Customer Reviews

Tolkien's World from A to Z: The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I can't say enough good about this book. As a companion resource to the any of Tolkien's novels based in mythical Middle Earth this is the perfect companion. This isn't a series of essays and it doesn't try to explain the twists of plot in all of Tolkien's books. What this book does is give complete, sourced and easy to find definitions for nearly ALL of the terms, places and people in Middle Earth.

Ever wonder what the difference between the Maiar and the Istari? Want to know a brief history of Morgoth, the original poison in Middle Earth? This is the book for you. I had to work VERY hard to find any obscure term not included in this book. Not only is this book complete but it is cross-referenced and multiple terms are listed. For instance both Melkor and Morgoth are listed separately so you will find him regardless of which name you look him up under.

What a wonderful piece of work. This book has furthered my reading enjoyment of the Lord of the Rings and opened the Silmarillion to me in a entirely new light. A definite A+ recommendation.

I feel a bit of nostalgia whenever I open this book because it takes me back more than twenty years to when I was first beginning to study Tolkien's world. Robert Foster's glossary is now sadly outdated because so many informative books have been published by Christopher Tolkien, but none of the tertiary sources written by other Tolkien researchers even come close to Foster's dedicated achievement.

Unlike some early Tolkien indexers, Foster usually refrains from mixing his opinions with the facts he is reporting. His occasional guesses and interpretations may be wrong but given the information available when the book was written they are solid and well-considered. Many more recent books have contained unforgivably egregious errors because those later authors had access to material Foster didn't.

The sources that Foster covers include some of Tolkien's private correspondence, and the research has been vindicated by Humphrey Carpenter's Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Foster's other sources include The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Pauline Baynes' 1969 map of Middle-earth (on which she was advised by Tolkien himself), and the first edition of The Road Goes Ever On.

The most impressive section, however, is Foster's attempt to devise a chronology of the First Age. Such a chronology could be achieved with any hope of accuracy only after Christopher Tolkien published The War of the Jewels in 1994, 16 years after Foster published the Complete Guide. Foster's guesswork was off by no more than a few years. I still glance through his chronology for a quick reference when I just need to be reminded of critical dates.

My only regret is that this book was never updated, although I heard a rumor that HarperCollins was looking for someone to revise it. It would be good to see a much fuller guide published, but only if Foster's impeccable standard was adhered to.

The book truly deserves praise. The most wanted quality of a reference is its completeness. I assure you: there are NO entries missing. Places, people, topics and events are ALL present. There are many cross-references that help you find more about a specific subject. I've been in Sciences for quite a few years and read intensively. In many books I've read, the index is often weak and incomplete. As an index, the book fulfills my wishes, everything is there. Furthermore all entries receive a complete description and explains relationships with other subjects. This work is apparently a Ph.D., well it certainly deserves the title.

This Guide contains the two things most necessary for any serious study of Tolkien's works: clarity and correctness. Foster clearly did a lot of homework when creating this Guide, because it covers all the Ages of Middle-earth and so can be used both by those who have only read 'The Hobbit' as readily as those who, like myself, own and have read almost everything Tolkien has ever written.

When I need to know some fact about Middle-earth and don't feel like hauling out the appropriate book, I turn to Foster's Guide -- you should, too.

Robert Foster has created an excellent book for those that want to know more about Middle-Earth. The information is not only complete and concise, it also includes the book source, the Age, word origin, and translation for many words. This book is so much more than I expected. It has made reading J.R.R Tolkien's works more enjoyable, and has made me better understand the great imagination and depth of work created by Tolkien. Thank You, Robert Foster for creating this fine work so that I can quit leafing through Tolkien's pages for information, and can turn directly to the correct page and information.

This is a companion for any serious tolkien reader. After I got it, I read "The Hobbit" for the second time and the Guide threw new light on many of the characters, places and events that I found obcure at first. Page references to several common paperback editions of Tolkien's best books are included. It is intended to be a lightweight, handy, quick reference; so if you expect drawings and pictures you'll have to get another book.

My thirteen-year-old daughter has become a solid Tolkien fan, and picked up this book for further study. Organized into dictionary form, this wonderful book contains all of the information on people, places and things found in J.R.R. Tolkien's books on Middle-Earth. Do you want to know more about Elrond or the great Wizards? What about the Grey Havens or the Rings of Power? Well, it's all here!

The information is nicely organized, including translations (where necessary) and source reference. Now, the one thing I must say is that if you have not read the Silmarillion, then a good deal of the information here will not mean much to you. If you have read it, then this book will be a great resource for you. If you haven't read the Silmarillion (like my daughter), then you will still find this a treasure trove of fascinating information. My daughter and I both highly recommend this book to you!

I have this book by my side the entire time i'm reading.I'm almost done with The Two Towers and this book has helped me get to see people and places that Tolkien did not discribe enough for me to see them in my head.The Complete Guide Of Middle-Earth From The Hobbit To The Silmarillion is great for Tolkien lovers and is perfect for reference to the books.

This is an excellent handbook for any Tolkien zealot who seeks to learn more about Middle-earth. Indeed, it's pretty much ALL here from the practical to the useless. It even makes for an entertaining read by itself if you're as huge a fan of the Master of Fantasy as this reader is, and it will reveal to you in full the complexity and vastness of the place Tolkien's mind produced. It's a very nice addition to any pureblood fantasist's bookshelf.

Tolkien created a marvelously intricate world of Middle-Earth, but keeping track of all the names of people, places, and things can be a daunting task. Furthermore, many of the subjects have more than one name! I was reading the "Fellowship" and found myself diving into this reference book many times. It actually gives more depth to the story, and gives the reader more clarity, which increases the enjoyability of the reading. Some people might not like diverting their focus from the main book by having to look up a name in the Guide, but I actually found that it made my overall reading experience more enjoyable. It's like grease for the mind, making it easier for your brain to envision Tolkien's visions. One slight "drawback" I found was that sometimes this book can give you TOO much information on some characters prematurely, possibly spoiling suprises in the story. I had one small experience like that, but it wasn't too bad. The benefits of this Guide far exceeds the drawbacks however.