Reading this book made it crystal clear that I had been undervaluing dictionaries in my entire life. Since my earliest memories there has always been one in the bookshelf. It's difficult to imagine life without one. Caught in the Web of Words is the excellent story of the primary editor James Murray from his birth to his death and tells the story of the creation of the Oxford Dictionary along the way.

Compiling that first dictionary wasn't an easy task at all. It had to be done by paper quotes quotes being sent in from around the world. It had to be processed, checked and edited before being sent to the printers. It was a truly difficult task that took most of James Murray's life and in fact, all of his children also helped in assembling the dictionary.

This is really a wonderful book. The author appears to be a granddaughter so there is clearly a fondness for James Murray present. The roughest part of the book is the first 20% which contains a detailed telling of the upbringing of James Murray's life. It has a great deal to say about where he got his character and views but it's not nearly as interesting as the second half of the book. One thing that I wish had been discussed more is the work process for actually making the dictionary. Overall it's worth a read if you are interested in the subject material.