Fu uno dei miei primi acquisti ai Remainders di Milano, nel lontano 89 o 90.
Un'enciclopedia tolkeniana, illustrata con uno stile particolare, molto lontano, per certi versi, da come mi immaginavo io la Terra di Mezzo all'epoca, quando praticamente solo il cartone animato era stato prodotto.
Ma il bello di esser vissuto e aver letto Tolkien prima dell'arrivo di Peter Jackson è anche questo: nona aver avuto la fantasia visiva condizionata dai film.

This maybe isn’t the best book to read cover to cover, since it’s laid out like a traditional encyclopedia, but man is it a great source of information about every aspect of Middle Earth! Obviously it doesn’t go into as much detail about the topics as the novels, but it gives solid outlines (longer than I expected in some cases) so that readers can easily cross reference events, places, groups of characters, etc while reading the novels. My only real complaint is that the author chose not to simplify Tolkien’s multi-naming conventions, so there are often multiple entries for a single group rather than just saying “see ____” and listing a main entry.

This is a terrifically fun reference work on Tolkien's world, with some of the best illustrations of Tolkiens legendarium ever (I am not much of a fan of most Tolkien illustration, so I am saying something here). It includes the only satisfying representations of the elves, to my eye, that I have ever seen.

The text itself was composed after The Silmarillion, but before Unfinished Tales, so that many key ideas and much information revealed in the latter work are not reflected here.

In 1982 it was possibly the best thing avaible "about" Tolkien.

This book includes such beautiful illustrations, ahh! I really enjoyed reading about Tolkien's creations and this is a very comprehensive and thorough compilation of a lot of races, places and plants. If you read all of it, you get a short history of everything that happens in the Undying Lands and Middle-Earth from the creation to what happens after the destruction of the One Ring. But if you only read about certain creatures it still tells you what is most important about them and where in Tolkien's stories they appeared.
A more detailed map of Middle-Earth would have been better but the one provided included ALL of the lands and that is pretty cool.

I picked this up from the library primarily because of the art. I was not disappointed by the exquisite art and illustrations. It was interesting to see how various artists conceptualized the many creatures and inhabitants of Tolkien's world. Sadly, I misplaced this book years ago.

Detta var en av de böcker som fick mig att älska att läsa. Jag var tio. Det går inte riktigt att ge ett bättre betyg än så.

This is a great companion reference book to Tolkien's books. It is informative and nicely illustrated.

The vast fantasy universe Tolkien created in all its many colours is complex and stretches further than most others (if not all.)

It depicts a huge wealth of races, cultures, languages and creatures. Some are inherently evil. Some are good. Some are neutral and serve only themselves. And some are controlled and manipulated by greater powers into doing another’s bidding. All in all, there are a lot of them and they all have their own animals that serve them. From dragons to horses, from Wargs to Ravens, David Day notes all that is to be found in middle earth. And, surprisingly, he even goes into extreme detail and talks about plants.

It’s all lavishly illustrated, though the images are not the usual romantic images I tend to associate with visions of middle-earth. They are stark with a tinge of brutal realism. I like them a lot.








A lot of dedication went into this work from a man who clearly appreciates middle earth and has gone to great lengths to illustrate what is to be found there.

Recommended reading for Tolkien enthusiasts.

I received this as a gift a long time ago since I'm a well known Lord of the Rings fan but I can't say I really read it. I just looked at the pictures and I loved the pictures.

The narrative is reasonable and the book is formatted like an encyclopedia. It is more meant to be a reference.

this book is accessible and informative alike for the uninitiated and the enthralled.

Are you getting ready for The Hobbit? This is a great reference book.