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Defining the World:

The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary
Front Cover
18 Reviews
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005 - Biography & Autobiography - 292 pages
"Johnson imagined that he could complete the job in three years. But the complexity of English meant that his estimate was wildly inadequate. Only after he had expended nearly a decade of his prime on the task did the dictionary finally appear - magisterial yet quirky, dogmatic but generous of spirit, and steeped in the richness of English literature. It would come to be seen as the most important British cultural monument of the eighteenth century, and its influence fanned out across Europe and throughout Britain's colonies - including, crucially, America." "Defining the World is the story of Johnson's heroic endeavor, 250 years after the first publication of the Dictionary. In alphabetically sequenced chapters from A to Z, Henry Hitchings describes Johnson's adventure - his ambition and vision, his moments of despair, the mistakes he made along the way, and his ultimate triumph."--BOOK JACKET.

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Review: Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary

User Review  - Jen - Goodreads

I found the concept of this book -- the story of how Johnson wrote the first English dictionary -- fascinating. What I didn't find fascinating was Hitchings' writing style or his analysis. Just ... Read full review

Review: Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary

User Review  - Phillip - Goodreads

Hitchings' book is as much a promotion of Johnson's dictionary, as a piece of literature to read, as it is a biography of Dr. Johnson. It does both well. Of particular interest to me. I had forgotten ... Read full review

All 18 reviews »

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Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary
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Henry Hitchings
No preview available - 2006
Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary
Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary
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No preview available - 2006
Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary
Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary
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No preview available - 2005

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The Prodigal Tongue: Dispatches from the Future of English
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References from web pages

Bookslut | Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr ...
Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary by Henry Hitchings. A biography of Samuel Johnson, creator of Johnson's Dictionary, ...
www.bookslut.com/ nonfiction/ 2006_01_007449.php

Defining the World | Samuel Johnson | Henry Hitchings
Defining the World | Samuel Johnson | Henry Hitchings
www.ralphmag.org/ EQ/ samuel-johnson.html

‘Defining the World’ - New York Times
Samuel Johnson’s giant ‘Dictionary of the English Language’ was an audacious attempt to tame his unruly native tongue.
www.nytimes.com/ 2005/ 12/ 04/ books/ chapters/ 1204-1st-hitc.html?pagewanted=print

Horizon Information Portal
Defining the world : the extraordinary story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary /. by Hitchings, Henry, 1974- · View full image. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. ...
hip.wright.lib.oh.us/ ipac20/ ipac.jsp?session=1194LA090S968.965& profile=dial& uri=link=1100002~!312415~!1100001~!11000...

Mr. S.'s biblioblog
Henry Hitchings, Defining The World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Back in 1988 at Saint Xavier University, I took a class taught by ...
biblioblog204.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 01/ henry-hitchings-defining-world.html

Johnson, Samuel: Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr ...
Johnson, Samuel Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Henry Hitchings. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005. 292 pp. ...
findarticles.com/ p/ articles/ mi_hb032/ is_200601/ ai_n18829325

Johnson, Samuel: Defining the World: The Extraordinary
Johnson, Samuel Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. Henry Hitchings. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2005. 2.
www.encyclopedia.com/ doc/ 1G1-146347006.html

89.3 KPCC | airtalk archives for 1/16/2006 - 1/20/2006
KPCC / Southern California Public Radio's home page with news, forums, radio broadcast schedules, and links to its productions including airtalk with host ...
www.scpr.org/ programs/ airtalk/ listings/ 2006/ 01/ airtalk_20060116.shtml

Macmillan: Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr ...
Macmillan: Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr Johnson's Dictionary Henry Hitchings: Bonus Publisher Materials: Praise, Author Biography.
us.macmillan.com/ definingtheworld

Guide to Johnson — The Dictionary
Henry Hitchings, Defining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary (New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2005). ...
andromeda.rutgers.edu/ ~jlynch/ Johnson/ Guide/ dict.html

About the author (2005)

Henry Hitchings was born in 1974. Educated at the universities of Oxford and London, he is the author of "Defining the World "and has contributed to many newspapers and magazines.

Bibliographic information

QR code for Defining the World
TitleDefining the World: The Extraordinary Story of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary
AuthorHenry Hitchings
Editionillustrated, reprint
PublisherFarrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005
ISBN0374113025, 9780374113025
Length292 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Biography & Autobiography / Literary
Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / General
  
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