Most everyone who can get through The Silmarillion and say, "That was neat! Let's have some more!" can probably handle the rest of the Tolkien library in large or small doses, but the books do get a little long-winded thereafter. In fact, for the first five years after Christopher Tolkien started publishing the History of Middle-earth series, whenever I needed to cure a bad case of insomnia, I'd just curl up with The Book of Lost Tales, Part One and in a few minutes I'd be more soundly asleep than an Ent before the Elves got curious about trees.

There is just something about 100 pages of editorial commentary which sucks the wind from the sails of one's ship of literary adventure. Which is not to say that Christopher Tolkien's notes about his father's writing aren't interesting in their own right. But you pretty much have to be in the right frame of mind to be able to follow all the "and I wrote on page X of book Y that my father's manuscript D of version 2 was composed after he had sipped wine with his tea" references.

There are several reasons for why anyone may want to look at the other Tolkien books. Like me, you probably want to read more cool stories. And there are indeed some cool stories. But as Christopher hinted in Unfinished Tales, the stories become less and less complete from this point onward, too. In fact, the story-to-commentary ratio degrades radically after Unfinished Tales, but there is a method to Christopher's meticulous annotation and once you become familiar with the progression, the commentary becomes more helpful and less hindering.

People frequently ask what books they should read and in what order, so that they can simply enjoy the adventures in Middle-earth. All too seldom (in my opinion) are they advised to read The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. The Tolkien library consists of works published both in Tolkien's lifetime and posthumously. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil was one of the books he published himself. So, in my humble opinion, if you want to read the Tolkien books the way he published them, the sequence should be:

1. The Hobbit, 3rd edition (1965) (Douglas Anderson's Annotated Hobbit is recommended) 2. The Lord of the Rings, 2nd edition (1965) (the edited version with the Douglas Anderson "Note on the Text" is recommended) 3. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962) (now included in The Tolkien Reader, 1966) 4. The Silmarillion (1977) (edited/compiled by Christopher Tolkien -- there is a 2nd edition which contains no textual alterations or additions) 5. Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth (1980) (this is the first book with extensive commentary from Christopher)

Now, there are other books besides the History of Middle-earth books, and thorough Tolkien research occasionally requires dipping into those books. I'm speaking of The Road Goes Ever On (1967) and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), the latter being edited by Humphrey Carpenter. Carpenter also wrote the authoritative J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977), and some people recommend that as well, although its usefulness really depends on what sort of research you are doing.

In fact, if your goal is to study all the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and not simply his Middle-earth-related books, there are many more books and essays to look for, such as Farmer Giles of Ham, which is sometimes published with Smith of Wootton Major, Mr. Bliss, Roverandom, et. al. Forodrim has a pretty thorough Tolkien bibliography, including Tolkien's own scholarly works.

Tolkien research is not yet a fully developed science, but there are several recognizable sub-disciplines in the field. Academics are familiar with Tolkien literary criticism, which was launched almost immediately after the first publication of The Lord of the Rings in 1954-1955. Some Tolkien defenders continue to respond to critical works written in the 1950s even today. Linguists and Biblical scholars also study Tolkien's professional papers and translations in Anglo-Saxon and Biblical texts (he is credited for work done on The Jerusalem Bible (1945-55, 1956 -- the Book of Job represents Tolkien's largest contribution), although that does not appear in the Forodrim bibliography. And students of literary theory may be quite familiar with Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories" essay (based on a lecture he delivered as part of the Andrew Lange series in 1938).

But Middle-earth is the crown of Tolkien's writing achievements. He spent most of his life developing the mythology that we are loosely referring to by implication when we speak of Middle-earth. The History of Middle-earth strives to document most of J.R.R. Tolkien's work on that mythology, which in fact is a succession of mythologies, some of them quite unrelated to one another.

That is the most confusing aspect to the series, I think. Many people develop the mistaken idea that all of the stories are directly connected to Middle-earth, and they are not. In fact, none of the early material is part of the Middle-earth canon. There was no Middle-earth at the time, and Tolkien did not retrofit them into Middle-earth. He abandoned them, a fact Christopher makes clear in volume after volume. His father gave up on certain ideas and themes and moved on to new projects time and again through the years. But he kept reusing other ideas and themes.

