J. R. R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created the Lord of the Rings

by Michael Coren

Book by Coren, Michael

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Literature, Christian, School, Childrens

Hardcover

First published May 1, 2001

About the author

Michael Coren is an English-Canadian columnist, author, public speaker, radio host and television talk show host. He has been the host of the television series The Michael Coren Show for six years. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on CFRB radio.

He has writen more than ten books, including biographies of H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C. S. Lewis. His latest book, Why Catholics are Right, will be published in 2011.

Reviews

[Bev Sutton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just 11 pages in, I am already so irritated by this book that I'm considering using it for kindling ... despite my considerable abhorrence of book burning.

I will persevere but here are my objections thus far ...

First, the introduction with its crowing about "elites" reveals the biographer's political leanings ... the polar opposite of mine. Say "literary snobs" if that is what you mean ... but to label people who prefer Dickens and/or Austen to Tolkien as "elites" and then state "Elites are small, influential groups of people who think they know what is best for everyone else" is patently ludicrous. Yes, the literary snobs of the world may dislike LotR ... but so what. I have read Dickens, Austen, and of course, Tolkien and they all have merit and most importantly they appeal to different audiences.

Next this section about Tolkien's early years sent me over the edge ... " ... he had an encounter with what he thought was a harmless spider. It bit him. But it turned out to be a poisonous tarantula. If it hadn't been for a quick-witted servant who sucked the poison out of the wound, neither Tolkien no The Lord of the Rings would have grown to maturity!"

Seriously?! The number of errors in that excerpt alone are enough to consign this book to the flames. Grammatical, factual, scientific ... the mind boggles.


http://www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2002... ... South African "tarantulas" are known as colloquially as baboon spiders, and have a unique classification.

Not one of the spiders in the world that are ignorantly dubbed "tarantulas" is actually venomous ... the word he should have used --
See ... http://insects.about.com/od/insects10... and http://www.desertusa.com/july96/are-t...

Finally, perpetuating the utter nonsense of sucking the poison out of a wound should be sufficient to have this fool locked up on charges of impersonating a human with a brain.

"Despite many claims via anecdotes or product descriptions, DO NOT attempt to suck out the venom either using your mouth or a suction device.12 According to the Los Angeles Poison Center, "There is no benefit to ever trying to suck the venom out of a spider bite." By the time people notice a bite, the venom has usually diluted into the tissue. It is a waste of time." (Source: http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-treat-a-...)

I checked out the reviews on Amazon and found this one which accurately sums up another objection of mine ...

This review is from: J.r.r. Tolkien: The Man Who Created The Lord Of The Rings (Scholastic Biography) (Mass Market Paperback)
Already in hardcover and recently released in softcover, this is a juvenile biography of Tolkien: it's intended for children, and written down for children. The cozy, smarmy tone and false sense of intimacy (leading Coren into many errors, though not as many as Michael White's =Life and Work of J.R.R. Tolkien=) make this book painful reading. Like all other juvenile biographies of Tolkien, or of C.S. Lewis (another subject Coren has essayed), this is entirely outclassed by adult offerings. Any child capable of appreciating =LotR= enough to desire a biography of the author can handle Humphrey Carpenter's classic book, and should.

I had hoped that once I had read this I could add it to my classroom library ... but ... probably not. :(

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a children's biography, I found this very well researched. That being said, there might not be many children who would read it unless they were familiar with Tolkien and his works, and if they were fanatical about them. The text was engaging to an adult, but I imagine it could come across as dull and pedantic to a child.

All that being said, I'm very glad I read it, to have a detailed overview of J. R. R. Tolkien's life. I read this in preparation for a book club discussing The Hobbit.

[Osman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Büyük üstadın biyografisi ve yüzüklerin efendisinin yaratılış öyküsünü kullanıcıyı sıkmadan anlatan, kapağını açtığınız anda sizi esir alacak bir eser.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Juvenile and lowbrow in tone, not the best introduction to the life of the man who created Middle-Earth. A lot of the asides seem asinine, and Coren's attempts to keep the writing fresh and original just come off as forced. In trying to embolden Tolkien's personal narrative, Coren only detracts from the man's story. A heavy emphasis on Tolkien's faith takes away a lot of focus from some of the other major factors in the author's life, including being in the trenches during World War One and his youth spent schooled by his mother. The extensive summaries of The Hobbit and Lord Of The Rings seemed unnecessary; who would read a biography of Tolkien and not be familiar with his works? Overall, might be good for the youngest readers it is aimed at, but anyone over the age of thirteen can do better.

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars simply because Tolkien had an interesting life. 1 star for the book itself.

[alkitabbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.R.R. Tolkien, sein Leben wurde mir sehr nahe gebracht. Tolkien war mir während des Lesens ein sympathischer Begleiter, der mir sehr ans Herz gewachsen ist ❤️

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biographien mancher Autoren lesen sich so spannend wie ihre Bücher. Tolkiens Leben ist - für sich genommen - natürlich ein eher konservatives; sieht man von seiner Jugend und der Zeit vor seiner Hochzeit ab. Doch der Schöpfer des 'Herrn der Ringe' ist zweifelsfrei trotzdem eine interessante Figur, deren Biographie hier von Michael Coren in extrem knackiger, kurzer Weise wiedergegeben wird.

