Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
The author was Chief Editor of the OED and worked on the Dictionary for 37 years.Inviting, <i>adj.</i>, is given two senses by the <i>OED</i>: that which invites or gives invitation, and attractive, alluring, or tempting. Although this superb memoir is not likely to lead you into temptation, it otherwise fits the definition very well. Simpson was a key figure on the editorial team that rescued the <i>OED </i>from obsolescence and ensured its ongoing relevance. They took on the considerable job of bringing the <i>OED</i> online and of adapting it in other ways that have transformed it from a historical monument into an indispensable record of our living language. In similar fashion, this funny, insightful, and really just wonderful book renders Simpson's own past accessible, engaging, and germane. Part social history, part dictionary history, and part personal history-with beguiling etymologies interwoven throughout (computer, deadline, skanking)-<i>The Word Detective </i>will appeal to any reader curious about the English language and how it evolves. Simpson is the perfect guide to the <i>OED.</i> I adored this book
- Alena Graedon, author of The Word Exchange,
There is a poignant and unanticipated counterpoint to John Simpson's fine memoir of his time at the OED-for while his majestic dictionary was during his tenure undergoing changes of the profoundest kind, he and his family were dealing with a personal challenge that places all his lexicographic achievements in the most human of contexts. This is a wonderful book, then-but on two levels, both equally revealing, intimate and true
- Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman,
A perfect title. According to the OED, a <i>Sherlock</i> is someone "who investigates mysteries or shows great perceptiveness". This aptly summarizes Sherlock Simpson, who tells the inside story of how that great dictionary has come to be written, illustrated by illuminating and sometimes daring word histories, and grounded in an engaging and moving autobiography. Anyone fascinated by words and their history will love it
- David Crystal,
People think of dictionaries as oracles that channel eternal verities about The Language. In fact they are the handiwork of mortals who deliberate about how to make sense of the creative brainchildren and viral fads of hundreds of millions of wordsmiths. <i>The Word Detective </i>is a delightful and revealing look at the human side of dictionaries, with insights galore about the nature of language. (And why does the adjective <i>galore</i> come after the noun?)
- Steven Pinker, author of The Language Instinct,
Vibrant and inspiring
Publishers Weekly
Simpson's memoir features entertaining, culturally revealing stories of many curious words, phrases, and roots
Booklist
Simpson, writing with a wry and often self-deprecating wit and an obvious passion for his subject, tells a story that is at once deeply personal and part of the larger story of a fundamental shift in how we share information
Maximum Shelf
I found this book surprisingly moving. John Simpson's quiet devotion to his daily task, handling words with calmness and devotion, even love, is an inspiration
- Roger Lewis, Mail on Sunday
A charmingly full, frank and humorous account of a career dedicated to rigorous lexicographic rectitude . . . [Simpson] is an absolute hero
- Lynne Truss, International New York Times
A compelling tribute to the wonder of language
- Anita Sethi, Guardian
Poignant . . . a sustained and sincere reflection on what it means to make a dictionary - the toil, the puzzles, the costs and the profits
- Henry Hitchings, Guardian
This elegantly crafted volume will surely provide greater entertainment than a few more famous memoirists this autumn
- Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail
'I enjoyed this book immensely. John Simpson is an engaging narrator, and the story he tells is full of interest for anyone who has a fascination for words, their origins, their meanings, the way we use them. The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the great wonders of the world, and to have the story of how the great vessel that was launched in the nineteenth century was brought up to date and set sailing confidently on the digital seas of the twenty-first told by its chief editor is a great treat' Philip Pullman
'A perfect title. According to the OED, a Sherlock is someone "who investigates mysteries or shows great perceptiveness". This aptly summarizes Sherlock Simpson, who tells the inside story of how that great dictionary has come to be written, illustrated by illuminating and sometimes daring word histories, and grounded in an engaging and moving autobiography. Anyone fascinated by words and their history will love it' David Crystal
'A charmingly full, frank and humorous account of a career dedicated to rigorous lexicographic rectitude . . . [Simpson] is an absolute hero' Lynne Truss, International New York Times
'Poignant . . . a sustained and sincere reflection on what it means to make a dictionary - the toil, the puzzles, the costs and the profits' Henry Hitchings, Guardian