The study of Middle-earth is therefore its own intricate and enveloping discipline. There is a great deal of material concerning Tolkien's Middle-earth -- both derived from Tolkien himself and from commentators -- that would require a lifetime to explore and absorb. Christopher documented the process by which his father advanced to the stage of creating Middle-earth, and he documented much but not all of the process of the creation itself. The twelve volumes of The History of Middle-earth easily offer enough material for a full year of study in any literary curriculum.

The languages of Middle-earth and their predecessors offer another area of study, and the Tolkien linguistic community is thriving, if not threatening to engulf all of his readership. Tolkien linguists have even gone so far as to propose extensions to some of his languages. Their work has evolved into true philological research as they attempt to reconstruct the processes by which Tolkien devised and added words to his various languages.

The study of Middle-earth's imaginary history is my personal favorite and specialty. In fact, Tolkien probably wrote more about the history and cultures of Middle-earth, including their philosophies and motivations, than about any other aspect of Middle-earth. Nearly every linguistic essay and note, if not all of them, offers insight into the peoples and events of Middle-earth. Tolkien firmly believed that words did not exist alone. A word possessed a history, and if you understood the history of the word you learned something about the history and character of the people who developed and used that word. The study of history and language were almost one and the same thing for Tolkien.

The construction of Middle-earth itself presents another opportunity for study. That is, Middle-earth can be documented cartographically and sociologically. The lay of the land, the changes in geography, the ethnic diversity and evolution of the various peoples, and the interaction between peoples and geography are all sufficiently explained by Tolkien that one could easily write a book on the subject (and the various atlases of Middle-earth do not do it justice).

Then there is the analysis of Tolkien's sources for Middle-earth. He felt the pursuit of sources and inspirations for stories was not a desirable practice, and yet he occasionally offered explanations of where he got his ideas from. Although this area shares considerable overlap with literary criticism, it is not as fully developed as it should be. The commentators focus too much on Tolkien's obvious connections to Anglo-Saxon literature and tradition and they virtually ignore his Biblical and Greco-Roman influences. Tolkien admitted to or implied influences from Babylon, Egypt, Finland, Wales, Ireland, and other regions. The Finnish and Welsh influences are given the most attention after Anglo-Saxon, and many commentators will concede some debt to Tolkien's love of the Gothic language in an "oh, by-the-way" fashion. Much work remains to be done in uncovering Tolkien's sources and influences, and sadly it may be another generation before we see a respectable attempt to document the non-Anglo-Saxon sources.

Literary criticism offers us insights into Tolkien's own motivations and priorities (or, at least, what the commentators believe are Tolkien motivations and priorities). But it also provides a rich discussion of the applicable symbology and relevance of Middle-earth in the framework of modern thought. Tolkien was quite the philosopher, and his writings reflect his long, deep thought on many issues, especially on the issues of dehumanization and man's relationship to God. Tolkien was not a frequent allegorist, but he borrowed from the allegorical tradition wherever he felt he might broaden the reach of a character to his audience by doing so. And he wrote some allegory himself, although he professed a "cordial dislike" for it. Allegory is thought-provoking and deep, and attempts to rationalize a (frequently) limited concept. But Tolkien wanted very much to entertain his readers, and not to burden them with the necessity of unravelling allegorical symbology. Middle-earth's allegory is palpable but not pervasive. The reader can take it or leave it.

In order to study all these aspects of Middle-earth, one needs all the books I mentioned above, as well as one other: John Rateliff's as-yet unpublished History of the Hobbit (that is simply my euphemism for a book which, begun by the late Taum Santoski, has been called Mr. Baggins and other things less pleasant). The journal Vinyar Tengwar (edited by the Elven Linguistic Fellowship of the Mythopoeic Society) also occasionally includes some of Tolkien's previously unpublished essays (the most notable of which has so far been "Osanwe-kenta").

Extensions to Tolkien's Middle-earth

of a credible nature, at least -- are still rare. That is, there are role-playing games, fan fiction, and extrapolative essays galore, but you won't really learn much from the bulk of these materials, if anything at all. Not if your goal is to learn about Tolkien's Middle-earth. The purist might stop with Tolkien, but I think there is value in studying extensions of Middle-earth. Tolkien wanted it to become a living tradition, on his foundations for which others would build new layers. Sadly, his desire seems to have been ignored or misunderstood by some of the purists, but I think the linguistic community has taken his dream to heart, and I applaud them for doing so.

