Customer Reviews

Peoples of Middle-Earth (History of Middle-Earth)

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Christopher Tolkien takes the reader back to the years 1950-1952 when his father was preparing the appendices and prologue for The Lord of the Rings. So much that had been written for publication was lost because the book was so big it simply couldn't all be used. So the appendices we have today were created by condensing the material originally intended for publication.

What we learn from the lengthy source material is that Tolkien really did anticipate many fannish questions and tried to answer them. A great deal of information concerning Hobbits, Elves, and the Edain (and Dunedain) was to be included. The essay "Of Dwarves and Men" also provides a fantastic study of early Second Age culture in the lands beyond the Misty Mountains. Unfinished Tales had led us to believe there was nothing more to be learned about the Second Age, but at the end of the History of Middle-earth series Christopher Tolkien unloaded a bombshell.

Peoples of Middle-earth also includes the previously unpublished opening pages for The New Shadow, the sequel J.R.R. Tolkien almost wrote to The Lord of the Rings. It begins after Aragorn has died and hints at a dark plot to overthrow King Eldarion. Sadly, Tolkien felt no passion for the story, which he deemed would be no better than a thriller. So he abandoned it just as the first taint of evil arose.

Tolkien researchers will also find that "The Shibboleth of Feanor" sets out the final and complete genealogy for Finwe's descendants, and several accompanying essays explain minor details alluded to throughout the History of Middle-earth books.

For years J.R.R. Tolkien's fans have wondered and speculated endlessly about whether Moria was retaken, who the Princes of Dol Amroth were, whether Cirdan's real name was "Cirdan", how the Dwarves ate if they spent their time digging and working mines, etc., etc., etc. The great mysteries are solved, and we learn for the first time just how extensive the Appendices to THE LORD OF THE RINGS were originally intended to be. Tolkien had to cut much of the material he had written, and only now, more than forty years later, we can officially declare the canon expanded. Of course there are the usual glimpses into other works -- arcane essays about the names of Finwe's descendants, a bit of history about the Dwarves (all seven Houses are named), some clues about the relationship of the Dunlendings and Breemen to the Dunedain, and how long the Hobbits actually lived beside men in the Vales of Anduin. And added treat is the full text of the abandoned sequel to THE LORD OF THE RINGS -- THE NEW SHADOW. Although many fans have eschewed THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH books as too redundant, too boring, too expensive, this is the one volume that anyone who has read through the Appendices and wondered, "Is that all?", must have.

But is this the end -- or only the beginning? This book, the 12th in "The History of Middle-Earth" series, wraps up the final loose ends of Christopher Tolkien's 25 year labor. Unlike many of the other titles in this series, "The Peoples of Middle-Earth" does not concentrate on a single "Age" or storyline. Instead, it attempts to answer remaining questions, correct errors and misimpressions, and provide extra bits of information about the lives and histories of the many peoples populating Middle-Earth. Of special interest are the two fragments of unfinished stories: one, dealing with the coming of the Numenorean ships to the shores of Middle-Earth (told from the perspective of the men living in desperation under the tyranny of the Dark Lord), two, dealing with the return of evil in Gondor, some 100+ years after the downfall of the Lord of the Rings. This hobbit wishes that these two stories had been finished. This book is a delight for all lovers of Middle-Earth -- Elves, Dwarves, Men and Hobbits will all find something of interest. Highly Recommended.

In the twelfth and FINAL volume of The History of Middle Earth Christopher Tolkien answers many of the questions bothering Tolkien fans for a long time. The family trees of Hobbits, the names and activities of all the Dwarf houses, the language ability of the elves, the origin of Lembas, and other mysteries are finally revealed. Also included are two very interesting pieces. One is "The New Shadow", the beginning of a sequel to LOTR, and the other is "Tal-Elmar", a story telling of the coming of the Numenorean ships as sees by the men of Middle Earth. I recommend this for all Tolkien fans, and for those who have read the other HoME volumes, you don't want to miss this last, and best, edition. Finally, a thank you to Christopher Tolkien for allowing us one of the greatest literary experiences of our lives--we are forever in your debt.

In this volume, Christopher Tolkien brings his quarter-century labor of love to a close -- and what an ending it is. All of these books (The History of Middle-Earth series) have provided Tolkien fans with tantalizing bits of information, glimpses into new characters and new perspectives, and bits and pieces of other story-lines. This book continues that trend -- and provides us with the opening (and only) pages of "The New Shadow", Tolkien's begun but abandoned sequel to "The Lord of the Rings".

Thank you, Professor (Christopher) Tolkien for making these books, stories, essays, and notes available. And thank YOU, Professor (JRR) Tolkien for sharing with the world, your world of Middle-Earth.

