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TOLKIEN: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia
The author of A Tolkien Bestiary presents "a comprehensive guide to every important aspect of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands . . . a stunning tour de force" (Detroit Free Press). Over 200 four-color, two-color, and black-and-white illustrations.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
About the author
David Day
295 books274 followersDavid Day (b. 14 October 1947 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian author of over forty books: poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy, and children's literature. Internationally he is most notably known for his literary criticism on J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.
After finishing high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating from the University of Victoria. Subsequently he has travelled widely, most frequently to Greece and Britain.
Day has published six books of poems for adults and ten illustrated children's books of fiction and poetry. His non-fiction books on natural history include The Doomsday Book of Animals, The Whale War, Eco Wars: a Layman Guide to the Environmental Movement, Noah's Choice and most recently Nevermore: A Book of Hours - Meditations on Extinction (2012).
His Doomsday Book was a Time Magazine Book of the Year and became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century".
David Days best-selling books on the life and works of JRR Tolkien include: A Tolkien Bestiary, Tolkien: the Illustrated Encyclopedia, Tolkien's Ring, The World of Tolkien and The Hobbit Companion.
Day's Tolkien's Ring was illustrated by academy award-winning artist Alan Lee, as was Castles, The Animals Within, Gothic and Quest For King Arthur.
After finishing high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating from the University of Victoria. Subsequently he has travelled widely, most frequently to Greece and Britain.
Day has published six books of poems for adults and ten illustrated children's books of fiction and poetry. His non-fiction books on natural history include The Doomsday Book of Animals, The Whale War, Eco Wars: a Layman Guide to the Environmental Movement, Noah's Choice and most recently Nevermore: A Book of Hours - Meditations on Extinction (2012).
His Doomsday Book was a Time Magazine Book of the Year and became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century".
David Days best-selling books on the life and works of JRR Tolkien include: A Tolkien Bestiary, Tolkien: the Illustrated Encyclopedia, Tolkien's Ring, The World of Tolkien and The Hobbit Companion.
Day's Tolkien's Ring was illustrated by academy award-winning artist Alan Lee, as was Castles, The Animals Within, Gothic and Quest For King Arthur.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
November 19, 2019
Well this was a very long detailed read but really worth it if you are a LOTR or Tolkien fan. Very nice detailed entries on everything Middle-Earth; plants, animals, people and places. Very well researched and written with awesome maps. The only downside is the art throughout the book. To me 90% of it is substandard in general and very ill suited for an important work like this. Maybe I am just not into the artist but it was really bad and detracted from the book overall. The text is Very Recommended but with the art taken into account I rate it as a Recommended
March 9, 2014
A pretty good book to have around to reference The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. Has maps, plenty of nicely done illustrations, genealogies of Men and Elves, charts, histories and biographies.
August 26, 2012
I always wanted to say that I had read an entire encyclopedia. Well, now I can say that I have. However, it is as much fun as I thought it would be. Luckily, this was a Tolkien-/Middle-earth-focused encyclopedia so the fun and interest factor were considerably higher than any other type of encyclopedia out there. I really enjoyed the first parts. This book really helped me to conceptualize and visualize the creation of Arda and Middle-earth, in particular, and to understand the changes in the world. The graphs and visual representations were the best. I also enjoyed the various artists' renditions of different places, beings, and things in Arda/Middle-earth. I am considerably smarter in this subject now.
Where I find fault: As other reviewers have stated, there are errors. One is too many, but this book has more than one. Typically, I think they are editing errors--not errors in the authors' understanding. There were errors even in the captions of the pictures. One example has a picture of a Hobbit with livery from Rohan with Peregrin Took's name under it. Likewise, the caption of Meriodoc Brandybuck showed that particular Hobbit wearing the livery of the Tower of the Guard. Yikes. This was at the end of the encyclopedia and it was sort of annoying--a last straw if you will. Worse than that (for someone who knows something about the topics, this was easily found and laughed off) was the redundancy of the entries. Practically the same entry--but not exactly--was given for many people, beings, and places under both their Elvish name and their name in Westron. What the?! The book could have been much shorter if it used references correctly.
Regardless, I am glad that I read this book and own it. I enjoyed most of it and, as I said, am way smarter and considered way nerdier now.
Where I find fault: As other reviewers have stated, there are errors. One is too many, but this book has more than one. Typically, I think they are editing errors--not errors in the authors' understanding. There were errors even in the captions of the pictures. One example has a picture of a Hobbit with livery from Rohan with Peregrin Took's name under it. Likewise, the caption of Meriodoc Brandybuck showed that particular Hobbit wearing the livery of the Tower of the Guard. Yikes. This was at the end of the encyclopedia and it was sort of annoying--a last straw if you will. Worse than that (for someone who knows something about the topics, this was easily found and laughed off) was the redundancy of the entries. Practically the same entry--but not exactly--was given for many people, beings, and places under both their Elvish name and their name in Westron. What the?! The book could have been much shorter if it used references correctly.
Regardless, I am glad that I read this book and own it. I enjoyed most of it and, as I said, am way smarter and considered way nerdier now.
July 3, 2017
I'm a sucker for anything Tolkien, so an illustrated book about his work should have made me very happy. Not quite what I expected, but perhaps others might be more appreciative.
The concept is decent, at least. Take all the incredible Tolkien mythmaking/storytelling and break it up into chapters on History, Geography, Sociology, Natural History, Biography. Like university courses. Add in some artwork and the cake has been baked. But there are simply too many errors (i.e., Gondolin becomes Gondor in just a few sentences) for me to be pleased, a case of proofreading not undertaken by the publisher. I wasn't particularly crazy about the illustrations either, they seemed rushed and lazy.
Too bad, as I waited eagerly for this book to work its way up the TBR ladder. Then, it took forever to finish as I did not look forward to reading it. I might use it again whenever I re-read The Silmarillion, but then again, maybe not. Sigh.
Book Season = Autumn (dwarves a'mining)
The concept is decent, at least. Take all the incredible Tolkien mythmaking/storytelling and break it up into chapters on History, Geography, Sociology, Natural History, Biography. Like university courses. Add in some artwork and the cake has been baked. But there are simply too many errors (i.e., Gondolin becomes Gondor in just a few sentences) for me to be pleased, a case of proofreading not undertaken by the publisher. I wasn't particularly crazy about the illustrations either, they seemed rushed and lazy.
Too bad, as I waited eagerly for this book to work its way up the TBR ladder. Then, it took forever to finish as I did not look forward to reading it. I might use it again whenever I re-read The Silmarillion, but then again, maybe not. Sigh.
Book Season = Autumn (dwarves a'mining)
January 11, 2017
A great reference book to have onside whilst reading The Silmarillion or The Lord Of the Rings. Tolkien did not just imagine characters and events, he created worlds, whole histories. Far too many names and events to remember hence why I'm glad I have this book to come back to.
September 4, 2021
A wonderful guide to Tolkien' s world, and writing. My only complaint was I wish more of the illustrations had been in color. A lot of the black and white illustrations were stark, not really bringing their topics to life.
This book had several sections, some touched on biographies, some touched on locations, some touched on historical events. It was an encyclopedia that covered a lot of ground in Middle Earth.
An interesting book to read cover to cover, or to just use it to read about your favorite characters or places.
This book had several sections, some touched on biographies, some touched on locations, some touched on historical events. It was an encyclopedia that covered a lot of ground in Middle Earth.
An interesting book to read cover to cover, or to just use it to read about your favorite characters or places.
July 16, 2026
Fun having this to go along with my rereading of the Silmarillion. The quality of the artwork varies from raw to quite epic. Some gave off crudely hand drawn, pad-and-pencil, vibes while others looked like majestic oil paintings.
I personally found charm in these differences. The crude ones made me want to do a little doodling myself.
_______________
A buddy of mine pointed out that David Day is not to be trusted. Apparently he just makes stuff up! So I researched the charge further and it came down to a single map near the beginning. A map displaying the geographical changes through the early ages. These maps are NOT copies from anything Tolkien ever drew!
Gasp!
He made them up! This David fellow. He made them up based on expressly written details from the Silmarillion. The nerve!
_______________
Tolkien fans are giant annoying nerds and I’m both proud and ashamed to count myself among them.
I personally found charm in these differences. The crude ones made me want to do a little doodling myself.
_______________
A buddy of mine pointed out that David Day is not to be trusted. Apparently he just makes stuff up! So I researched the charge further and it came down to a single map near the beginning. A map displaying the geographical changes through the early ages. These maps are NOT copies from anything Tolkien ever drew!
