The first chapter in Peter Jackson's new epic trilogy set in Middle Earth 60 years before J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the rings saga. Follow Bilbo Baggins as he's swept into a quest to reclaim the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached by the wizard Gandalf, Bilbo joins a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior Thorin Oakenshield. Along the way they face many dangers; Bilbo meets Gollum and takes...

The epic conclusion to the adventures of Bilbo Baggins. The dragon Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women, and children of Lake-town. Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo attempts to make him see reason.

Best known for his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien was born in British-occupied South Africa. His early life was full of action and adventure. Tolkien spent his childhood roaming the British countryside with his family and could read and write by age four. He was naturally gifted with languages and used this skill as a signals officers in World War II as well as in his fantasy writing. By creating alternate universes...

The definitive critical study of Tolkien's greatest works by the respected and world renowned Tolkien scholar Professor T.A. Shippey. Following the unprecedented and universal acclaim for The Lord of the Rings, the respected academic and world-renowned Tolkien scholar, Professor Tom Shippey, presents us with a fascinating and informed companion to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, in particular focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....

"A stirring group biography of the Inklings, the Oxford writing club featuring J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis C.S. Lewis is the twentieth century's most widely read Christian writer and J.R.R. Tolkien its most beloved mythmaker. For three decades, they and their closest associates formed a literary club known as the Inklings, which met weekly in Lewis's Oxford rooms and a nearby pub. They read aloud from works in progress, argued about anything that...

"An original and thought-provoking journey into J. R. R. Tolkien's world, revealing how his visionary creation of Middle-Earth is more relevant now than ever before. What is it about Middle-Earth and its inhabitants that has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world? And why does Tolkien's visionary creation continue to fascinate and inspire us eighty-five years after its first publication? Beginning with Tolkien's earliest influences--and...

In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'....

Over 200 illustrations accompany entries concerning the lands, inhabitants, languages, geography, and history of Middle Earth. An appendix examines the legends Tolkien drew on in his writings: the Volsunga saga, the Nibelungenlied, and Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Introduce a new generation of readers to the man who wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. This book takes young readers through the exciting life of the man who created amazing new worlds and helps kids discover how he could see them. Explore the personal experiences and subjects that inspired Tolkien's stories through hands-on activities, and learn how he influenced his contemporaries as well as later writers.

From his early life to his experiences in World War I to his insightful gaze at the enormous tidal forces of World War II, we gain a new perspective of his creativity in language and storytelling on an epic scale.