books by Simon Winchester

books by Simon Winchester

books:

Simon Winchester

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

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 ...

The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the ...

Simon Winchester

Harper, 2008

Excellent Story
A fantastic story about a man and his passion for life and work and about a country so far ahead yet so far behind. I am no historical buff but this (audio) book made me keep wanting to get into my car so that I could hear more. The storyteller is good to listen to and ...

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

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 ...

The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology

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, ...

The River at the Center of the World, Revised: A Journey Up the Yangtze, and Back in Chinese Time

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.

A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906

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 ...

Korea: A Walk Through the Land of Miracles

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 ...

The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary

Simon Winchester

Oxford University Press, USA, 2004

How Could You not Like this Book
What can you say about an author who can take the history of the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary, and make it not only interesting but very informative. From the original idea in 1847, to the finishing of the first edition in 1928, Winchester takes us through ...

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

Simon Winchester

HarperLuxe, 2008

China Returns in a Big Way
This well researched and very readable book describes Joseph Needham's quest to show the inventiveness of the Chinese people by documenting in detail their early inventions, many made centuries before their reinvention by Europeans. The number and breadth is nothing ...

Outposts: Journeys to the Surviving Relics of the British Empire

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 ...

In Other Words

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 ...

Bomb, Book and Compass: Joseph Needham and the Great Secrets of China. by Simon Winchester
Simon Winchester

Viking Books, 2008

Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj
Jan Morris, Simon Winchester

Oxford University Press, USA, 2005

No empire in history built so variously as the British empire in India. The buildings there attest to the richness of an imperial presence that lasted--from the first trading settlement to the end of the Raj--some three hundred years. The attitude of the British to India was compounded partly of arrogance, but partly also of homesickness, and it ...

Weird and Wonderful Words

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 ...

The Surgeon of Crowthorne

Simon Winchester

Penguin Books Ltd, 1999

Murder, Madness and a Dictionary!
This really is a fascinating tale! It was in 1857 that the Philological Society met in London and proposed to compile a New English Dictionary, but it wasn't until 1928 (70 years later!) that the 12 volumes of the dictionary were published. And when you think about ...