Books with author Winchester

National Bestseller!One of the greatest literary achievements in the history of English letters, the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary began in 1857, took seventy years to complete, and drew from tens of thousands of brilliant minds. But hidden within the rituals of its creation is a fascinating and mysterious story. Professor James Murray was the distinguished editor of the OED project. Dr. William Chester Minor, an American surgeon who had served in the Civil War, was one of thousands of contributors to the dictionary. But Minor was no ordinary contributor. He was remarkably prolific, sending thousands of neat, hand-written quotations from his home. On numerous occasions Murray invited Minor to visit Oxford and celebrate his work, but Murray's offer was regularly, mysteriously, refused. Finally, a puzzled Murray set out to visit him. It was then that Murray would finally learn the truth about Minor . . . that, in addition to being a masterly wordsmith, Minor was also a murderer, clinically insane - and locked up in Broadmoor, England's harshest asylum for criminal lunatics. The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness and genius, and the incredible obsessions of two men at the heart of the Oxford English Dictionary and literary history. Written with riveting insight and detail, Simon Winchester delivers a fascinating glimpse into one man's tortured mind and his contribution to another man's magnificent dictionary.

Excerpt from Oft-Told Tales of LincolnMore than three thousand volumes have been written about the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. He has taken, in our modern world, the place of the heroes of ancient epics and legends: he is our Beowulf, our Charlemagne, our King Arthur; in a word, he is our national hero.So much has been written that the folly of attempting a new, or even an original interpretation of the old, is evident. We make no such pretense, but instead gratefully acknowledge indebtedness to many sources from which we have taken those authentic episodes in the childhood and youth of Abra ham Lincoln, which foreshadowed his con duct during the dark days of the Civil War. We have tried to trace, in the boy Lincoln, those latent characteristics whio h whendeveloped gave us the greatest leader and man our country has known.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Bestselling writer [Simon] Winchester has crafted a magnificent testament to the power of planet Earth...A master storyteller, Winchester effortlessly weaves together countless threads of interest, making a powerfully compelling narrative out of what he calls 'the most lyrical and romantic of the sciences.' -- Publishers Weekly In the early morning hours of April 18, 1906, San Francisco and a string of other towns were overcome by an earthquake registering 8.25 on the Richter scale, resulting from a rupture in the San Andreas fault. Lasting little more than a minute, the earthquake wrecked 490 blocks, toppled a total of 25,000 buildings, broke open gas mains, cut off electric power lines, and effectively destroyed the gold rush capital that had stood there for a half century. Simon Winchester has been a globe-trotting correspondent. Trained at Oxford as a geologist, he is the author of the New York Times best-sellers Krakatoa, The Map That Changed the World, and The Professor and the

Discover some of the most the amazing military aircraft of all time in this exhilarating new title with inside and outside vantage points. This high-flying reference book gives mere mortals a unique chance to climb into the cockpits of classified military aircraft, and launch up into the clouds for recon missions and air-to-air combat. From the earliest models developed during WWI to the sophisticated military aircraft of the 21st century, readers can explore iconic fighter jets like the sub-sonic MiG-17, one of the Soviet Union's most punishing weapons, and the iconic McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle, in flight since 1972. Learn how military aircraft evolved from the light-weight bi-planes of WWI to today's technological wonders equipped with radar and long-range missiles. Large-scale spreads are visually arresting, and feature detailed specifications and fact-boxes, as well as specially commissioned cross-section diagrams revealing the design and construction of featured planes. The