I'm also going to suggest a Hobbit from 1977, which is also out of print. The movie tie-in edition, still trying to forget about the existence of latter movies.
Thanks to the excellent https://www.tolkienbooks.us/hob/us/hc/the-hobbit-1977, found out that I have the second printing.
Thanks to the excellent https://www.tolkienbooks.us/hob/us/hc/the-hobbit-1977, found out that I have the second printing.
Returning again to The Hobbit I offer Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit expanded edition.
From the publisher
EDIT: Thanks to Trotter for pointing out the 2021 release of a third edition [link below].
[@uruloke edit] - The publisher has pulled this record from Amazon at this time (January 2021) ?
From the publisher
For readers throughout the world, The Hobbit serves as an introduction to the enchanting world of Middle-earth, home of elves, wizards, dwarves, goblins, dragons, orcs and a host of other creatures depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion -- tales that sprang from the mind of the most beloved author of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien.
Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places, and things of J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless classic. Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text of the original story are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of The Hobbit specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Tolkien's Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and color paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of The Hobbit available.
The Annotated Hobbit shows how Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the invented world of Middle-earth. It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of The Hobbit, and explains how every feature of The Hobbit fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. Here we learn how Gollum's character was revised to accommodate the true nature of the One Ring, and we can read the full text of The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's explanation of how he came to send Bilbo Baggins on his journey with the dwarves. Anderson also makes meaningful and often surprising connections to our own world and literary history -- from Beowulf to The Marvellous Land of Snergs, from the Brothers Grimm to C. S. Lewis.
[@uruloke edit] - The publisher has pulled this record from Amazon at this time (January 2021) ?
Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth may be long out of date as it does not include information post Silmarillion but when Christopher Tolkien himself mentions it as "an admirable work of reference" (Unfinished Tales p.6) one can imagine how useful a reference tool the book is.
First published in 1971 as A Guide to Middle-Earth, before the publication of The Silmarillion, the first edition contained only information from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In 1978, a new edition (The Complete Guide to Middle-earth: from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion), bringing new material from The Silmarillion.
First published in 1971 as A Guide to Middle-Earth, before the publication of The Silmarillion, the first edition contained only information from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In 1978, a new edition (The Complete Guide to Middle-earth: from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion), bringing new material from The Silmarillion.
A quick discount until Christmas
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tolkiens-Worl ... collsguid-21&linkCode=osi
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tolkiens-Worl ... collsguid-21&linkCode=osi
I'm fortunate enough to have one of the last (if not the last) printing of the hardback edition of The Complete Guide to Middle-earth illustrated by Ted Nasmith. I bought it 'new' from a retailer (Book Depository? Blackwell's? Forget where) back in 2015.
The next volume (well two volumes) come again from Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond. These two volumes bring me so much joy and show why Scull & Hammond are renowned in the Tolkien community. The Art of the Hobbit published in 2011 and The Art of the Lord of the Rings from 2015 bring together hundreds of examples of Tolkien's artwork and illustrations related to both stories. Many of them previously unpublished. The commentary is delightful and elevates Tolkien's art with keen details about his creative process. The reproductions of many are the best we have seen reproduced including some published in colour for the first time.
The Art of The Hobbit
The Art of The Lord of the Rings
The Art of The Hobbit
The Art of The Lord of the Rings
I had planned a couple more entries before this last one but time has caught up with me before Christmas and I won't have very much time. I hope this has been useful to some out there.
So I come to my final entry in this informal 'Twelve Tolkien’s of Christmas' and I save the best for last. Well twelve of them to be precise. Well actually thirteen of them to be exactly exact but we will sidestep that.
The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien’s monumental 12 volume exploration of his father's secondary world is quite simply put, astonishing. Started in 1983 the 12 volumes revealed the early evolution of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth from writings during the earliest days of WWI, efforts that would later find their way into his greatest works in the form of poems and song, the history of The Silmarillion, the long process of writing The Lord of the Rings, and many pieces that would ultimately remain unfinished but offer a tantalizing glimpse into the vastness of Tolkien's creation. The History of Middle-earth stands as one of the most impressive in literary criticism. In 2002 an Index of all twelve volumes was compiled by Helen Armstrong to help readers navigate these volumes more easily and thus becoming the thirteenth volume.
Published in various forms, the earliest volumes were in hardcover and they can be bought in the form of Print On Demand hardcovers directly at the official Tolkien Bookstore, various paperbacks adorn many of our shelves but the most popular among modern readers are the 2002 paperback printings wonderfully illustrated with John Howe's exquisite artwork on every front cover and matching spines. Another popular option is the 3 volume collected box. Do note though that those volumes are very large and are best used at a desk.
For a detailed look at the contents of each volume tolkienbooks has an excellent guide.
The Book of Lost Tales: Part One
The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two
The Lays of Beleriand
The Shaping of Middle-earth
The Lost Road: and Other Writings
The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part One)
The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Two)
The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Three)
Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Four)
Morgoth's Ring
The War of the Jewels
The Peoples of Middle-earth
Index
The Complete History of Middle-earth (3 Volume Box-set) [please note that the US edition was recently published by Houghton Mifflin]
So I come to my final entry in this informal 'Twelve Tolkien’s of Christmas' and I save the best for last. Well twelve of them to be precise. Well actually thirteen of them to be exactly exact but we will sidestep that.
The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien’s monumental 12 volume exploration of his father's secondary world is quite simply put, astonishing. Started in 1983 the 12 volumes revealed the early evolution of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth from writings during the earliest days of WWI, efforts that would later find their way into his greatest works in the form of poems and song, the history of The Silmarillion, the long process of writing The Lord of the Rings, and many pieces that would ultimately remain unfinished but offer a tantalizing glimpse into the vastness of Tolkien's creation. The History of Middle-earth stands as one of the most impressive in literary criticism. In 2002 an Index of all twelve volumes was compiled by Helen Armstrong to help readers navigate these volumes more easily and thus becoming the thirteenth volume.
Published in various forms, the earliest volumes were in hardcover and they can be bought in the form of Print On Demand hardcovers directly at the official Tolkien Bookstore, various paperbacks adorn many of our shelves but the most popular among modern readers are the 2002 paperback printings wonderfully illustrated with John Howe's exquisite artwork on every front cover and matching spines. Another popular option is the 3 volume collected box. Do note though that those volumes are very large and are best used at a desk.
For a detailed look at the contents of each volume tolkienbooks has an excellent guide.
The Book of Lost Tales: Part One
The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two
The Lays of Beleriand
The Shaping of Middle-earth
The Lost Road: and Other Writings
The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part One)
The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Two)
The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Three)
Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part Four)
Morgoth's Ring
The War of the Jewels
The Peoples of Middle-earth
Index
The Complete History of Middle-earth (3 Volume Box-set) [please note that the US edition was recently published by Houghton Mifflin]
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