Defining the World : The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary

from TadAD

I think the subtitle of this book indulges in a bit of hyperbole, confusing an extraordinary volume with an extraordinary story about that volume. Though Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language was a monumental effort requiring nine years of work and which, in many ways, became the ...

from camelot2302

We all know the Dr Johnson portrayed in the classic Blackadder episode and we all use his book, the Dictionary, every day. This book explores the life and background of Johnson, as well as his struggle to write the world's first English dictionary. A great subject for a book but in places, quite ...

from aaronbaron

A lightweight and witty book about a considerable and erudite work. Hitchings's pleasure in Johnson's great dictionary is both evident and infectious, but he does tend to slip into performative hyperbole, and his analysis seldom strays from the sunny shallows of delight. I attended an entertainin...

from jcbrunner

The Académie française spent 55 years to compile their dictionary. A century later, a single Englishman set out to produce an English dictionary. Henry Hitchins tale about Samuel Johnson's dictonary project is a fascinating portrait of the man, his craft and the era. The author uses Johnson's def...

from Stbalbach

"Defining the World" does for Dr. Johnson's 18th century dictionary what Simon Winchester did in "The Meaning of Everything" for the Oxford English Dictionary. A popular, readable and enjoyable history. Hitchen's doesn't have the "spark" of Winchester's prose, he's only 30 and it's his first book...