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The Professor and the Madman
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
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The Professor and the Madman
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Great Overview
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
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From the creation of the first encyclopedia to Wikipedia, from ancient museums to modern kindergarten classes—this is Simon Winchester’s brilliant and all-encompassing look at how humans acquire, retain, and pass on information and data, and how technology continues to change our lives and our minds. Throughout this fascinating tour, Winchester forces us to ponder what rational humans are becoming. What good is all this knowledge if it leads to lack of thought? What is information without wisdom?
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- How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World
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- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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5 out of 5 stars
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Best Listen of my Audible career to date
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Krakatoa
- The Day the World Exploded, August 27, 1883
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 8
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story5 out of 5 stars 6
The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa - the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster - was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly 40,000 people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light.
-
5 out of 5 stars
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A compelling story, well narrated
- By G A Strong on 2023-02-25
Written by: Simon Winchester
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The Map That Changed the World
- William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology
- Written by: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Simon Winchester
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 10
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
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Story4 out of 5 stars 7
In 1793 William Smith, a canal digger, made a startling discovery that was to turn the fledgling science of the history of the earth - and a central plank of established Christian religion - on its head. He noticed that the rocks he was excavating were arranged in layers; more important, he could see quite clearly that the fossils found in one layer were very different from those found in another. And out of that realization came an epiphany.
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The Library
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- Written by: Andrew Pettegree, Arthur der Weduwen
- Narrated by: Sean Barrett
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 6
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 6
Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Publisher's Summary
What the critics say
"The linguistic detective story of the decade." (New York Times Magazine)
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What listeners say about The Professor and the Madman
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mentally Guitarded
- 2020-04-23
Proper Heavy
As an artist, I often juggle the balance between torture and talent. This novel encapsulates it completely. It left me felling educated, humbled and appreciative.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ashley G.
- 2020-04-22
Thumbs up from this word nerd! :-)
So happy to see books on this topic being offered - I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book. Simon Winchester told a fascinating story of murder and madness. He also highlighted the painstaking efforts sustained for over half a century that were involved in the creation of the English Oxford Dictionary. Simon Winchester’s voice is pleasing and easy to listen to. A great audio book all around. Thanks so much!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roberta W
- 2019-12-09
A fascinating read!
I finished this book months ago, but it feels like yesterday... the story is that memorable. If you think you have an idea how the original dictionaries were created, think again. This book will blow your mind. It does move a bit slow at times, but I could put up with it, given the surprises that it contains. There are lovely word interludes, giving insight to how the definitions of certain words were created. And, yes, there IS a madman at the centre of the story.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- anne deleurme
- 2019-07-24
best yet thank you simon Winchester
great always enjoy your narrations - like this book better than a crak in the edge of the world (previously my first favorite)
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- celia gjosund
- 2024-01-23
just so interesting , full of so many facts
so interesting. i fid not know how long it has taken to write the Oxford dictionary, and the complex methods of collecting words. the dtory od Dr Miner just gives another fascinating input for Oxford. excellent resd
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeremy C.
- 2021-12-10
ITS SO BAD
so bad don't read this book do yourself a favour and just read dictionaries only never books
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