May your soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

This one, 10 (Morgorth's Ring), 9 (End of the Third Age), and 5 (The Lost Road and Other Writings) are the most worthwile entries of the 12 volume series. Don't buy it for "The New Shadow", however, as it is only 20ish pages and Eldarion or Aragorn don't even come into the story...closest tie to LOTR is the brother of Bergil, son of Beregond. However, there's lots here for you Numenorian fans...full account of the Heirs of Elendil, additional background on the tale of Aragorn and Arwen, how the humans under the oppression of Sauron viewed the Numenorian ships in the 2nd age. Then you get the history of Lembas bread, some more info on the feud between the houses of Feanor and Fingolfin and why, and even some dwarf and Rohan info. The lone entry for Hobbits deals with their family trees in full, excrutiating detail, even more than the Appendicies in the LOTR. This is probably my second favorite entry overall (next to Morgorth's Ring), as it has the largest amount of interesting material in the whole series.

`The Peoples of Middle Earth', the twelfth and last volume of unpublished notes by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by son Christopher Tolkien, is, for me at least, a high point in this series. I have read `Lord of the Rings' at least 10 times, but I have read the appendices at the end of `The Return of The King' at least 20 times. Until the publication of `The Silmarillion', these appendices were the only tonics to cool the great interest in the history of Middle Earth and its larger context. And, it is this depth of history twinkling through crevices in the main text which makes Tolkien's two principal novels, `The Hobbit' and `The Lord of the Rings' so engaging. And, in so many of the earlier volumes, the primary subject was the history of the elves in Middle Earth and their battles with Morgoth. I confess these tales did practically nothing for me. I was much more interested in the histories of the Dwarves, Tom Bombadil, Numenor, their colonies Gondor and Arnor, the Istari (the wizards), and the Hobbits. For the Hobbits, this volume covers just about everything you would ever want to know, usually three times over, in different versions of the same texts. It also has some goodies on Numenor and as good a chronology of the first three ages as you can ask for. But still, it has scant new information on the wizards and nothing on that great deux ex machina, Tom Bombadil, who remains totally unique in the great world of Middle earth.
The best single value of this volume is for those who own only the Second Edition or later of `Lord of the Rings'. Apparently, the First Edition `Prologue' or `Preface' was removed from the `Lord of the Rings' printing, and this is a significant loss. Otherwise, those who delight in genealogies, chronologies, and linguistics, will get a new and better dose of these confections in this last and (one of the best) of this series.
As an aside, I was interested to discover that Christopher Tolkien had a deadline for this volume which, either by coincidence or by design, coincided exactly with the release of the first of Peter Jackson's three movie interpretation of `Lord of the Rings'.

`The Peoples of Middle Earth', the twelfth and last volume of unpublished notes by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by son Christopher Tolkien, is, for me at least, a high point in this series. I have read `Lord of the Rings' at least 10 times, but I have read the appendices at the end of `The Return of The King' at least 20 times. Until the publication of `The Silmarillion', these appendices were the only tonics to cool the great interest in the history of Middle Earth and its larger context. And, it is this depth of history twinkling through crevices in the main text which makes Tolkien's two principal novels, `The Hobbit' and `The Lord of the Rings' so engaging. And, in so many of the earlier volumes, the primary subject was the history of the elves in Middle Earth and their battles with Morgoth. I confess these tales did practically nothing for me. I was much more interested in the histories of the Dwarves, Tom Bombadil, Numenor, their colonies Gondor and Arnor, the Istari (the wizards), and the Hobbits. For the Hobbits, this volume covers just about everything you would ever want to know, usually three times over, in different versions of the same texts. It also has some goodies on Numenor and as good a chronology of the first three ages as you can ask for. But still, it has scant new information on the wizards and nothing on that great deux ex machina, Tom Bombadil, who remains totally unique in the great world of Middle earth.
The best single value of this volume is for those who own only the Second Edition or later of `Lord of the Rings'. Apparently, the First Edition `Prologue' or `Preface' was removed from the `Lord of the Rings' printing, and this is a significant loss. Otherwise, those who delight in genealogies, chronologies, and linguistics, will get a new and better dose of these confections in this last and (one of the best) of this series.
As an aside, I was interested to discover that Christopher Tolkien had a deadline for this volume which, either by coincidence or by design, coincided exactly with the release of the first of Peter Jackson's three movie interpretation of `Lord of the Rings'.

This is the 12th and last volume in The History of Middle earth series, Christopher Tolkien's exhaustive effort to publish every word his father wrote about his invented world.

None of the volumes in The History of Middle earth are suitable for those who are new to Tolkien, but those who have read and loved The Lord of the Rings will find this, the final volume, especially intriguing. Here we have material which was compiled for the Appendices at the end of The Return of the King. Much of this material expands upon and enriches the published Appendices. Most fascinating of all is the inclusion of Tolkien's planned sequel to The Lord of The Rings, The New Shadow. This was written in the late 1960s and never stretched for more than a few pages, but the fragment we have here is a treasure not to be missed.

A great book of answers and more information--info that is not of interest just to Tolkien linguists and those who are constantly arguing about Finwe's blood line, but to the average reader.