I got this book waaaay back in September and just got around to reading it in the past month or so. It's about a subject I'm very interested in0 lexicography. More specifically, it was on the process of the conception, creation, and eventual publication of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Winchester writes in a most befitting style, making excellent use of his evident intellect and wide vocabulary, which I greatly appreciated. There's a certain charm to reading about a dictionary and needing a dictionary to further clarify some of the words used. I've got a list next to me as I write of words I learned thanks to The Meaning of Everything.
Winchester is also the author of another book on the OED titled The Professor and The Madman, which is not currently in my possession. I'd given it to my dad for Christmas a few years ago, and I hope to get my hands on it when he's done. The two men referenced by the title were discussed briefly in The Meaning of Everything.
Being a word nerd and hopeful future lexicographer, I give this 5 stars.
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