A profile of the creator of Roget's Thesaurus describes his childhood fascination with list-making, a practice that was shaped by family tragedies, his run-in with Napoleon's authorities, and a productive relationship with famed physician Thomas Beddoes.
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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 undeniable 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 the darkness of 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 rightful place, one word at a time.Despite hardships, Peter Mark Roget lived a colorful life, full of unexpected twists and discoveries: he narrowly avoided jail in Napoleon's France, assisted famed physician Thomas Beddoes by personally testing the effect of laughing gas, invented the slide rule, and of course, brought life to the book that would become synonymous with synonyms.Evocative and entertaining, The Man Who Made Lists lets readers join Roget on his worldly adventures and emotional journeys. This rich narrative explores the power of words and the legacy of a rediscovered genius.
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