In a small way, these essays are my contribution to the extension of Middle-earth. My extrapolations may be no better than the next person's, but the more extrapolating we do, the richer the fabric of Middle-earth becomes. Tolkien's objective was to offer a new tradition for literary development. That dream will die if we attempt to freeze it in place with just his own works. That well has run dry, and the baton has changed hands.

In fact, the baton has changed hands twice. In my introduction to Visualizing Middle-earth, I said that my own essays are tertiary works. One reviewer took mild exception to my definition, which is admittedly not a standard rule applied by academia to the study of literary works. However, Middle-earth is not a literary work any more than Greek or Norse mythologies are literary works. Middle-earth is a modern mythological and linguistic tradition, and it is encompassed by a family of modern traditions, all of which were created by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The study of these traditions must concede that there are multiple levels of authority. Any work published by J.R.R. Tolkien himself would be a primary source. The posthumous works offered by Christopher Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, and Douglas Anderson are secondary sources. And commentaries and analysese, including my own, are at best tertiary sources. At worst, they are quarnary sources. That is, any role-playing game, collectible card game, media adaptation, fan fiction, or other extension would provide a fourth level of authority. Such extensions should be received credibly though with restraint.

After all, two hundred years from now, there will almost certainly be books and libraries of books and journals which document and analyze the Middle-earth tradition. It has yet to be recognized as a phenomenon, but in reality the groundswell of popular extrapolation and extension has surpassed the levels of fad and phenomenon. Middle-earth will gradually be recognized less as the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and more as the product of a process Tolkien began. And it is important to understand and accept that this is, in fact, what Tolkien wanted, even if it does not happen in the way he anticipated or hoped for it.

Every literary tradition begins with one person. Someone, somewhere, wrote the first story about King Arthur. Somewhere in time, someone composed the first lay about Robin Hood. Homer composed "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". Of course, all these people (like Tolkien and others after them) drew upon older sources. But they launched traditions which continue today. King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Troy remain vibrant and alive in our popular imagination, literature, and entertainment. There is no end in sight for these traditions, as well as others of equally ancient origin. Hence, we have no reason to doubt that Tolkien's tradition will succeed. It has already succeeded in a way that no other literary creation of the 20th century has succeeded.

So, if you're feeling brave and want to step out onto the road of Tolkien literary adventure, the good news is that you have a lot of material to explore, and many choices lie before you. There is a little something for everyone. And a lot of Middle-earth for everyone. The historical information is immense, and it provides insight into the way Tolkien envisioned a mythical storyscape, a world of continuously unfolding adventure.

Finally, since I've been asked this more than once, I'll conclude with a list of the primary and secondary sources, and some comments on each. Your mileage may vary. Don't obligate yourself to try and read every book. And keep in mind that one person's Silmaril is another person's Tree restored. We value these books in different ways. Two tertiary sources are also included in the list.

Primary texts

• The Hobbit

  For an introduction to Tolkien's sense of adventure and the basic setting of his northern world, The Hobbit works best. It's not very complex but is fun to read and very enjoyable. Although Tolkien eventually came to regret telling this story on a level intended for children, I think it serves to demonstrate the immense diversity in literary applicability that Middle-earth ultimately offers. Middle-earth began with The Hobbit, although Tolkien never intended to create Middle-earth, and had no idea of what the world of Bilbo Baggins would evolve into when he published this book. The 1st edition (1937) is notable for lying outside the Middle-earth canon. Tolkien suggested revisions for the book in 1947, and he was received galleys for a 2nd edition in 1950 which forced him to alter some of the material in The Lord of the Rings. The 3rd edition of 1965 was produced in response to ACE Books' unauthorized reprint, and it introduced some minor changes to the Middle-earth canon.

• The Lord of the Rings

  People invariably identify Middle-earth with the world of The Lord of the Rings. This book is Tolkien's literary masterpiece, and it will stand on its own merits for centuries to come. But because of the numerous contradictions between the various primary and secondary sources, I have long maintained that The Lord of the Rings should be regarded as the most authoritative source of information on Middle-earth. Nonetheless, I find myself increasingly compelled to qualify that valuation. For example, when people ask about the Avari, I have to explain that there were no Avari when Tolkien first wrote The Lord of the Rings. There were West-elves (Eldar) and East-elves (Wood-elves). But today, most Tolkien readers are familiar with The Silmarillion and the concept of the Avari. It's impossible to reconcile The Lord of the Rings with Tolkien's clear intent to make the East-elves into at least a subset of Avari (who mingled with Nandor). The 2nd edition of 1965 was published with the 3rd edition of The Hobbit, and some significant changes were introduced into the canon with that edition.

