Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236377 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-17
• Binding: Paperback
• 1552 pages

Synopsis
Four-volume paperback boxed set containing J.R.R. Tolkien's classic masterpiece, together with The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, an annotated guide to all three parts of the Book of the Century. Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy has touched the hearts of young and old alike. One hundred million copies of its many editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors' editions become prized and valuable items of publishing. Now, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first publication, the text has been fully restored with almost 400 corrections - with the full co-operation of Christopher Tolkien - making it the definitive version of the text, and as close as possible to the version that J.R.R. Tolkien wanted. In addition to now having the definitive version of the text, this paperback set also includes a companion volume, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, a unique annotated guide to the text, which will enhance the reader's enjoyment and understanding of the book of the 20th century.

Customer Reviews

THE Book and THE Guide
This is a beautiful boxset, with the cover designs of the incorporated three volumes of the novel repeated on the outer sides of the box. The paperback editions of the aforementioned three volumes are the latest editions (2005) and therefore contain the presently definitive text.
What can I write about The Lord of the Rings that has not already been written? It is, I believe, a magnificent novel which will appeal to many different types of reader, whether they be fans of fantasy / science-fiction / adventure or not. The only people I would not recommend this book to are those who do not enjoy reading at all. Assuming that you still partake to any extent in this sadly dwindling pastime, I suggest that although the novel can be somewhat challenging in the sheer number of locations and characters it presents, this should mean no great difficulty for adult readers. Younger readers may find it heavy-going (as I did at age 14), but as Tolkien himself pointed out, one cannot expand one's vocabulary by reading a book aimed at one's own age-group, but rather, by reading a book aimed above it. I did not myself know that Tolkien said this before reading so in the accompanying 'The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion'.
Which brings me nicely to the aptly described "definitive annotated guide". This volume is indeed a 'companion' of the highest order. It not only contains comprehensive notes on the text, but also includes the 'Nomenclature' and time-schemes penned by Tolkien as an aid to himself and others, as well as a list of the differences between the original and more recent editions (errors present from the beginning as well as those due to ill-managed reprints and revisions throughout the book's history, and the emendments made to correct these).
Never in my not-inconsiderable experience of my favourite novel have I found any guide so utterly useful and interesting.
I have but one minor gripe, being this: I assumed that the page numbers heading each of the notes in the Reader's Companion would refer to the pages of the edition it accompanies in this package. This is, however, not the case. This is no great problem, though, as the authors of the Companion had the foresight to also precede each note with the first line of the paragraph to which it belongs. Since the notes are also divided into the appropriate chapters of the relevant Books and Volumes, this does not even begin to tarnish the fifth star I have awarded this excellent set. I heartily recommend this to any reader, old or new, but most especially to those who either do not already possess the definitive text of the novel, or have yet to sample the delights of Hammond and Scull's guide to its intricacies.