Der Autor hinter der Biographie macht einen kurzen (und vom eigenen Fandom durchwachsenen) Ausflug in die Zeit vor Tolkiens Geburt. Er besucht die Eltern des zukünftigen Großmeisters der Fantasy-Erzählung in Südafrika, wo Tolkien das Licht der Welt erblickt. Nach dem tragischen Tod des Vaters und dem Dahinscheiden der Mutter rutscht der Fokus sehr schnell auf Tolkiens zukünftige Ehefrau und sein Verhältnis zur Kirche, die in Form seines Zieh-Vaters (eines katholischen Priesters) zusammenhängen.

Seine Hingabe an diese beiden wichtigen Fixsterne in Tolkiens Leben wird nur noch von seiner Liebe zu seinen Kindern übertroffen, denen er Abends Geschichten von kleinen, tapferen Wesen erzählt. Bis er endlich den bedeutendsten Satz in seinem Leben auf ein Blatt Papier kritzelt: In einem Loch im Boden, da lebte ein Hobbit.

Über den kleinen Hobbit wird dann die Entstehungsgeschichte des Herrn der Ringe aufgerollt, bis wir schließlich in Tolkiens letzten Tagen angekommen sind. Mit dem Gefühl, gerade erst angefangen zu haben, den Mann hinter dem Mythos kennen gelernt zu haben.

Wer sich zwischendurch schnell einen Überblick über Tolkiens Leben verschaffen (und dabei durchaus gut unterhalten fühlen) will, der sollte zu dieser Kurzbiographie greifen. Auch, wenn sie ihre Schwächen hat (wie etwa der immanente Erzählton des verehrenden Fans), ist sie ein tolles Buch.

[Melda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Aslında gerçekten de ölmemiştir. Gerçekte ne biz onu kaybettik, ne de o bizi kaybetti. Onu gerçekten tanıyan ve anlayan kişiler, durumun böyle olduğunu cenazesinde göreceklerdi. Çünkü mezarlığa çağırılan küçük insan topluluğu oradan ayrılırken, içlerinden bazılar, sadece bazıları, ağaçların önündeki çalılıklarında arasından birtakım sesler duyduklarını söylediler. Orada hiçbir şey yoktu, en azından çoğu insan için. "Sessiz olun," diyor Frodo, "neredeyse bizi ele veriyordunuz. Sessiz olun!" Frodo'nun arkasında insanlardan ve diğer yaratıklardan oluşan, millerce uzanan bir sıra var. Yaratıklar elbette ki Tolkien'in yarattıklarıydı. İnsanlar? Onlardan milyonlarcası vardı. Onlar mutlu ve gülümseyen yüzleriyle okurlarıydı - geçmişte, şimdi ve evet, gelecekte de var olacak olan okurları. Öykü, asla bitmeyecektir. O bunu her zaman için biliyordu."

[Mora · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was pretty okay. It read very fast and was pretty entertaining and gave nice little tidbits about the man. However, from what I've heard of him before and even the testimonial from another person at the end don't really fit with what I've heard of Tolkien's teaching and talking style.

Great fun read, but left me wondering how factually accurate it is and how much of it paints a better picture of the reality.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a nice short read about Tolkien - which was all I needed. My only criticism is that it makes him out to be some sort of perfect in every way. It mentions a couple of faults but it very much glosses over them and the negative is always followed by a "but he..." Maybe this is because it's a children's book, but I don't agree it should be so one-sided - even for children.
However, it was very informative and seemed accurate.

[Mary Helene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Condescending doesn't begin to describe the tone of this tome, ostensibly written for the younger crowd (a Scholastic publicaton.)

[Mr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Not a bad biography, but it seemed like Coren idealized Tolkien's life a bit too much at times.

[Bryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very exiting or well written book.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy read, just a few hours. A decent over view of the life of this author, but
that is all it is, an overview. Written in a very familiar style that I found off putting.

[Jaymes Dunlap · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of those books I had on my shelf, meant to read, and never did until now. As a more mature reader, I find some aspects frustrating (lack of footnotes, especially when I wanted to know where to get more information about certain sub-topics), but was surprised at the overview information the text covered.

This book is generally informative about J.R.R. Tolken by providing and overview biography of his life. The style is generally written for readers in or about the tween level. This becomes extremely evident not only in word choices, style, and attempts to provoke or build reader empathy. An example from page 9, "Imagine how painful it became when that same man moved to a different country and continent." My greatest complaint is the book's editorializing (as in the previous sentence) distracts from its objectivity. There are no footnotes, but a bibliography of his works and further readings on J.R.R. Tolken are included. Pictures are sourced non-specifically to their publishers.