Gasp!
He made them up! This David fellow. He made them up based on expressly written details from the Silmarillion. The nerve!
_______________
Tolkien fans are giant annoying nerds and I’m both proud and ashamed to count myself among them.
November 2, 2012
Gorgeous book depicting everything Tolkein. A must have for any fan of Middle Earth.
January 4, 2014
This is a work that attempts to live up to its title: it includes an introduction to Tolkien’s published works (not just related to Middle Earth), then rushes straight into chapters on history, geography, peoples and nations (pretentiously called sociology here), natural history and a Who’s Who in Middle Earth, finally ending with indices and acknowledgements. Because David Day doesn’t just limit himself to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, there are charts and maps that help to place the War of the Ring in context, and the whole is profusely illustrated by nearly a score of artists.
I can’t vouch for the accuracy of all of the information — much of it seems to be authoritative but other critics have commented on inconsistent spelling and editing. For a borderline fan like me, whose interest is limited to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, one can only marvel at the obsessiveness that tries to chronicle, catalogue and categorise every aspect of Middle Earth. If only cross-referencing was included this would make the reader’s life much easier; as it is, one has to keep turning back to a very densely printed General Index to make the connections. As for the text itself, this is no great work of literature: there is some attempt at epic writing — “to no avail”, “so it was at the final moment” and so on — but it seems all very clumsy and a poor imitation of Tolkien’s already flowery mock-medieval language.
For me it’s the illustrations that make the book even though their quality is variable: of the principal illustrators Ivan Allen, Rachel Chilton, Lidia Postma and Sally Davies are outstanding, while Andrew Mockett is a mere doodler and I can take or leave (mostly leave) the rest. There are line drawings, maps, timelines and paintings in styles ranging from faintly medieval to Impressionist, from pen-and-ink wash through woodcut to oils. If not for these I would imagine there are better researched and presented Middle Earth reference books.
http://calmgrove.wordpress.com/2014/0...
I can’t vouch for the accuracy of all of the information — much of it seems to be authoritative but other critics have commented on inconsistent spelling and editing. For a borderline fan like me, whose interest is limited to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, one can only marvel at the obsessiveness that tries to chronicle, catalogue and categorise every aspect of Middle Earth. If only cross-referencing was included this would make the reader’s life much easier; as it is, one has to keep turning back to a very densely printed General Index to make the connections. As for the text itself, this is no great work of literature: there is some attempt at epic writing — “to no avail”, “so it was at the final moment” and so on — but it seems all very clumsy and a poor imitation of Tolkien’s already flowery mock-medieval language.
For me it’s the illustrations that make the book even though their quality is variable: of the principal illustrators Ivan Allen, Rachel Chilton, Lidia Postma and Sally Davies are outstanding, while Andrew Mockett is a mere doodler and I can take or leave (mostly leave) the rest. There are line drawings, maps, timelines and paintings in styles ranging from faintly medieval to Impressionist, from pen-and-ink wash through woodcut to oils. If not for these I would imagine there are better researched and presented Middle Earth reference books.
http://calmgrove.wordpress.com/2014/0...
April 8, 2009
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1501389.html
As an encyclopedia of Middle-Earth it doesn't hold a candle to Foster's Complete Guide; odd things like mis-spellings of'Rivendell' on the second page, of Éothéod in the title of the relevant entry, etc; separate entries (just to pick the first of very many such examples that caught my eye) in the geographical section for Amon Amarth, Mount Doom and Orodruin despite them all being the same mountain (and not explaining what languages the first and third names are in); and absolutely no cross-referencing at all.
But the point probably isn't the text but the art, scenes and places and people from Middle-Earth (not from other works) as imagined by nineteen different illustrators, all of them excellent; I hope it isn't invidious to name Rachel Chilton as particularly grabbing my attention with her Window of the Sunset (Henneth Annûn), Zirak-Zigil and Dead Men on Dunharrow because I liked pretty much all the rest. So if I look at it as an inexpensive book of very good Tolkien illustrations, rather than a cheap and bitty encyclopedia, I actually rather like it.
As an encyclopedia of Middle-Earth it doesn't hold a candle to Foster's Complete Guide; odd things like mis-spellings of'Rivendell' on the second page, of Éothéod in the title of the relevant entry, etc; separate entries (just to pick the first of very many such examples that caught my eye) in the geographical section for Amon Amarth, Mount Doom and Orodruin despite them all being the same mountain (and not explaining what languages the first and third names are in); and absolutely no cross-referencing at all.
