Before we had the Interweb, and before anyone thought of ‘crowd-sourcing’, finding information and encouraging people to help out on big projects was problematic, especially if that project was compiling “The Oxford English Dictionary”. The man in charge of the project, Sir James Murray, put out a call to amateur philologists to assist. A particularly prolific contributor to the OED was a certain W.C. Minor. The problem with Minor was he was a murderer incarcerated in a lunatic asylum. Simon Winchester's engaging prose turns a potentially dry topic (lexicography) into an enthralling and engaging tale. And he does so in just over 220 pages that simply fly by. It's as good as any current thriller, and likely far more literate. Highly recommended (if for no other reason than the great chapter headings, which will illuminate and edify all those interested in language).
