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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780345466457
Format: Box set
ISBN number: 0345466454
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Quantity: 5
Printing Date: August 26, 2003
Publishing house: Del Rey
Release Date: August 26, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 28959
Studio: Del Rey
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Rated by buyers 
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Now before I sing the praise of this series
A warning must be given,
You may find yourself hopelessly weary
If this is your very first look at J.R.R. Tolkien.
These books were compiled by that great master's son
As a glimpse into his father's deep mind.
These tales never could claim being 'done',
And thus are a motley combine.
Yet for all of you who have read that master's works
And wish that more about Middle-Earth could be,
Behold! Here it is, down to the origin of Orcs
And the singing of the Ainu in sweet melody.
The great elves in battle against Morgoth and Sauron;
Men of the West in their earliest days.
Battles with dragons--like the mighty Glaurung.
A multitude of tales told in multiple ways
Many of these tales are in a more coherent book--
The Silmarillion is its name.
Yet though it is beautiful; more fluid to look,
It does not delve as deep, page upon page.
There is the Lay of Leithian
In its poetic might,
Unlike the version in the Silmarillion,
Which does not pierce the heart with a sword so bright.
And so you come to ask me,
'Why four stars, not five?'
I must give you my answer,
And be honest--not lie.
The Histories of Middle-Earth, I must confess--
As enjoyable as they may be--
It is, for the most part, an utter mess
That often confused and baffled me.
Tales told by the old, the young, and aged scribes
Each varying by telling;
Difficult on the mind,
Sending my head spinning, like the tide swelling,
Like the Earth rending, in fire and ice.
And yet still an entertaining
Legend-revealing device.
Post Poem Script:
Forgive my poor meter--
It's so very drear.
You can watch it peter
Out there and out here.
I am no Longfellow,
Nor Edgar A. Poe
Yet rhyme is like bellows
That makes the fires go.
Once I have started
I can't even think to quit.
I feel lighthearted,
Though my poems be poorly writ.
Ryan Robledo
Author of the Aelnathan:
Rated by buyers 
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Collections of an author's work are often confusing, particularly when what the author has created is as complex as Tolkien's writings. Here's an overview of the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, which was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. Hopefully, it will help you select which book or books to buy.
Keep something in mind. In the U.S. Houghton Mifflin publishes Tolkien's authorized works in hardback and trade paperback editions, while Ballantine Books publishes them as cheaper mass-market paperbacks. For some reason, Ballantine doesn't always make it clear that some of their titles are part of the same History of Middle-earth series as those published by Houghton Mifflin. If the title is the same, the content is the same. Which you buy depends on your taste in books and finances. I have copies of both.
GROUP ONE, VOLUMES I - V, EARLY TALES
These five volumes deal primarily with Tolkien's writings before the publication of The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55). In them, Tolkien was struggling as a still unknown author to create his very first history of Middle-earth.
Vol 1 & 2, The Book of Lost Tales Part 1 ( 1983) & 2 (1984). The Book of Lost Tales was written during the 1910s and 1920s. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The framework for the book is that a mortal Man visits the Isle of Tol Eressëa where the Elves live. In the earlier versions of the `Lost Tales' this man is named Eriol, of some vague north European origin, but in later versions he becomes Ælfwine, an Englishman of the Middle-ages."
Vol. 3, The Lays of Beleriand (1985). These are collections of poems, many of them incomplete, written between the 1920s and the late 1940s.
Vol 4, The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986). As you might guess by the title, in this book Christopher describes how his father shaped his vision of Middle-earth from the primitive The Book of Lost Tales to early versions of The Silmarillion. This theme is taken up again in volumes 10 and 11.
Vol 5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987). Along with other writings this volume includes Tolkien's drafts of a tale about time travel. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The Lost Road itself is a fragmentary beginning of a tale, including a rough structure and several intiguing chunks of narrative, including four entire chapters dealing with modern England and Numenor, from which the entire story as it should have been can be glimpsed. The scheme was of time-travel by means of 'vision' or being mentally inserted into what had been, so as to actually re-experience that which had happened. In this way the tale links very first to Saxon England of Alfred the Great, then to the Lombard Alboin of St. Benedict's time, the Baltic Sea in Old Norse days, Ireland at the time of the Tuatha's coming (600 years after the Flood), prehistoric North in the Ice Age, a 'Galdor story' of Third-Age Middle-Earth, and finally the Fall of Gil-Galad, before recounting the prime legend of the Downfall of Numenor/Atlantis and the Bending of the World. It harps on the theme of a 'straight road' into the West, now only in memory because the world is round."
GROUP TWO, VOLUMES VI - IX, LORD OF THE RINGS
If you or the friend you're buying for is primarily interested in the LOTR, then these four volumes are the books to have. Just keep in mind that you'll find in them many unfinished plots that may or may not fit well into LOTR. Tolkien was a perfectionist, always trying to improve plots and fill in details. These are his drafts.
Vol. 6, The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v. 1, 1988). Describes the initial stages of writing LOTR and covers the very first three-fourths of The Fellowship of the Ring (until the Mines of Moria).
Vol. 7, The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 2, 1989). Covers from the Mines of Moria until Gandalf meets Théoden about one-fourth of the way into The Two Towers.
Vol. 8, The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 3, 1990). Continues the tale up to the opening of the Black Gate not quite three-quarters of the way through The Two Towers.
Vol. 9, Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 4, 1992). Completes the tale and includes an alternate ending in which Sam answers questions from his children. There is also a much shortened version of Vol. 9 called The End of the Third Age, which leaves out material that isn't related to LOTR.
GROUP THREE, VOLUMES X - XI, SILMARILLION
Just as The Hobbit created a public demand for more tales about hobbits, The Lord of the Rings created a demand for more tales about Middle-earth. To meet that demand, Tolkien struggled to reconcile and adapt many of his earlier tales to the historical framework made well-known by his two published ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
AWESOME COLLECTION. LOTS OF READING AND PIECING THE STORIES TOGETHER. JRR TOLKIEN WAS A BRILLIANT MAN AND WITH THE HELP OF HIS SON THEY WERE ABLE TO HELP PIECE TOGETHER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAD HOW THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY CAME ABOUT. WORTH THE READ.
Rated by buyers -
This book is definitely not for a casual reader. It was a compilation of random notes and documents that Tolkien left scattered at his death. Even so, Christopher Tolkien did a fine job of trying to organize this and I got a real in-depth view of how the Lord of the Rings COULD have turned out.
Rated by buyers -
I'm completely satisfied. The product was exactly what I asked for and delivered in the right time.
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