But the point probably isn't the text but the art, scenes and places and people from Middle-Earth (not from other works) as imagined by nineteen different illustrators, all of them excellent; I hope it isn't invidious to name Rachel Chilton as particularly grabbing my attention with her Window of the Sunset (Henneth Annûn), Zirak-Zigil and Dead Men on Dunharrow because I liked pretty much all the rest. So if I look at it as an inexpensive book of very good Tolkien illustrations, rather than a cheap and bitty encyclopedia, I actually rather like it.
December 5, 2013
Para fans de Tolkien.
February 4, 2021
David Day is easily the next-best-thing to Tolkien himself.
September 9, 2022
David Day is sort of notorious for getting information wrong or sometimes just making stuff up... But I think this one is worth getting for the artwork alone.
December 28, 2018
This is an excellent reference for any hardcore Tolkien fans, or anyone who wants to more fully understand the universe of Lord of the Rings. Very similar to A Tolkien Bestiary, but a bit more complete. Lots of great illustrations and packed with timelines and details about the history of Middle-Earth.
January 22, 2015
1) Deutsche Rezension
2) Englisch Review
Deutsche Rezension
Eigentlich gibt es über dieses Buch nicht viel zu sagen. Wenn man es sich durchliest so klingt es durchaus sehr gut, wie eine Enzyklopädie auch sein sollte, wenn die Illustrationen auch zwischen annehmbar und schlecht hin und her schwanken.
Aber leider kann man nicht leugnen, dass sie nicht nur vieles gar nicht drin haben was in den Büchern sehr wohl erwähnt und mitunter sogar wichtig war, sondern diese Enzyklopädie ignoriert im Grunde all die Ungereimtheiten die vor allem aufgrund des Hobbit-Buches in diese Welt flossen und einfach keinen Sinn machen wenn man es mit dem Herrn der Ringe verbindet.
Dadurch wirken Tolkien’s Bücher leider mehr durchdacht als sie es eigentlich sind. Daher ist das Buch allem in allem recht fehlleitend in Bezug auf diese Welt. Für sich selber ist es ein gelungenes Buch aber wenn man bedenkt was sie alles im Grunde verschweigen kann ich dieses Buch nicht als eine Enzyklopädie für Tolkien empfehlen. Wenn man selber ein paar Ideen haben will, keine Problem, aber als Tolkien Enzyklopädie ist es ein Fehlschlag.
Englisch Review
Actually, there is not much to say about this book. If you read it through it sounds quite good, like an encyclopedia should be, even though the illustrations vary between acceptable and bad.
But unfortunately, you cannot deny that they not only left a lot of what was mentioned and sometimes even was important in the books out , but this encyclopedia basically ignored all the inconsistencies that appear mostly in this world due to the Hobbit book and simply make no sense when you connect it to the Lord of the Rings.
As a result, unfortunately, Tolkien's books seem more thought through than they actually are. Therefore, the book is all in all quite misleading in respect to this world. On itself this is a successful book but considering what they all conceal I can basically not recommend it as an encyclopedia for Tolkien. If you want to have a few ideas yourself, no problem, but as a Tolkien Encyclopedia it is a failure.
2) Englisch Review
Deutsche Rezension
Eigentlich gibt es über dieses Buch nicht viel zu sagen. Wenn man es sich durchliest so klingt es durchaus sehr gut, wie eine Enzyklopädie auch sein sollte, wenn die Illustrationen auch zwischen annehmbar und schlecht hin und her schwanken.
Aber leider kann man nicht leugnen, dass sie nicht nur vieles gar nicht drin haben was in den Büchern sehr wohl erwähnt und mitunter sogar wichtig war, sondern diese Enzyklopädie ignoriert im Grunde all die Ungereimtheiten die vor allem aufgrund des Hobbit-Buches in diese Welt flossen und einfach keinen Sinn machen wenn man es mit dem Herrn der Ringe verbindet.
