Book Review: Noah Webster Father of the Dictionary {Book Crash}

Noah Webster Father of the Dictionary by Isabel Proudfit
ISBN: 9780980156300
Paperback, 220 pages
Publisher: Bradford Press
Retail: $15.95

From the back cover:

The story of the farm boy who worked his way through Yale and lived through one of the most exciting periods of American history to write the first American dictionary is in its own way as thrilling as that of any frontiersman hero.

A Connecticut Yankee whose relatives were among the earliest settlers, the author of Webster’s Spelling Book and the first American Dictionary was passionately patriotic. But where others gave the new country laws and government, he provided schoolbooks glowing with the American spirit. Twenty-five million copies of Webster’s Spelling Book went out to the little red schoolhouses through the land during his lifetime.

The American Dictionary, which he sat down to write when he was fifty, was, of course Webster’s greatest achievement. This book took more than twenty years to write. It was completely American in spelling and pronunciation, and gave first recognition to homespun words like “whittle” and “tackle,” “shaver” and “chore.”

Aside from his crowning achievement, Webster was an advanced thinker on all the questions and issues of his day and was practically as many-sided as Benjamin Franklin.

His influence has been unique and enormous and young people will find his life absorbing reading.

***********************************

This book is 219 pages long and has 28 chapters. It isn’t a very long book. When I saw this book for review from Book Crash, I thought it would be a good introductory biography of Noah Webster. I have read quite a few biographies that were written quite a few years ago –this one originally was published in 1942 and then renewed in 1970 –so I was not surprised by the style.

I will say though that I wasn’t terribly impressed with the book. I cannot say whether it is because of the individual the biography details or because of the writing style. It was difficult for me to start and stay with. Webster’s accomplishment was indeed impressive and I think that the impact of his writings are more pronounced than we often think. 

“Sometimes a sense of failure sat like a raven on his table. He had tried to become a lawyer, and failed. He had tried to open his own school and failed. He had tried to secure a business position and failed.” Noah Webster, Father of the Dictionary, page 102

Noah Webster was born in 1758, and would be a teenager when the American Revolution raged in the colonies. He started out life as a lively child but as time moved on, the difficulties of life got him down. His father was a farmer who spent just about all he had to send Noah to Yale college. I think it was about the time that Noah graduated that he started to be less than lively and actually became grouchy and sullen. He was a teacher for a small village far away from home and then one close to his parent’s home and finally a ‘rich’ school that he started. Each of those ‘failed’. But from what I gather, they didn’t actually ‘fail’; Webster became dissatisfied with them.

In chapter fourteen, “The Blue-Backed Speller,” we get a glimpse of what was in the first book that Webster had managed to have printed: The American Spelling Book or simply Webster’s Spelling Book. The next chapter talks about what it cost Webster to have those books published; it wasn’t near as easy to publish as it is today!

By chapter seventeen, we see more of Webster’s personality and indignation of the state of learning, as well as his somewhat tactless way of presenting his ideas. On page 138, Isabel Proudfit says “Everywhere he went he talked so

earnestly about these problems that some people were offended. Sometimes they called him “the little monarch.” Later on in his life Webster acquired more modesty; at this period of his life he was still something of a raw young man from Connecticut full of his own virtues. Yet what would America have done without him? His courage and insight were invaluable. Let the suave manners and less abrupt approach come later.”

Towards the middle of the book, we see that Webster was acquainted with historical figures George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. He converses with Franklin about a phonetics program. The book goes on to talk about Webster meeting his future wife, the continued struggles he had with writing, making ends meet, finding employment and more writing. Even though he had times when he tried to not write, Webster kept writing pretty much until the end of his life.

Overall, the book was just so-so for me. It had many parts that I just wasn’t interested in –either the ‘politics’ or the format of the books he was writing –but I understand that both of these were very important to Webster and also to the time that he lived in. The book itself imparts history and gives more information to what many just see on a book –Webster’s Dictionary. Some might like the book more than I did and others may feel about the same.

***Disclaimer: I received this book free from Book Crash book blogger program for a review. All opinions are my own and I am never required to write a positive review; professional yes, but glowing no. *wink* See Disclosure/Policies.***