The Book of Lost Tales 1(The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 1)

My title really says it all. This book is excellent, but... It is only for people so into Tolkien, Middle Earth, and its lore, that they'd want to read early drafts, never published revisions, and tales abandoned along the way. Some of them are good, some are terrible and were abandoned for a reason. They all provide valuable insights for the Tolkien student. If that last term doesn't describe you, give this a pass. It's not for you. It will bore you to tears.

This is the first US hardcover edition published in 1984 by Houghton Muffin, and was part of a collection of 12 similarly sized and designed books. Book 1 and 2 titled 'The Lost Tales' are actually published in 'The Silmarillion'. Read individually, these tales are stunning additions to the lore of Middle-earth, but as others have observed, ignore those of the Hobbits, and introduces many new words in Quenya and Gnomish which begs a comprehensive dictionary, and fortunately we have a spare glossary in the Appendix. Even so cross-referencing is necessary. In the Tale of the Sun and Moon, we read of the Kulullin, but what is it? The glossary refers to this as from the Gnomish culu, and no more. Investigate further and you find out what it means in Quenya... Apparently, Tolkien - son and father - want you, the reader and enthusiast - to encounter the text as it is, as if these were exactly as some ancient editor left it, not indexed as if with the aid of modern computers. It's impossible to own just Book I of XII, but in fact, I bought this because this specific edition was among the missing volumes of my collection.

People who aren't huge fans of J. R. R. Tolkien and his world's won't be that thrilled by this book, but for the true fan it is a revealing look at the stories behind the stories that are only dimly referenced in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. For those who are interested in how the Elvish languages were developed, it is even more of a treasure.

Christopher Tolkien offers a very detailed commentary and presentation of his father's numerous notes and incomplete volumes on the creation of the 'Lord of the Rings' universe. The material describes the very early days of the world, and is essentially its very own creation myth that starts well before the Ages of Middle Earth. Christopher Tolkien offers great commentary on the difficulties and seemingly impossible nature of properly composing his father's often scattered thoughts and notes on the direction of his epic mythology; and his insight does wonders for understanding the complex characters and events present in the Lost Tales. If you are expecting a read similar to The Hobbit or LoTR, this will be quite different given it is a very mythological/historical narrative supplemented by Christopher Tolkien's commentary and notes. Nonetheless it is engaging both as fiction and as a fantastic look into mind of JRR Tolkien and the elaborate world he strived to create.

We bought these for gifts. The game quickly and were just as described. No complaints

THIS IS the book one should read after reading The Silmarillion. If you've just finished reading The Silmarillion and you want to go on to the next volume, well this is it. This book begins the "Histories Of Middle-Earth." That means that you are reading the stories of The Silmarillion in earlier forms. I DO BELIEVE that one should have read The Silmarillion before going into the "Histories Of Middle-Earth" in order to have an understanding of the back stories and some knowledge of who's who. You get to see a lot more of the details of things that happen in The Silmarillion. These have enough differences to keep the readers interest and yet having read the ultimately published works gives them an ease to read. This IS required reading for every Tolkien student. And if you want to REALLY understand what you've read about Middle-Earth then this is your next step. This is the small paperback printing which is great and easy to have with you all the time.

Muy buen libro

Very good price for a very good book even tough it came like bend in one end but everything else’s fine

Nicht nur eine Sammlung von unveröffentlichten Geschichten: HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH ist die Chronik einer jahrzehntelangen literarischen Sisyphos-Arbeit. Im Zentrum steht die Evolution der Themen und Geschichten durch viele verschiedene, z.T. widersprüchliche oder schwer zu entziffernde Texte und Textfragmente. Wer sich darauf einlässt, wird mit einem tiefgehenden Verständnis für Tolkiens Lebenswerk belohnt. Anspruchsvolle Lektüre, ungeeignet für Leser, die nur neue Geschichten aus dem HdR-Universum suchen.

Awesome

Good product, exellent book.