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J.R.R. Tolkien
The authoritative exploration of the man behind Middle Earth. From Tolkien's Bletchley Park connection to the `publishing risk' of The Lord of the Rings, this latest addition to the Amazing & Extraordinary series explores J.R.R.Tolkien's inventiveness, the sources of his inspiration and the fellowship of his fan base.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
144 pages, Hardcover
First published August 31, 2012
5 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Colin Duriez
38 books53 followersColin Duriez is an English writer and scholar best known for his work on the Inklings, the literary circle that included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and Charles Williams. Born in Derbyshire in 1947, he moved to Leicester in 1983 to work as a commissioning editor for the publisher IVP. Over the years he has combined editorial work with teaching, and in 2002 he established his own business, InWriting, in Keswick, Cumbria, providing writing and editorial services as well as book acquisition for publishers.
Winner of the Clyde S. Kilby Award in 1994 for his research on the Inklings, Duriez has been praised as one of the most valuable contemporary scholars on Lewis. His numerous books explore the lives, friendships, and imaginative worlds of Lewis and Tolkien, including Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien, and the Shadow of Evil, The Oxford Inklings, and Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship. His work has been lauded for accessibility, scholarly insight, and fresh perspectives.
Duriez has also appeared in television documentaries such as A Quest for Meaning – Myth, Imagination & Faith in the Literature of J. R. R. Tolkien & C. S. Lewis. He lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
Winner of the Clyde S. Kilby Award in 1994 for his research on the Inklings, Duriez has been praised as one of the most valuable contemporary scholars on Lewis. His numerous books explore the lives, friendships, and imaginative worlds of Lewis and Tolkien, including Bedeviled: Lewis, Tolkien, and the Shadow of Evil, The Oxford Inklings, and Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship. His work has been lauded for accessibility, scholarly insight, and fresh perspectives.
Duriez has also appeared in television documentaries such as A Quest for Meaning – Myth, Imagination & Faith in the Literature of J. R. R. Tolkien & C. S. Lewis. He lives in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 17, 2017
I was in Chapters (an amazing bookstore in Dublin several months ago) and my eyes spotted this book at the Tolkien section. It is a beautiful small book filled with information about the life of Tolkien. The book was half priced so a bargain. ;)
I read it during my plane flight back to the Netherlands. And I enjoyed it so much. It has a full description about Tolkien's life and his work as a scolar. I enjoyed reading about his work as a proffessor. He did a lot of amazing stuff like reciting out loud Beowulf for his group of students like a viking.
He even had a little viking club at his univesity where people read old norse and drank beer.
I highly recommend it if you are like me a big Tolkien fan. The cover has the most amazing graphic design.
I read it during my plane flight back to the Netherlands. And I enjoyed it so much. It has a full description about Tolkien's life and his work as a scolar. I enjoyed reading about his work as a proffessor. He did a lot of amazing stuff like reciting out loud Beowulf for his group of students like a viking.
He even had a little viking club at his univesity where people read old norse and drank beer.
I highly recommend it if you are like me a big Tolkien fan. The cover has the most amazing graphic design.
July 2, 2025
One star.
Why one star? Well, two reasons. This book is just too niche, and it's too difficult to read.
#1. The book is niche in that in focuses on the minutiae of Tolkien's life, noting places where he lived, was schooled, taught, worshipped, vacationed, had beers, who his friends were, the list just goes on and on. And it's really not all that interesting! Here's an example (page 22):
"From 1939 to (around) 1962 various members of the Inklings would gather at the pub, often on a Tuesday morning. Tolkien attended many of these meetings, particularly up until the early 1950s. Fascinatingly, the pub's sign shows an image of the divine mortal Ganymede being abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle; the establishment stands in St. Giles, opposite another favored pub, the Lamb and Flag. In addition, other pubs frequented at times by Tolkien and friends include the Kings Arms, near the Bodleian Library, and the White Horse nearby, a very small pub full of character and situated next to Blackwell's bookshop."
Talk about *yawn*-city!
