The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

This was a fascinating book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. While that might sound dull, the story wasn't - one of the main contributors to the OED was an American imprisoned in an insane asylum in England.

I learned a lot reading this book. First of course was the realization that there was a point in history when there were words but no dictionaries. I was also interested to find out that the OED was compiled in a very collaborative way that reminded me of Wikipedia. The general public was solicited to read different works and submit examples of words used in different ways. I also hadn't known that the OED was unique in that it always sought examples from literature, rather than relying on sentences purpose-built for the dictionary.

The writing was enjoyable to read, with each chapter beginning with an entry from the OED about some relevant subject matter. The only criticism I have of the book is that the climax is incredibly weird. However, as someone who ready as much as I do and still lugs out the dictionary to look things up (Webster's, not OED), it was a treat to find out how the most famous one was conceived and delivered.