Dadurch wirken Tolkien’s Bücher leider mehr durchdacht als sie es eigentlich sind. Daher ist das Buch allem in allem recht fehlleitend in Bezug auf diese Welt. Für sich selber ist es ein gelungenes Buch aber wenn man bedenkt was sie alles im Grunde verschweigen kann ich dieses Buch nicht als eine Enzyklopädie für Tolkien empfehlen. Wenn man selber ein paar Ideen haben will, keine Problem, aber als Tolkien Enzyklopädie ist es ein Fehlschlag.
Englisch Review
Actually, there is not much to say about this book. If you read it through it sounds quite good, like an encyclopedia should be, even though the illustrations vary between acceptable and bad.
But unfortunately, you cannot deny that they not only left a lot of what was mentioned and sometimes even was important in the books out , but this encyclopedia basically ignored all the inconsistencies that appear mostly in this world due to the Hobbit book and simply make no sense when you connect it to the Lord of the Rings.
As a result, unfortunately, Tolkien's books seem more thought through than they actually are. Therefore, the book is all in all quite misleading in respect to this world. On itself this is a successful book but considering what they all conceal I can basically not recommend it as an encyclopedia for Tolkien. If you want to have a few ideas yourself, no problem, but as a Tolkien Encyclopedia it is a failure.
April 9, 2012
This is a book that any fan of JRR Tolkien should not be without, as it is an indespensible guide that covers everything within Tolkien's world of Middle-Earth and the undying lands. This volume is filled with beautiful illustrations both paintings and origional sketches (from the Tolkien Bestiary) that transport you to the heart of middle-earth, bringing his captivatingly creative and unique creatures to life. Tolkien's cosmology is explained in extrordinary depth and detail, covering all aspects of the major subject areas; history, geography, sociology, natural history and biography in indavidual chapters/ sections. The colourful splendour and vastness of JRR Tolkien's world is brought to life with all the maps, geneologies and time charts, illustrations and drawings of people, places and events making it all so drematic and real. This referance book to Tolkien's world is aproachable, readable and really easy to understand and something that is an indespensable edition to your collection, which i could not be without. Tolkien's creation in its entirety is extremely complex and detailed and for those readers who have read his works, it can be still confusing especially when it comes to placing all the pieces of the puzzle together. This book makes it simple and explains how JRR Tolkien created and designed his world from the very begining, with the creation of Arda and how the earth changed over time right from year 1 to 40,000+ (historic time). Each place in Middle-Earth is listed in an easy to use glossary, from 'Aglarond' to 'Zirak-Zigil' all complemented with detailed acompanying illustrations. There are genealogical charts of peoples of Arda (including Men, Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves and Ainur) and a dictionary of creatures, plants, spirits, ghosts, demons and monsters. This is a book that helped to make everything clear and understandable and i was hence then able to read JRR Tolkien's works with a much deeper understanding and comprehension. The only element that was not included within this encyclopedia was the languages that Tolkien created such as Elvish and the written hand like letters, runes and numbers. Anyone who enjoys the works of Tolkien (including The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings ectetera) will find this book really useful, as well as interesting and utterly facinating to those readers who want to learn more about Middle-Earth and the Undying Lands in more detail.
July 30, 2019
Of all the people rejected by Christopher Tolkien, Mr. Day was given the green light for a reason. His works are as refreshing as the wind off the arrow of Bard the Bowman that made it’s mark even onto the smallest opening in the Armor of illustrious Smaug.
Just one single page of his in this work - the one where he boxes out all the ages and events of Middle Earth from start to present (!) - is worth, in my estimation, somewhere around fifty dollars.
How do you get all of that on one fold out page? To do such and not have one inaccuracy in telling or sequence or chronology would have taken me half a year. And there are all kinds of things like this in this work.
He really must be taking some serious, concentrated, chunks out of time up in some silent ivory tower to do this; and not just chewing on breakfast and reading the news as he jottles down a few things in a mirey haze.
Much respect for the man and his works.
Just one single page of his in this work - the one where he boxes out all the ages and events of Middle Earth from start to present (!) - is worth, in my estimation, somewhere around fifty dollars.
How do you get all of that on one fold out page? To do such and not have one inaccuracy in telling or sequence or chronology would have taken me half a year. And there are all kinds of things like this in this work.
He really must be taking some serious, concentrated, chunks out of time up in some silent ivory tower to do this; and not just chewing on breakfast and reading the news as he jottles down a few things in a mirey haze.
Much respect for the man and his works.