#2. When I say this book is difficult to read, I'm not talking about the wording, the phrasing, the intricate plot, the enormous number of characters -- nope, nothing like that. The problem is this book is just too small -- it's about the size of the palm of your hand! Now I get it, the author/publisher might have thought it would be cute: "Let's make a book about Hobbits be Hobbit-sized!" Not the greatest decision, but when you pair THAT with a print font that has small, thin, tall lettering, it's a recipe for disaster! ("Is that a 1, an l, an I, or something else?) I use +3.00 diopter reading glasses, and this book stymied my efforts to read it! I had to resort to a magnifying glass.
A magnifying glass! Argh!
This book is ONLY for Tolkien FANATICS. Not fans -- FANATICS.
So a niche book that's nearly impossible to read . . .
. . . deserves one star.
One star it is.
Why one star? Well, two reasons. This book is just too niche, and it's too difficult to read.
#1. The book is niche in that in focuses on the minutiae of Tolkien's life, noting places where he lived, was schooled, taught, worshipped, vacationed, had beers, who his friends were, the list just goes on and on. And it's really not all that interesting! Here's an example (page 22):
"From 1939 to (around) 1962 various members of the Inklings would gather at the pub, often on a Tuesday morning. Tolkien attended many of these meetings, particularly up until the early 1950s. Fascinatingly, the pub's sign shows an image of the divine mortal Ganymede being abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle; the establishment stands in St. Giles, opposite another favored pub, the Lamb and Flag. In addition, other pubs frequented at times by Tolkien and friends include the Kings Arms, near the Bodleian Library, and the White Horse nearby, a very small pub full of character and situated next to Blackwell's bookshop."
Talk about *yawn*-city!
#2. When I say this book is difficult to read, I'm not talking about the wording, the phrasing, the intricate plot, the enormous number of characters -- nope, nothing like that. The problem is this book is just too small -- it's about the size of the palm of your hand! Now I get it, the author/publisher might have thought it would be cute: "Let's make a book about Hobbits be Hobbit-sized!" Not the greatest decision, but when you pair THAT with a print font that has small, thin, tall lettering, it's a recipe for disaster! ("Is that a 1, an l, an I, or something else?) I use +3.00 diopter reading glasses, and this book stymied my efforts to read it! I had to resort to a magnifying glass.
A magnifying glass! Argh!
This book is ONLY for Tolkien FANATICS. Not fans -- FANATICS.
So a niche book that's nearly impossible to read . . .
. . . deserves one star.
One star it is.
April 25, 2020
To be honest I only picked up this one up because it was so short and I need to get ahead on my reading goals (it didn't work) and didn't think I'd gain a whole lot from this because I'd just read a couple of Tolkien biographies, but I loved it! I learned a lot of interesting facts I hadn't read before, maybe because they're a little obscure and hard to fit into a formal book. It was also so helpful to read little snippets that gave some background, substance, and simple explanations to Tolkien's more complicated work, especially The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle Earth. I'm so glad I read through this right before I dive into The Silmarillion. I highly recommend!
April 23, 2024
Outstanding overview of all Tolkien’s works and the thinking behind them! It helped fill in some gaps about the history of Middle Earth, but also how Middle Earth relates to the real world and past mythologies and historical events. One of my favourite books about Tolkien and Middle Earth!
September 3, 2017
interesting but very disconnected and with way to many repeats.
August 19, 2024
I’d rather just read a Tolkien biography, but that also wasn’t the author’s goal.
October 28, 2015
A great read for any fan of Tolkien! Full of lots of interesting facts and information that you can dip in and out of.
This book is an ideal coffee table read as you don't need to read it all at once!
I loved the way the book was formatted, it made for a very enjoyable reading experience with all the little snippets and indents of information dotted around.
The only thing I think would have improved this book would be if the facts had been put into sections or chapters on specific things as it didn't seem to have a particular order but other than that it was great!
This book is an ideal coffee table read as you don't need to read it all at once!
I loved the way the book was formatted, it made for a very enjoyable reading experience with all the little snippets and indents of information dotted around.
The only thing I think would have improved this book would be if the facts had been put into sections or chapters on specific things as it didn't seem to have a particular order but other than that it was great!
April 22, 2013
Lots of fun & interesting facts & trivia
May 21, 2013
Very interesting. I really enjoyed it. The idea of having various stories about his life as a channel through which to provide information on him was excellent and very effective.
October 27, 2022
I feel like it is long and drawn out. The order of how you are told things is bothersome as well, I would have preferred more of a Chronological order.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews