The Man Who Made Lists: Love, Death, Marriage and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus

by Joshua C. Kendall

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Book cover for The Man Who Made Lists

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Peter Mark Roget--polymath, eccentric, synonym aficionado--was a complicated man. He was a scholar obsessed with his work, yet he had an allure that endeared him to his contemporaries--not to mention a host of female admirers. But most notably, he made lists. Roget longed for order in his chaotic world. His father's premature death and the mental illness of his mother and sister threatened to plunge him into his own madness. And so, at the age of eight, he started making lists. From the heavenly bodies to animals, vegetables, and minerals, young Roget began his quest to put everything in its place, one word at a time. Roget lived a colorful life, full of unexpected twists and discoveries: he narrowly avoided jail in Napoleon's France, invented the slide rule, and of course, brought life to the book that would become synonymous with synonyms.--From publisher description.
  • ISBN10 0399154620
  • ISBN13 9780399154621
  • Publish Date 13 March 2008
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 19 July 2021
  • Publish Country US
  • Imprint Putnam Adult
  • Format Hardcover
  • Language English