Joshua Kendall’s The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus offers a captivating exploration of Peter Mark Roget’s life and the extraordinary mind behind one of the most enduring reference works in the English language. Delving beyond the mechanics of the thesaurus, the book intertwines Roget’s personal struggles with mental illness, his enduring quest for order amidst chaos, and the intellectual fervor that drove him to categorize the world through words. Kendall’s elegant narrative illuminates how Roget’s passion for lists was not merely an academic exercise but a profound response to the complexities of love, loss, and the human condition, making this biography a sophisticated testament to creativity and resilience.
Joshua Kendall’s The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus offers a captivating exploration of Peter Mark Roget’s life and the extraordinary mind behind one of the most enduring reference works in the English language. Delving beyond the mechanics of the thesaurus, the book intertwines Roget’s personal struggles with mental illness, his enduring quest for order amidst chaos, and the intellectual fervor that drove him to categorize the world through words. Kendall’s elegant narrative illuminates how Roget’s passion for lists was not merely an academic exercise but a profound response to the complexities of love, loss, and the human condition, making this biography a sophisticated testament to creativity and resilience.
Putnam 2008 hardback first edition copy has some shelf wear otherwise in very good condition and is clean internally/externally
