The Professor and the Madman , masterfully researched and eloquently written, is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- and literary history. The compilation of the OED began in 1857, it was one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, discovered that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand. When the committee insisted on honoring him, a shocking truth came to light: Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

西濛·溫切斯特（Simon Winchester）

英國著名作傢、記者。生於1944年，畢業於牛津大學地質係。曾任《衛報》及《星期日泰晤士報》海外特派員，並為《紐約時報》《國傢地理雜誌》及BBC等媒體撰稿，現居美國。

溫切斯特長於描述曆史事件，《教授與瘋子》《喀拉喀托火山》《改變世界的地圖》等小說多次登上《紐約時報》暢銷書榜單。溫切斯特憑藉在新聞及文學領域的貢獻，於2006年獲大英帝國勛章。