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Book Review By Jack Goodstein
The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester

"The Meaning of Everything" is a history of the Oxford English Dictionary. The idea was born in 1857 out of discussions of three members of the Philological Society, a group formed to share among themselves scholarship in the field of language, about the need for a new more comprehensive English Dictionary, since it was felt that those available at the time were simply inadequate. The three men, two of whom were to become the early editors of the new volume, Herbert Coleridge, grandson of the poet and first editor, Frederick Furnival, who took over the editorship after Coleridge's untimely death, and Richard Trench, wanted a book that would be a complete record of every word in the language with its every meaning.

Their method was to employ volunteer readers who would read through a variety of texts, making note of interesting words, the sentences in which they appeared, and the date of those sentences. These would be written on half sheets of paper and sent to the editor who could than compare the various usages and arrive at a definition, discover changes in meaning , and trace the history of the word and its meanings as it was actually used in the language. This was to be a dictionary, then based on historical principles–what did a word mean and when did it mean it.   

None of three, nor for that matter most of those who came after them, envisioned the enormity of the task, neither the length it would eventually run to, nor the time it would take to bring it to fruition, It was not until 1928, long after they had all passed on, as had two of their successors, that the completed 12 volume result of their discussions was finally finished, and even then it was not complete.   Supplements were to come and indeed more supplements are to come–language grows and the dictionary must grow along with it. What these men began was a task without end.


Kind Of History
Time of history: - 1920's - 18th century
Nationality?
History of words/phrases? Yes

Subjects of this Historical Account
Is the portrayal sympathetic? - Sympathetic
Intelligence of subject of history: - Smart

Main Adversary
From a certain profession/group?
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - almost none
Nationality? - British
Is the portrayal sympathetic? - Somewhat Unsympathetic

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Writing Style
How much gore? - 1 ()
How fast-paced is the book? - 5 ()
Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death
Book makes you feel... - encouraged
How much focus on stories of individuals? - Focuses on brief history of a lot of players
How much romance? - 1 ()
Is this a kid's book? - Ages 16-Adult
Pictures/Illustrations? - A handful
Length of book - 201-250 pages
How much emphasis on small details? - 3 ()
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