July 17, 2012
There are a lot of mistakes and misinformation throughout this book. Merry was never a knight of Gondor, he was knighted by Theoden of Rohan. The Noldor did not make the Silmarils, only Feanor did that.
There are also a lot of entries that are redundant and don't offer much new information. The illustrations are really nice though. My favorite is the Caves of Menegroth.
If you're looking for a reference book you're better off getting the Complete Tolkien Companion by J.E.A. Tyler. If you're a collector like me then it's probably worth it.
There are also a lot of entries that are redundant and don't offer much new information. The illustrations are really nice though. My favorite is the Caves of Menegroth.
If you're looking for a reference book you're better off getting the Complete Tolkien Companion by J.E.A. Tyler. If you're a collector like me then it's probably worth it.
May 21, 2017
A reference book dealing with the geography, races, and individuals of Middle-earth. Basically an illustrated dictionary. While the artwork is frequent and varied (there are a number of different artists, using a number of different styles and techniques, which makes for a very interesting and enjoyable set of illustrations), the text, though thorough, is not without mistakes and can be extremely repetitive.
Would have liked it more had there been more art and less words. Cut down all the endless repetition and the text would have been half the length.
Would have liked it more had there been more art and less words. Cut down all the endless repetition and the text would have been half the length.
February 10, 2008
Although the entries in this encyclopedia are helpful, you get more than your purchase-price value from the excellent maps and chronology in the beginning of this comprehensive resource. I consider it an essential companion, along with the revised edition Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth, to a reading of The Silmarillion; and even though the maps in The Atlas of Middle-earth are indispensable, they don't replace the maps and the chronology at the beginning of David Day's book.
October 19, 2009
Pro: the art. The book is absolutely loaded with illustrations, and each of the half dozen or so artists has an extremely distinct style, ranging from etching to watercolor. It's an amazingly beautiful collection.
Con: the accuracy. The book is almost as loaded with errors as it is with pictures, including boneheaded stuff like mislabeling a picture of Merry as Pippin and vice versa - in other words, things that reflect a fault not in research, but in editing.
Con: the accuracy. The book is almost as loaded with errors as it is with pictures, including boneheaded stuff like mislabeling a picture of Merry as Pippin and vice versa - in other words, things that reflect a fault not in research, but in editing.
March 28, 2012
i don't even like tolkien and i liked this book. for my reference use i'd of liked all the entries in order instead of broken into five sub-catagories.
having just read several of the goodreads reviews i find now know this book has many errors, but it still has really cool art and for three bucks at half-price books i don't feel bad
having just read several of the goodreads reviews i find now know this book has many errors, but it still has really cool art and for three bucks at half-price books i don't feel bad
July 9, 2016
Picked this up at a used book shop in Chiang Mai. In excellent condition for the price! What else are vacations for?
David Day attempts to bring together Tolkien's mythology from multiple Tolkien works and catalog the chronology, geography, societies, biology, and biographies of Middle Earth. Includes many fascinating illustrations and explanations.
David Day attempts to bring together Tolkien's mythology from multiple Tolkien works and catalog the chronology, geography, societies, biology, and biographies of Middle Earth. Includes many fascinating illustrations and explanations.
February 11, 2008
an amazing collection of histories, maps, and character profiles. this is a wonderful guide with some really great artwork. usually these aren't the kinds of books you read cover to cover, but this is an exception. i thoroughly enjoyed it.
October 6, 2010
The best Guide to Tolkien, written by a specialist of Elvish. Every Tolkien fan should have it in his/her bookshelves. It give precious data about the people of Middle-Earth, the places, the animals, the languages,... All these are easy to find, because of the alphaberical order used by the author.
October 3, 2011
The art is beautiful, and the summary time lines are actually quite a useful aid when reading through The Silmarillion. However, several entries are plagued by minor spelling errors...points off for that.
May 19, 2012
Overall a rather nice compendium with beautiful illustrations. It is illuminating about Tolkien's inspiration and sources, yet serves only as an introductory work. For more thorough studies regarding Tolkien's Middle Earth Cycle is it, however, not suitable.
March 20, 2009
An inferior and cut-down reworking of 'Tolkien Bestiary'. Buy that instead if you can.
October 17, 2009
Probably my first Tolkien reference book so it has a special place in my heart. I particularly enjoy the chronology tables and the geography charts.
October 24, 2009
Spanish translation of David Day's Illustrated Encyclopedia.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews