I asked, in 1967 or 1968, for a copy of The Hobbits' album. My father didn't go to the proper place in the shop, but got me this LP instead. I remember being disappointed at the time, but have grown to love this album--and who remembers the band The Hobbits nowadays?

On one side, you have Prof. Tolkien reading his poems aloud in a lovely soft professorial voice. On the other side, you have: Donald Swann (yes, of Flanders &) at piano and William Elvin with voice, performing the lovely works you may have seen in the book of Tolkien's music, The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle, with music by Donald Swann.

Oh, that I had known of the cassette version when it was in print! Oh, that I might find the CD released some day soon!

Many of us have read the novels, many of us in our youth and many times over since, but to hear its author, long before the days of audiobooks and music videos and obligatory book tours, reading his poetry and giving you a feel for the stateliness of the realm he created, and his very real love of language, lore, epic poetry, and weaving a story to mesmerize his audience.

I don't have my recording to hand: it's packed away, so I am unable to tell you the tracks. I do remember Tom Bombadil being read, and delighting in the rhythm of its reading. I believe, but cannot recall exactly, that there is a poem in Elvish recited as well, and something of Galadriel.

The tracks on the second side include:

The Road Goes Ever On

Upon the Hearth the Fire Is Red

In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan

In Western Lands

Namárië (Farewell)

I Sit Beside the Fire

Errantry

I can hear these tunes still, though I have never learnt to read musical notation. I could wish that there'd been a female voice to leaven the mix, or that there had been one or two choral arrangements, but that's with the virtue of hindsight.

I should hope that Caedmon, or its successor, or the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien has mercy on us, and allows a remastered CD to be issued and sold.

This book presents an excellent interpretation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkein. It adds an interesting prespective on his stories, as well as his life. This is a must have for any true Tolien fan! Peace.

This book changed my life. Before it I was a spotty 14 year old hooked on my science studies. Then I read LOTR, and, at the same time, discovered women existed and.....but thats enough of that. You want to hear about the book.

By now there are few people who haven't at least heard of LOTR, and most of them have an opinion. There are the fans, almost fanatics, and there are the people who have read fifty pages or so, sometimes five or six times, but just can't get it, and don't understand what the fuss is about. I might have been one of them, if it hadn't been for an accident.

I asked my local librarian to recommend a book for me as I had read all the Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asimov works they had. She pointed me at LOTR, and handed me what she said was book 1 of 3. It was only when I got home I found I had book 2: The Two Towers.
I arrived in the story just at the point where the first film ends - The Fellowship is broken and Frodo and Sam are heading for Mordor.

I think that is what made me keep reading -I had started at a point of crisis and I needed to know what happened next. Of course I had a lot of blanks to fill in, but I managed to pick up most of them as I went along , and I caught up with the first book as soon as I'd finished the third. (I bought the big all-in-one paperback, the one with the yellow cover. If you were a student in the seventies it was obligatory to have one lying about, all battered and torn to show that it had been read several times. You used to see backpackers in their hundreds on the trains going south through Europe, all with this version of LOTR falling apart in their hands.)

As for starting at the begining, I believe the reason a lot of people give up is that they are expecting heroes, wizards and high magic. What they get is, in great detail, the rural goings-on of a bunch of small hairy creatures who eat and drink a lot and seem to live in an idealised version of the Home Counties. Anyone who has read "The Hobbit" will know that there is more to the Hobbits than that, but newcomers often feel cheated and give up.

They don't know what they're missing.

The story only picks up AFTER Bilbo's birthday party, and after the passing of his ring of invisibility to Frodo. Gandalf, a wizard, discovers the true nature of the ring. It is a magic item of great power, belonging to Sauron himself, a dark god intent on taking dominion over the world.

Gandalf tells Frodo that the ring must be taken to a place of safety, to Rivendell, where the high-elves hold out against Sauron.

And so the great journey starts, with Frodo and his friends, Sam, Merry and Pippin, taking the road to Rivendell. On the way they have many adventures, and the mood begins to darken with the appearance of the dark riders, servants of Sauron intent on finding the ring.

The travelling band is befriended by Strider, a ranger of the north, and he helps them get to Rivendell, but not before Frodo is wounded by the dark riders, and starts to understand the power of the ring.

At Rivendell, many things are revealed; the history of the ring is told, Strider is shown to be Aragon, the rightful heir to the kingdom of Middle-Earth, and a fellowship is forged, of wizards, elves, dwarves, men and hobbits. They form a band of nine who will try to take the ring to Mount Doom, a volcano where the ring was forged, and which is the only place where it can be destroyed.

And so the adventure truly begins. From here on we have battles in deep mountain mines, the loss of one of the Fellowship, encounters with elves in enchanted forests, treachery and betrayal leading to the breaking of the fellowship - and we're still in Book 1!

Books 2 and 3 deal with the fight for middle-Earth, with Aragon and his allies taking the battle to Sauron and his minions and Frodo and Sam trying to reach Mount Doom to destroy the ring. There are huge, stirring, battle scenes, moments of humour (especially when the younger hobbits meet the Ents), spectacular feats of high magic when the White Rider enters the battle scenes, and moments of great friendship and tenderness - I defy anyone to have a dry eye when Sam and Frodo are parted at Shelob's lair.

It all builds up to a terrific climax, and the story comes full circle back at Hobbitton where we see the effect the war has had on the rural life of the Hobbits.

And that is why the beginning is important - you might not see it till right at the end, but it is teaching us a lesson about the value of the simpler things in life - respect them or lose them.

Tolkein's genius lies in melding these simple aspects with world-shattering events, showing how even the "little people" have their part to play in the fight against the darkness.

And he also knows that the best villain is a mysterious one....Sauron hardly appears at all in the books, but his dark presence stretches over everything, and he's always there, his evil eye seeing everything.

I used to have nightmares about that large, red-rimmed eye, but that was before I discovered women, grew my hair, developed a liking for Hawkwind and Led Zeppelin, and started to write fantasy fiction. I've never been the same since...... but that's another long story.

This is an RPG system based on the world of Tolkien's middle earth. It uses a simplified rolemaster system with basic D&D type classes. It uses a level system and magic is well developed and has great flavor. This captures the feel of tolkien and of RPGs well. I would recommend it for anybody who enjoys RPGs and either wants to use middle earth (there are many quality supplements though most are out of print)or new material to incorporate into an existing RPG (as I have done with the material in this product).

The writings of Professor Tolkien are absolutely Timeless. His books are the gauge by-which all Fantasy books are measured. However, there is much more to Tolkien than many people realize. His translations and teaching positions are not always mentioned, yet they are credentials that make his other works even more astounding! The Hobbit and The Trilogy have been the Inspiration for decades of works by other authors, yet I have not ever seen these works surpassed by anyone. Terry Brooks is the only author I have read who even compares to J.R.R. Tolkien and his epic style. I became fascinated with The Hobbit and Trilogy when I was in the seventh grade. I borrowed them from a friend and snuck them home. I was completely enthralled with the world Tolkien created. I was not allowed to read anything that was even remotely related to Wizards, Witches, Astrology, D&D, etc., so these books were like nothing I had ever seen, before. I was captivated and felt the call to become a Writer. Previously, the poetry and such that we were studying in school BORED me to tears. I found my schooling to be mind-numbingly BORING and Tolkien became my Inspiration to Learn, create Poetry, Write stories, Study, become an Anthropologist, delve into Masonic Lore and so much more.... Throughout High-School, I had pictures of Prof. Tolkien on my wall and I desired to be like him. Not-only was he the Greatest Fantasy Writer the world has known, but he was "Professor of Anglo-Saxon, at Oxford University, from 1925 to 1945....and professor of English Language and Literature....and a Fellow of Merton College from '45 to his retirement in '59." Check out his translations of (book title:)"Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo" (J.R.R. Tolkien) Also, Prof. Tolkien wrote wonderful stories like "Smith of Wooten Major (&) Farmer Giles of Ham" for children. Pop those titles into the search box! I can honestly say that reading Tolkien changed my life...for the Better! Tolkien created the highest standards of writing for generations of authors....I am quite sure he would be deeply disappointed with the majority of books published today, with numerous spelling errors and pathetic grammar. I believe Tolkien is a god-send to English teachers. Perhaps, he can still inspire young people to elevate their Writing and English skills, from beyond. I would fight to keep his works on the shelves. I was not allowed to do my Senior Thesis about this author, despite the fact that he is such an amazing author and advocate of Literature. I lost interest in doing my thesis and threw something together at the last minute. Perhaps teachers should Recognize the potential for inspiring youth, via the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The only book with all the paintings and drawing by J.R.R Tolkien. Discover visually the author's own idea about his world. Moreover, it's a very beautiful book : the cover is nice and the drawings are awesome

This book presents an excellent interpretation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkein. It adds an interesting prespective on his stories, as well as his life. This is a must have for any true Tolien fan! Peace.

this is the greatest book i have ever read. it was a very factual and fascinating book, and i would reccomend it to anyone who likes Tolkien

For fans of Tolkien, CS Lewis and Charles Williams, this is a must read. Urang does tremendous work as he relates these excellent writers to theology and religious teaching.

Peter Carey

Colin Duriez's "Tolkien and the Lord of the Ring: A Guide to Middle Earth" is an impressive book about the Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion. It's divided into 4 parts.

Part 1: The Mind Behind Middle-earth: Includes background info about Tolkien, his life and work.

Part 2: The Book of the Century: A guide to LOTR, how it relates to the Silmarillion, etc. Basically a recap, in case you're a bit fuzzy.

Part 3: An A-Z of Tolkien's Middle-earth: I found this very helpful; I could look up my favorite people, places, events, and things quickly and effortlessly. This is especially helpful for those currently reading either LOTR or the Silmarillion to get extra info on what they're reading. If you are intimately familiar with the books, however, it would be more reference than new facts.

Part 4: A Look Behind Tolkien's Life and Work: Most interesting part to me. Evaluates key themes, concepts, and images in Tolkien. Allegory (or lack thereof), Christianity, Posession and Power are some of the themes explored by Duriez. Then it talks about key people and places in Tolkien's life.

It's more geared to people who are more interested in the book and Tolkien's writings than in the recent movies, so it shouldn't be confused with books like, "The Magical Worlds of Lord of the Rings."

I recommend it to anyone interested in Lord of the Rings.