The Man Who Made Lists

The Man Who Made Lists by Joshua Kendall

Category: Biography/history Grade: A-

There are very few books or category of books that are identifiable solely by some one's name. If I tell you to go look up a word in your Johnson's, you'll probably give me a blank stare. On the other hand, if you have more than a 4th grade education and I give you the same instruction, but tell you to look up the word in your Roget's, you immediately know what I'm talking about. Not sure many of us would have made it through school without using the same few words over and over without this handy catalog of synonyms. That said, it hadn't ever really occurred to me that I know absolutely nothing about the man who created this reference.

Kendall, in his first book, sets out to correct that and ends up writing a thoroughly entertaining story. The sub-title of the book sums it up pretty well -- Love, Death, Madness, and the Creation of Roget's Thesaurus. The story takes place in the late 18th century. In the description, Peter Mark Roget grew up as a fairly typical nerd. He's the kind of kid that would never get off the computer today. Even though his masterwork didn't get published until he was elderly, the seeds are there as we see the classification phobia of a boy who's organizing of words, and then plants and animals, was a tool he used to fight off depression and loneliness. There's a strong history of insanity in the boy's family - several suicides and a mother and sister who were, for long periods, clinically insane.

Surprisingly, for someone so known for his literary impact, Roget turns out to have been a medical man and, unusual for the time, actually an educated, trained medical man. He spent years in a medical practice until, for lack of modern tools, he was unable to save the life of an uncle who was, for all practical purposes, Roget's father. After that, he retreated in to academia and became one of the more successful lecturers and authors of the day. It was only in retirement, probably once again to stave off madness, that he completed the project for which he became famous.

Kendall has done a great job of making this man's life interesting and entertaining. Roget is probably one of the more subtly influential people of the last 3 or 4 centuries. Kendall brings him to life.