The Story of Webster's Third: Philip Gove's Controversial Dictionary and its Critics (Paperback)

by Herbert C. Morton (Author)
Key Phrases: riam company, encyclopedic material, colloquial label, Webster's Third, New York, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...informed, rational and utterly persuasive...Now comes Herbert C. Morton with his splendid account of the book's making and its reception, a book that along with its spirited defense of Gove should make clear to the lay reader the aims and methods of lexicography, a business until now understood by almost no one." Washington Post Book World

"Herbert C. Morton's account of the affair is a chronicle of war to compare with the best....Although Morton is plainly in Gove's camp, even the most knuckle-rapping of purists should find his fine book profoundly rewarding." The Boston Sunday Globe

"...a well balanced and interestingly informative. As a book about a dictionary ought to be, it is decently written." Anthony Quinton, TLS

"...anyone who has an interest in the documentation of such things would be well served to obtain a copy....well-written and interestingly set forth." Laurence Urdang, Verbatim

"Only rarely has the process of lexicography been given such insightful and understanding treatment by a non-lexicographer as we find in Morton's book." Sharp News

Product Description
The publication of Webster's Third New International Dictionary in 1961 set off a storm of intense controversy in both the popular press and in scholarly journals due to widespread disagreements about the nature of language and the role of the dictionary. This is the first full account of the controversy, set within the larger background of how the dictionary was planned and put together by its editor-in-chief, Philip Babcock Gove. Based on original research and interviews with the people who knew and worked with Gove, this is a human story as well as the story of the making of a dictionary. The author skillfully interweaves an account of Gove's character and working habits with the evolution of the dictionary. In spite of its rocky initial reception, Webster's Third is now widely regarded as one of the greatest dictionaries of our time.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521558697
• ISBN-13: 978-0521558693
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,087,098 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most significant U.S. dictionary of the 20th century, September 3, 2000

By	bruce horner (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Story of Webster's Third: Philip Gove's Controversial Dictionary and its Critics (Hardcover)

If you're one of those people who consider a well done dictionary to be good early-morning reading material (and really, who isn't?) then this book is for you. Seriously, the Merriam-Webster Third Edition created a huge controversy when it was first released in 1961, being the first major U.S. dicitonary that took a mainly DESRIPTIVE rather than PRESCIPTIVE approach to the english language. Never mind that European dicionaries had been doing much the same for a hundred years or more, to many Americans this was heresy. The ripples from this storm are still bouncing about today. Too bad that Philip Gove, the editor and virtual godfather of the Third, was such a poor defender of it. Also too bad he didn't live long enough to see his editorial philosophy largely vindicated. Morton gives equal attention to Philip Gove, the dictionary itself, and the G. & C. Merriam Company. The historical section on Noah Webster and his dictionary, how it was acquired by the Merriam brothers, and the subsequent history of the company is most informative and fascinating. So is the discussion at the end of the lasting effects of Webster's Third. As it should be with any book about dictionaries, the material is well-organized, with everything clearly and logically laid out. A good read, and a must for lexiphiles.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Big Dictionary, May 27, 2000

By	CO (Oak Ridge, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

Philip Gove spent his career producing this magnum opus. Morton traces the work and the explosion that occurred when the dictionary was published. It's the American version of "The Professor and the Madman".