An In-depth Book Review: Winchester's 'The Meaning of Everything'

This book review delves into Simon Winchester's 'The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary,' examining the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and the individuals involved in its seventy-year compilation. While complementing Winchester's previous work, 'The Professor and the Madman,' by revisiting the relationship between James Murray and W.C. Minor, this book focuses on the personal stories of the contributors rather than the intricate processes of word hunting and etymology. The review notes a tendency towards voyeuristic exploration of the creators' lives, potentially overshadowing the OED itself. Despite this, the book is considered a delightful read for English language enthusiasts, offering insights into the mammoth challenges faced during the OED's creation and highlighting its significance as a constantly evolving record of human communication.

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Author Note

1BOOK REVIEW
What else does a lover of words love better than a book that tells people all about the
backstage drama that unfolded when the Oxford English Dictionary was compiled? Simon
Winchester, the bestselling author of the book cherished by countless lovers of English
Literature, ‘The Professor and the Madman’ comes forth with yet another book, ‘The
Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary’. Anyone who had read
the previous book will be delighted at the prospect of further inside information.
Primarily focused on the people who were involved in the construction of this
Behemoth, which took 70 years to complete, with more than 10,000 pages containing all the
words that ever existed. It presents the grand picture about one of the greatest dreams ever
conceived, back in the era of enormous knowledge and possibilities, but limited ambition.
This books seems to compliment his other book, as there is a retelling of the
relationship shared by the professor, James Murray and the vital Madman, W.C. Minor, a
paranoia and schizophrenia ridden contributor, followed by the stories of other contributors.
However, after countless pages of divulging in histories, Winchester notes “And there were
many others besides, men and women who were in their own ways just as eccentric, their
stories just as strange.” It was evident that the author was tired of the obscurity of what he
was dealing with, which is evident with his exhausted question, “just who were these
people?” (Winchester 217)
Descriptions about how daunting the task was, is included vividly. He speaks about
the logistical issues, and the various other problems that have no place in the modern world,
like the organization of literally, millions of slips, carefully handwritten. He mentions, "How
do I keep copies (and keep track) of all this voluminous daily correspondence without going
insane?" This makes the reader feel that had the put the time and energy they utilized to build

2BOOK REVIEW
the behemoth into building computers, hundreds of years would have been saved. The
exhaustion described within seems to set in for readers as well.
However, every reader would love to know the process involved in carefully hunting
down words and etymologies than the various habits and quirks of the creators. This book
lacks in descriptions of the previous. This book seems to have joined the bandwagon of
history authors who focus more on the figures related to projects. This focuses on the
voyeuristic tendencies of current readers who want to take a dip within the personal ocean
than the processes involved during the project. The book seems more structured around
Murray and not the OED.
For the ordinary reader, the cameo of J R Tolkien of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ fame will
ring a bell of nostalgia and delight as he was a part of the process. It’s an addition to their
unrequited love affair with the OED, unrequited because of the current high membership fee
online. Words constitute the very base of human communication and what is absolutely more
fascinating than a book, like the OED, containing all of them, neatly compiled, within our
reach, printed on paper, heavy on bookshelves and the human intellect.
By the end of the book, it was made clear that the process was fraught with mammoth
challenges. It is a delightful read, for any lover of English language, despite the apparent
issues. This book serves as an important addition to his previous book ‘The Professor and the
Madman’, just like every other English word in the OED, recounted by the author’s idea,
“Words from every corner of the globalized world cascade in ceaselessly, daily topping up a
language that is self-evidently living, breathing, changing, evolving as no other language ever
has nor is ever likely to.”

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References
Winchester, Simon. The meaning of everything: The story of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Oxford University Press, 2018. 217.