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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 828.91209
EAN num: 9780618056996
ISBN number: 0618056998
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 480
Printing Date: 2000-06
Publishing house: Houghton Mifflin
Sale Popularity Level: 19147
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
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'...If you wanted to go on from the end of The Hobbit I think the ring would be your inevitable choice as the link. If then you wanted a large tale, the Ring would at once acquire a capital letter; and the Dark Lord would immediately appear. As he did, unasked, on the hearth at Bag End as soon as I came to that point. So the essential Quest started at once. But I met a lot of things along the way that astonished me. Tom Bombadil I knew already; but I had never been to Bree. Strider sitting in the corner of the inn was a shock, and I had no more idea who he was than Frodo did. The Mines of Moria had been a mere name; and of Lothlorien no word had reached my mortal ears till I came there.' -- J.R.R. Tolkien to W.H. Auden, June 7, 1955
J.R.R. Tolkien, cherished author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, was one of the twentieth century's most prolific letter writers. Over the years he wrote a mass of letters -- to his publishers, his family, to friends, and to fans of his books -- which record the history and composition of his works and his reaction to subsequent events.
By turns thoughtful, impish, scholarly, impassioned, playful, vigorous, and gentle, Tolkien poured his heart and mind into a great stream of correspondence to intimate friends and unknown admirers all over the world. From this collection one sees a mind of immense complexity and many layers -- artistic, religious, charmingly eccentric, sentimental, and ultimately brilliant.
Now newly expanded with a detailed index, this collection provides an invaluable record that sheds much light on Tolkien's creative genius, his thoughts and feelings about his own work, and the evolution of his grand design for the creation of a whole new world -- Middle-earth.
Amazon.com Review:
Scholars and fans of the great mythologist will find a rich vein of information in Humphrey Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a prodigious letter writer all his life; the sheer mass of his correspondence would give pause to even the most stalwart archivist (one shudders to think what he would have done with e-mail). But with the able assistance of Tolkien's son Christopher and a healthy dose of determination, Carpenter manages find the cream of the crop--the letters that shed light on Tolkien's thoughts about his academic and literary work, as well as those that show his more private side, revealing a loving husband, a playful friend, and a doting father. The most fascinating letters are, of course, those in which he discusses Middle-Earth, and Carpenter offers plenty of those to choose from. Tolkien discussed the minutia of his legend--sometimes at great length--with friends, publishers, and even fans who wrote to him with questions. These letters offer significant insights into how he went about creating the peoples and languages of Middle-Earth.
I have long ceased to invent (though even patronizing or sneering critics on the side praise my 'inventions'): I wait till I seem to know what really happened. Or till it writes itself. Thus, though I knew for years that Frodo would run into a tree-adventure somewhere far down the Great River, I had no recollection of inventing Ents. I came at last to the point, and wrote the 'Treebeard' chapter without any recollection of any previous thought: just as it is now. And then I saw that, of course, it had not happened to Frodo at all.
This new edition of letters has an extensive index, and Carpenter has included a brief blurb at the beginning of each letter to explain who the correspondent was and what was being discussed. Still, we strongly recommend buying the companion volume, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, in order to better understand the place these correspondents had in Tolkien's life and get a better context for the letters. --Perry M. Atterberry
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Rated by buyers 
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In many ways a better biography of Tolkien than most biographies. While short of actual biographical data, the insight it gives into the mind of this man through dialogue with his readers, reveals much about his creative decisions in writing The Lord of the Rings and his other works.
Rated by buyers -
I got this for my best friend b/c her whole family loves Tolkien so I thought after she was done reading it her whole family could read it too.
She really loves it. And It wasnt damaged in the siltiest and came on time.
Rated by buyers -
I have bought this book some years ago in a bookstore and I really enjoyed reading it. One side it was interesting to discover how Middle Earth was created step by step, what was in Tolkien's mind during the work, how and why he had changed names or events, which were the parts where he had difficulties with the story etc., and a bit of inside look in his everyday life, difficulties and family life. On the other hand I really admired him to take seriously all the people who were writing to him and answering them with several page long letters! I am sure it was demanding for him to find time to write these letters and explain to Middle Earth fans the parts they didn't understand well and answer their questions but as a reader and Tolkien fan myshelf I really enjoyed to know Tolkien's personal opinion on different things.
Rated by buyers -
Do you want to understand J.R.R. Tolkien and his fantastic stories? I mean, really understand them? Then you must get this book. This book is a collection of letters from the great man, ranging from a World War I love letter to a note written to his daughter just before his death.
But, do not think that these letters are irrelevant. In fact, he discusses many things about his books, the publishing of them, and much more. He discusses such mundane issues as the organization of the families in the Shire, and also discusses his "theology" of Middle Earth, and how religion intertwines about it.
So, if you are a Tolkien fan, then you really should get this book. I guarantee that you will find it an interesting and enlightening read - I know I did!
Rated by buyers 
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its a book of random letters that jrr tolkien wrote to people. nuff said
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