulling, young lady afficianado, lawyer, scholar Fredrick James Furnivall. He nearly kills the dictionary, but he is out rowing on the Thames at the age of 80+ and somehow seems to have more a grasp of the meaning of everything, than those obsessed with the meaning of words.
Don't get me wrong, the obsession to know everything and to know words is strong for me and made Winchester's book a pleasant read and one I would recommend to any word buff.
The dictionary is the star of Winchester's book. I know that I want my own OED now, so if any of you want to buy me one. . .
Winchester has mined the history of the Oxford English Dictionary for a book before in The Profeesor and the Madman. It has been some time since I read The Professor and the Madman, but as I recall it was similar, just a more detailed account than the short account he gives in Chapter 7 of The Meaning of Everything.
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