• The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

  These poems offer the reader an opportunity to explore Middle-earth through the poetic traditons of its characters. There are some notes provided by Tolkien, but the bulk of the material is presented as genuine Hobbit-lore or folklore. Of course, in reality, the poems were written by Tolkien for other purposes. He created the collection to please his beloved aunt Jane Neave, who died only a few months after the book was published. Some aspects of the Middle-earth canon are derived only from this collection, and for that reason there are people who feel (inexplicably, in my opinion) they are not authoritative additions to the canon. You can still get this collection of poems and notes in The Tolkien Reader.

• The Road Goes Ever On

  Tolkien was approached by Donald Swann in the early 1960s with music Swann had composed for some of Tolkien's songs in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien so appreciated the compositions that he endorsed them. Although the music itself offers little insight into Middle-earth, it represents the first sanctioned extension to Middle-earth, and Tolkien provided notes which established historical and linguistic elements not documented anywhere else. This was the last of the primary sources.

Secondary texts

• The Silmarillion

  Although an immense success when it was first published, and despite the fact that it has never gone out of print, The Silmarillion is a disappointment for too many reasons to list here. It is a superb narrative and represents a monumental effort by Christopher Tolkien to bring his father's most cherished collection of stories to print. Nonetheless, Christopher spent the years 1980 to 1996 explaining and apologizing for the many editorial decisions and alterations he made to the texts. On first read, this book stands out as extremely Biblical, and it is almost universally condemned for offering no more information on Hobbits. People really enjoyed the Hobbit stories. The Silmarillion thus demonstrates further that Middle-earth supports diversity in narrative form and theme.

• The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

  I still use this book on an almost daily basis. The Tolkien family and friends gave Carpenter unprecedented access to the author's private correspondence, which included many insights and explanations into the societies and history of Middle-earth. People who hungered for more Hobbit stories found some interesting and detailed trivia here about the Tooks, Baggins, Smeagol's people, and Hobbits in general. Many, many questions are answered only in Tolkien's correspondence. However, the evolving nature of his work shows through clearly, and there are some lapses in memory and changes in mind as the years roll by.

• Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth

  Just when people thought The Silmarillion was the final word in Middle-earth literature, Christopher Tolkien unleashed this bombshell. In fact, he mentioned an indeterminate amount of material yet remained to be published in the foreword to The Silmarillion, but Unfinished Tales opened up entire new vistas in Tolkien studies and revealed depths to Middle-earth never before imagined. It is unsatisfying in several respects, however, not the least being the fact that the stories and essays are indeed mostly incomplete. "Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin" promises to be a great story, and yet it ends with Tuor's arrival at the vale of Tumladen. "Aldarion and Erendis" is perhaps one of the greatest stories Tolkien wrote, because it does not focus on world-threatening events. It is simply a love story that is nonetheless interwoven with Middle-earth's histories. Unfinished Tales introduces the casual reader to the extensive resources Christopher's subsequent books provide without the overwhelming power of scholarly analysis and editorial interruption.

• The Book of Lost Tales, Part One

  I recommend this book for anyone who wants to see how Tolkien wrote stories when he was young. And you should also get Part Two at the same time you buy this book. If you give it as a gift, give both volumes. The Book of Lost Tales is completely useless, however, for any serious research into how The Silmarillion was composed. There is one story, "The Fall of Gondolin", which Christopher was forced to adapt to the published Silmarillion text, but you have to read his explanations in The War of the Jewels to understand what he did and why. The Book of Lost Tales should be enjoyed on its own merits. Sadly, too many people mistake it as a legitimate resource for the study of Middle-earth. It is invaluable in the study of J.R.R. Tolkien's literature, but not Middle-earth.

• The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two

  See my comments above.

• The Lays of Beleriand

  Although J.R.R. Tolkien attempted to write romantic prose fiction in epic form from circa 1916 to 1925, he abandoned the project. Instead, he turned to writing epic poetry, reusing two of the themes from The Book of Lost Tales. "Lay of the Children of Hurin" and "Lay of Leithian (Release from Bondage)" combine elements from several of the Book of Lost Tales stories, but Tolkien introduced radical changes in characterization, plot, and progression. The core "Silmarillion" mythology begins with these two lays, although when he composed the earliest versions there was no comprehensive vision for the mythology. "Lay of Leithian" is, in my opinion, the better composition and represents some of the most beautiful epic poetry ever written in the English language. It is a masterpiece which deserves far better reocgnition than the academic community has extended to it. I think future generations will enjoy it more than people have since this book was first published.

• The Shaping of Middle-earth

  In the late 1920s and early 1930s J.R.R. Tolkien came to write down the first "Silmarillion" mythologies. Although very similar to the mythology of The Book of Lost Tales, these mythologies departed from the "mythology for England" concept. Tolkien began inventing an imaginary historical time and place in northwestern Europe where Elves and Men struggled against a powerful evil being. The Shaping of Middle-earth documents how Tolkien continued to rely upon certain traditional elements from classical mythologies (such as the flat world, the existence of multiple gods, and the deeds of superhuman heroes). But it also reveals how he continued to refine and reinvent his "Silmarillion" mythology. And the sophistication of Tolkien's narrative structure and style improve visibly from text to text.

• The Lost Road and Other Writings

  This book introduces the last of Tolkien's pre-Lord of the Rings efforts to create a "Silmarillion" mythology. He almost succeeded. "The Quenta Silmarillion" is very close in form and style to the published book, but there are notable exceptions and differences. In some places, the texts are identical because Christopher was forced to go back to the 1937 material to complete the published book. Linguists who were tantalized by the early languages which appeared in The Book of Lost Tales finally received a gold mine of information in "The Lhammas", an essay about the historical evolution of the Elven languages, and "The Etymologies", a dictionary-like resource Tolkien compiled in the late 1930s. "The Etymologies" shows how Tolkien developed two early Elven languages, Qenya and Noldorin, which he used as the basis for Quenya and Sindarin (respectively). Some other dialects and proto-Elvish are also documented. There are differences between the languages of "The Etymologies" and The Lord of the Rings, so a one-to-one correlation is not possible. But "The Etymologies" has proven to be invaluable to the linguistic community. And many of the entries reveal fascinating glimpses into Elvish society, culture, and history.

• The Return of the Shadow

  The Return of the Shadow begins the task of explaining how Tolkien began to consciously create the primary Middle-earth mythology. This book, the next two, and the first half of Sauron Defeated have been republished as The History of The Lord of the Rings. These books contain early drafts for the chapters of the book, and many notes and explanations by Christopher. Some very important historical and cultural information appears only in these books, although reconciling previously unpublished material with the primary sources is not an easy task. Anyone purchasing these four books for themselves or as a gift should be sure to also purchase The Peoples of Middle-earth.

• The Treason of Isengard

  See comments under The Return of the Shadow.

• The War of the Ring

  See comments under The Return of the Shadow.

• Sauron Defeated

  Concerning the first half of this book, see comments under The Return of the Shadow. Sauron Defeated is noteworthy, however, for including the two versions of the epilogue Tolkien wrote for The Lord of the Rings. Although he was persuaded to drop the epilogue from the book when he first published it, he came to regret that choice, and I believe it was indeed a mistake to drop this material from the primary canon. Sauron Defeated also includes material contemporary with Tolkien's final work on the The Lord of the Rings (not including pre-publication edits and work on the appendices), especially "The Drowning of Anadune", which was the source of the legend of Numenor. More linguistic information relevant to the study of Adunaic appears in this book.

