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The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary ...410 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2005

the madness of scholarship
Many academics and scholars border on creative madness, take Kierkegaard and Nietzsche for example. This book is marvellous reading since the dull subject of dictionary making is enlivened by eccentric personalities and mental disturbance. It reveals how a dictionary as prestigious as the Oxford English Dictionary was put together. Any author who can make such a dry subject as exciting as a ... 		  
  







  
  
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 190691 reviews
Simon Winchester

HarperCollins, 2005

Eclectic excursion through history and science
This is four intertwined topics in one book, which means that you get either a highly informative amalgamation or a confusing muddle, depending on your personal taste. I'm inclined toward the former assessment, although I preferred Winchester's writing in his earlier book on Krakatoa. - The main story, of course, is the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. But other than a brief scene-setter at the ... 		  
  







  
  
The Man Who Loved China LP: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the ...1 review
Simon Winchester

HarperLuxe, 2008

Winchester continues to please
Another book well done by Simon Winchester. The large-print version was a joy to read. 		  
  







  
  
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the ...36 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper, 2008

This is a fascinating story!
Joseph Needham was a bright, elegant, sophisticated scientist with an impeccable pedigree. His work in Cambridge was in biochemistry, a profoundly intense field, and he was a huge and influential success. He was a freethinking intellectual, however, who had predilections for both the decidedly base love of nudism and unique brands of folk dance. With this wide range of interests, he attracted a ... 		  
  







  
  
Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 (P.S.)213 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2005

Fascinating, interesting, but wordy.
This is a generally well-written account of the famous volcanic eruption which was one of the first such major events to take place after the development of worldwide communication technology. The author has been criticized for including details - many details - about not only geology, but also the history of the region and it's people, in addition to the narrative of the explosive eruption ... 		  
  







  
  
Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire16 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2004

A great read
Simon Winchester's book on the remnants of the British Empire is a fine piece of reportage from a geologist turned journalist turned writer. Part travel book, part history, part reportage, it takes the reader on various fascinating journeys - sea, rail, air - to outposts ranging from fly specks such as Tristan Da Cunha and Pitcairn Island to teeming Hong Kong on the brink of the handover to ... 		  
  







  
  
The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time33 reviews
Simon Winchester

Picador, 2004

A Fascinating Collection of Historic Details Traveling Up a River
I had never read Winchester before. On our recent trip down the Yangtze a fellow traveler was reading this book and recommended it. After reading it I would consider it a rich cultural experience through the history of this river. 		  
  







  
  
Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles9 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2005

A good read, a page turner, an easy, enjoyable book
I was compelled to write in praise of Winchester's Korea after seeing the other poor reviews. I am enjoying this book thoroughly and am not offended by Winchester's wit or maleness. There is plenty of other perspective and imagery throughout his walk that you may dwell upon if you're looking for a romantic time. It was written in the 80s though, so you'll want to get up to date - after you go and ... 		  
  







  
  
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology96 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2002

Highly Recommended.
Prior to about 1800, Geology did not exist as a science. Oh, there were people who were interested in various aspects of it, but the science was born with the publication of James Hutton's book on "The Theory of the Earth" in 1795. Then, in about the next half century, what we now regard as "modern geology" came into being. Most of the leading characters in this fascinating history were from the ... 		  
  







  
  
The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary56 reviews
Simon Winchester

Oxford University Press, USA, 2004

Language is what separates us from the beasts.
This book is fast paced and not at all pedantic. It is totally rewarding, although the stories of the men that contributed to and perpetuated this great undertaking will make you feel stupid, lazy, and unaccomplished. If you have the head of a philologist, or the heart of a logophile, or both, you will thoroughly enjoy this. 		  
  







  
  
Weird and Wonderful Words7 reviews

Oxford University Press, USA, 2002

A Foray into Logodaedaly
Word lovers should find this book highly entertaining. The selected words include some of my personal favorites, and a great many words completely new to me, some of which are new favorites. The illustrations are ho-hum and may lead many readers to wish the space had been used for more words. Luckily, the compiler plans a collection of weirder and wonderfuller words, which will be given some ... 		  
  







  
  
The Fracture Zone: My Return to the Balkans15 reviews
Simon Winchester

Harper Perennial, 2000

Raconteur on a shelled-out road - Winchester on the Balkans
It's a pleasure to read reminiscences of masterful writers such as William F. Buckley (his sailing books have won him a well-deserved place of honor in sports writing) and Simon Winchester... and as he has seen Yugoslavia in her salad days, prosperous and peaceful, then returned to catalogue the horrors that followed her dissolution, Winchester is the perfect guide through that terribly unhappy ... 		  
  







  
  
The Day the World Exploded: The Earthshaking Catastrophe at Krakatoa
Simon Winchester

Collins, 2008

Eruptions. Explosions. Shock waves. Tsunamis. The almighty explosion that destroyed the volcano island of Krakatoa was followed by an immense tsunami that killed more than thirty thousand people. The effects of the waves were felt as far away as France, and bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. Today, one hundred and twenty-five years after the volcano erupted in one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known, the ... 		  
  







  
  
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN1 review
WINCHESTER SIMON

Harper & Brothers, 1998

Great!
Don't let the fact that this book is about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary put you off! This is a compelling, well-told, true-life tale with it's facts quite outweighing fiction. On my personal scale - VVGood. Howard Mathwich 		  
  







  
  
CRACK IN THE EDGE OF THE WORLD
Simon Winchester

HarperCollins, 2005 		  
  







  
  
Worlds to Explore: Classic Tales of Travel and Adventure from National Geographic3 reviews

National Geographic, 2007

A gathering of first-person travel and adventure stories drawn from the first half of the 20th century
WORLDS TO EXPLORE: CLASSIC TALES OF TRAVEL & ADVENTURE FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC provides a gathering of first-person travel and adventure stories drawn from the first half of the 20th century from the pages of National Geographic: while lacking the color photos of the magazines, it still comes with 60 black and white photos and some of the best 'you are there' stories you'll find under one cover. ... 		  
  







  
  
The Sun Never Sets: Travels to the Remaining Outposts of the British Empire4 reviews
Simon Winchester

Prentice Hall, 1986

An absolutely intriguing travelogue
I loved this book! I found it on the shelf in my parent's house, and once I opened the cover, I couldn't close it. Winchester is informative and engaging in his reports on the remnants of Britain's once mighty colonial empire. From its opening, on the British Indian Ocean territory, the book set me dreaming about making my own fantastic voyage to all the forgotten place of the world. ... 		  
  







  
  
Jim Goldberg & Wolf Bowig: War Is Only Half the Story (The Aftermath Project, Vol. 1)
Simon Winchester

Aperture, 2008

Founded by photographer and writer Sara Terry, the nonprofit Aftermath Project documents the long-term repercussions of conflict which are so often neglected by the popular media. Terry, whose work has been widely exhibited at such venues as the United Nations and the Museum of Photography in Antwerp, initiated this project after her extensive documentary work on postwar Bosnia. Through grant competitions and partnerships with other ... 		  
  







  
  
In Other Words14 reviews
C. J. Moore

Walker & Company, 2004

Lighten up, everyone!
And try translating my title into a foreign language. I read this informative little book while using a friend's bathroom (the perfect setting), and I must say, I enjoyed it immensely. I looked through the Italian, a language that I do speak, and recognized all the expressions except for "attaccabottoni," literally a button attacher, but figuratively, someone who sticks like glue to one, at a ... 		  
  







  




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