The Professor and the Madman

James Murray ("The Professor") and William Chester Minor ("The Madman")

The Oxford English Dictionary is just one of those things, like The Bible, that has always been around. No one stops to think about where it acme from, who the person who wrote it actually was, etc. I don't know if it is just me, but I never realized that it was created with the help of contributors. I guess now that I look back, I realize that thinking one man literally came up with every single definition all by himself is a bit crazy.

However, who would have thought that the title of this book was actually true!? It gives me a whole new appreciation for the dictionary, realizing that a lot of the dictionary that everyone so often takes from granted, was originally created with the help of a crazy murderer. It really makes me stop and think how odd it is that some of the worst people are geniuses when it comes to other things. He was insane, murdered people, yet was unbelievably gifted when it comes to the written language.