• Morgoth's Ring

  Although Tolkien finished the primary narrative of The Lord of the Rings in 1948, he did not immediately turn to work on the appendices. Instead, after a hiatus of 11 years, he returned to the "Silmarillion" mythology, and he began a comprehensive rewrite of the entire work. Through his decision to incorporate the world of the Silmarillion into Middle-earth, Tolkien committed himself to altering several fundamental aspects of the mythology. The most notable alteration was the final revocation of any notion that the Valar were gods in the ancient mythological tradition. Instead, because The Lord of the Rings was a Catholic work (that is, the story pays some reverence to Tolkien's Catholic belief in one supreme being), the Valar and their associates the Maiar became angelic beings created by God (Iluvatar). The flat Earth myth remained largely intact, but Tolkien began foreshadowing events which occurred in or were documented in The Lord of the Rings and even The Hobbit. Morgoth's Ring covers the beginning of that process. But the book also includes some essays which Tolkien wrote as an offshoot of his extensive revisions to the Silmarillion mythology. And the final section, "Myths Transformed", collects essays and notes from the 1950s through the 1970s which reveal Tolkien's growing doubt about the feasibility of the original mythological concepts. He examines many troubling philosophical questions in both the essays and a story, "Athrbeth Finrod ah Andreth", which resembles some Greek plays in form and purpose.

• The War of the Jewels

  Morgoth's Ring documents the history of the published Silmarillion only up to the point where the Noldor flee into exile. The War of the Jewels takes up the task of explaining how Christopher put the second half of the book together. Whereas he was able to rely extensive on his father's own narratives for the early part of the published book, the second half demanded increasing editorial compression, modification, and outright composition to maintain consistency (and there are still some problems). J.R.R. Tolkien simply never finished rewriting the "Silmarillion" mythology. Christopher's numerous admissions of changes and additions reveal that the published work is more a collaboration between father and son than anything else. The War of the Jewels, however, provides three valuable contributions to the study of Middle-earth proper: a chronology for the First Age; "The Wanderings of Hurin", which tells what really happened after Turin killed himself; and "Quendi and Eldar", another etymological and linguistic work which blurred the distinctions between Tolkien's linguistic and historical interests. There remain some inconsistencies between "Quendi and Eldar" and other works from the same period, but it establishes some very clear foundations for the study of Elvish history and culture (and languages). The work also includes a short story about the first Elves, written in the form of a nursery tale, which thus demonstrates further the complexity and flexibility of the Middle-earth tradition.

• The Peoples of Middle-earth

  For reasons not entirely clear to me, Christopher Tolkien elected not to publish the source materials for the appendices to The Lord of the Rings when he was working on Sauron Defeated. I wish he had done so, as this is very important material. Tolkien cut a great deal of information from the appendices in order to accomodate the publisher's production needs and schedule. There is a wealth of information which can be found in this book and nowhere else, and it is largely consistent with the text of The Lord of the Rings, far more so than most of the other material published in The History of Middle-earth. But this book wraps up Christopher's examination of his father's career with regard to developing Middle-earth (except for the Hobbit-related material, which had been delegated to Taum Santoski). Hence, other sections include the complete text for the two versions of The New Shadow, a sequel to The Lord of the Rings which Tolkien started and abandoned early on, "Of Dwarves and Men", an essay of which part was published in Unfinished Tales, "The Shibboleth of Feanor", which is important for the study of linguistics and corrects errors and omissions Christopher introduced to the genealogy of the Finweans in The Silmarillion, and several other essays which address some questions about the Elves. There is also a short story fragment called "Tal-Elmar" which is set in a Middle-earth like world, but is not really canonical.

For a complete listing of all the contents of The History of Middle-earth books, check out Ninni M. Pettersen's exhaustive guide at the Forodrim Web site.

Tertiary sources

• J.R.R. Tolkien: A biography

  Although the book reveals very little information about Middle-earth, it does provide a framework for the study of Tolkien's life and career. It also places oblique references to many acknowledged or attributed sources within a chronological context. Commentators often simply tell you, "Tolkien used X from Y" without explaining when he would have studied Y and what the appeal of X may have been. Humphrey Carpenter's book helps in that respect. Some of the more recent Tolkien biographies may do better, but this one is the least controversial.

• J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator

  There was an earlier book, Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien, which this book was intended to replace. If you seriously want to know how Tolkien visually depicted events and characters in the Middle-earth stories (or their predecessors), you'll want to buy this book. More than a hundred paintings and illustrations are included, and the authors provide extensive commentary and analysis. The book helps to explain when, where, and why Tolkien made many of his decisions about Middle-earth. And it's just fun to look at, too.

Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth, which may be purchased directly from Xlibris Corp. or through any online bookstore. You may also special order it from your local bookstore. The ISBN is 0-7388-3408-4.