Really interesting. Well written and engaging. Kreeft is great to read. Made me want to read LOTR (again).

Normally you slap Tolkien on the side of a book and i'm all for it. Admittedly, I have never had luck with any book titled "The Philosophy of ___________" (insert movie Title, or book title)...so i wasn't greatly astonished with this book falling below Tolkien's bar. It's a good read at time but at other times its rough. All in all, I was able to grab a lot of information from this book but it wasn't easy.

-birthday gift from Alex
-knocked this out in earnest to kick off reading in the New Year
-Kreeft organizes his arguments and cites a revolving door of C.S. Lewis and Tolkien to make his points about “fairy stories”
- I really bought into his idea that the ring is the antithesis to Christ. Frodo’s role is Marian but inverted
-Comparisons of Elves and Angels were well supported
-Kreeft is very definitive in how he presents certain support for his ideas. The best explanation ever of…
-This serves as a comprehensive breakdown of LOTR philosophy and offers insight into the Catholic perspectives
-Academic in its presentation so be prepared to lock in and read slowly

An interesting book which offers a different lense to Tolkien's view. This book doesn't specifically talk about LOTR per se (meaning it's not a direct complimentary book to LOTR), but it does offer nuggets of novel insights to approaching the characters of Tolkien and the world and environment in which he created and how these 2 components tie back to theology and philosophy.

5 stars for me as I have always been a big fan of Kreeft and I love how he writes with utter clarity without sacrificing the beautifully woven prose into the pages. LOTR also has a deep place in my heart and as such, its no surprise I actually enjoyed this book!

A great read. It provides great insights into the plot, themes and characters in the Lord of the Rings. C.S. Lewis, The Lord of the Rings, and other works from Tolkien's are quoted in each section as he goes through questions asked in philosophy.

Peter Kreeft admiration for the book shines through. I've listened to Peter Kreeft for years; he's a great speaker and writer that targets the mind and heart.

My husband has been trying to get me to read this book for years. For good reason, it seems. The author makes a convincing case for Tolkien’s philosophy of life using quotes from The Lord of the Rings series as well as his letters and his essay, “On Fairy Stories.” He goes through 50 philosophical questions on various topics and gives Tolkien’s answer. He also briefly touches on opposing answers, so this is good just to learn some basic philosophy.

I found this to be thoroughly interesting and thought provoking. It has made me want to read The Lord of the Rings again. There were one or two instances where I was having a hard time deciphering his point. I also felt like he contradicted himself a couple times. There was one fact from The Hobbit that he got noticeably wrong. And I was none to happy to see him diss on George MacDonald, which I think is just bad form when your writing a book about a guy who admired the man’s work. Despite those minor irritants, this has a lot of good and is definitely worth a read if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan.

Good insights.

"Like Socrates, Buddha, and Lao Tzu, Frodo did not see Christ, yet somehow beloved."

"In the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing, there was light and beauty for ever beyond its reach."
-J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings as quoted in. "The Philosophy of Tolkien"

I thought this book would examine Tolkien's work through a philosophical lens, but instead it was a device for the author to espouse his philosophical, political, and religious (old-school conservative catholic bemoaning big government for ignoring family, traditions, and the sanctity of life) views through the use of a fantasy book which the author purports represents the truth. The book is supported by ample evidence supporting this conceit as Tolkein believed fairy tails served this function and thought LOTR did as well.

Throughout the book the author spoke definitively about Christian tenets as if they are verified facts and denounces rationalism and the scientific method. This is not a fair criticism as the Peter J. Kreeft is a heralded Christian author. Anyway, this is not exactly what I signed up for. This book was actually given to me by my conservative, traditional, and devoutly Catholic friend, and I can see why he enjoyed it. However, the author makes a convincing argument that LOTR is a fantasy novel doused in Christian values and ideals. A lot of people would find this idea preposterous, but Tolkein was a devout Catholic and although he is not as religiously explicit as his contemporary, C.S. Lewis, I'm certain his faith influenced his writing to a great degree. I mean he did refer to LOTR as a Catholic book.

A thorough expression of the truths Tolkien was trying to teach. LOTR is undoubtedly an inspired work.

是一张范围极广的图谱，从哲学的各种重大问题来探讨托尔金的作品。专门搞哲学的确实很会说话，已经算是我见过的这类从思想上评论托老作品的文章中最优秀的一类了，但仍然有很多地方有隔靴搔痒的感觉，还有一些地方我觉得作者解读没太对。
根据这书里反复引用的刘易斯的文字，我感觉我不会喜欢他的小说了，作者盛赞的Aslan模拟Christ，恰恰是我最难接受的，唉，刘易斯似乎更适合去当评论家和杂文家，当然他本职的文学研究是很厉害的，然而即便是评述类作品我也只能选择性的喜欢，引文里面最喜欢Mere Christinity和The Four Loves，却很不喜欢出自他自传性作品Surprised By Joy的引文。

Just great

This is a great book to use if you're teaching a combined philosophy and literature course. Kreeft makes the philosophy easy to understand without getting too bogged down in mental gymnastics. Philosophical connections are briefly made to LOTR but can be expanded on in class and by using the concordance in the back of the book.