However, it does hold some informational merit for the unfamiliar reader. It provides and overview of Tolken's life, rough estimations or exact times when he began his works, organizations he was a part of (the Inklings) and significant personal and professional friends, such as C.S. Lewis. The text also contains some information that can be surprising facts if unknown. As symbolic as some of Tolkien's works are, I was surprised to learn The Hobbit was intended as a children's book with the same literary styles.

Overall, I would say this could make an "okay" primer (especially for younger readers) about Tolken's life, but it would not be my go-to choice if I needed more objective depth and details. I think it was more intended on being a "charming read."

[David Poon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in a 2nd-hand bookshop and really enjoyed the short history of the man behind Middle-Earth, about the hard life of his parents working in South Africa and about the man that literally took care of him and his family after his mother's death - Father Francis Xavier Morgan. How his name sounds so close to another great mentor of the X-Men named Prof Charles Francis Xavier who took care of young helpless 'talents' is a little too coincidental for someone as well-verse in literature as Stan Lee...

Anyway, the book is a great read for a lazy afternoon and it is filled with B&W pictures of places and buildings in England that Tolkien used to frequent, which serves as a guide to places one has to visit when you're there (esp. The Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings visited often)

Lastly, one of the best subjects in this book was Tolkien's relationships with his family and friends. From his love life with his wife Edith, his children, and this friends and fellow members of the Inklings namely C.S. Lewis or Jack! There's some stories about his bittersweet relationship with his publishers, but the fact that the LOTR books were written over a decade and only after the success of the Hobbit came as an encouragement to (I believe) budding authors with simple ideas of a book...

[Mona Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a big fan of Biographies, but I loved this. Read it in one sitting. Being a Movie Buff as well and lover of the film "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbitt", I wanted to read about this amazing Author who spent 12 years writing "Lord of the Rings". He knew they were going to make a movie of it but unfortunately passed away before it was made. So sad. When one stops to think how all that fantasy came from this sweet mans mind its mind blowing. Tolkien was a Professor at Oxford as well.






































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[Mats · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very simple and straightforward biography, possibly aimed at children. I can understand why the at times asinine language can be frustrating for other people, but it suited me perfectly as I don’t normally read biographies.
Also, this one comes with many photos which is a huge plus!

[Ger · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was given this book translated in French and the level of language and the spelling are poor... Moreover, the writing is too subjective and the researches are superficial.

[Cellardoora Maar · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Sterne.

[Joe Diate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad writing and misleading information litter this book about one of my favorite authors! I am hoping to find a better biography to share with my 3rd grade class soon.

[Kristen Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book...

[Emily Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

First I thaught it would be boring, but it was super interesting!! I couldn't stop reading! I loved it! 😍

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to meet Tolkien in the next life.

[John McDermott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just about a "3" at best. Informative but poorly written and too many creative liberties / assumptions taken about how Tolkien and others "felt" or acted about things in his life.

[Cierra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was okay. A short enough read that it wasn't too boring and long enough that it gave me a better understanding of Tolkien's life and the kind of person he was.

[Sarah Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a condensed biography of the beloved J. R. R. Tolkien’s life starting with a little back story of how his parents started out together. He was born in South Africa and spent his first few years there but his health caused the family to leave. Both Tolkien’s parents died while he was young and he and his younger brother were left in charge of a Catholic Father who had helped the family before his mother passed away. The biography continues from there to detail the years he spent in college developing a deep love of literature and languages. It includes descriptions of his years as a professor and his many relationships with friends and, especially, his family. Coren also adds the history behind the writing and publishing processes of his tales of Middle Earth. However, Coren makes it known to his readers that Tolkien never let his fame get to him, he was first and most importantly a very loving, happy husband and father and an incredible professor.

I enjoyed finding out more about J. R. R. Tolkien’s life and I liked the emphasis that Coren placed on making sure it was understood that Tolkien was an ordinary guy and a truly wonderful family man. However, I did have a few moments where I felt a little confused at his sequence of events. He builds up to something and then says he will come back to it later fairly often and it is a little bit hard to follow. I found myself liking and then not liking his writing style in turns which was a little confusing but overall it really isn’t a bad biography and it is a fun, easy read.

[Lynne Mclaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in 2 days after having had some dental surgery and being unable to do much else, and I really enjoyed it. Though I am slogging through "Heresy" (which is excellent and thought-provoking and taking me forever to read because it is such a 'thinking' book) right now too, I have to admit, I like Michael Coren more when he is not being controversial, and just reverently talking about one of his heroes. I read his CS Lewis biography during this recovery period too and enjoyed it just as much. Thank you, Mr. Coren, for being a Catholic and a Christian and admiring the same people I do, and taking the time to research and tell the world about them. This was as easy, accessible and pleasant read, just right for a recovery read during Advent. God Bless!

[Di · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the introduction this book reads as a defense of Tolkien's work against his critics. It's more like a general review of his books and his life to convince everyone that indeed those are the best books ever written and that, indeed, he is one of the finest writers of the 20th century (and I agree, of course.)This is a simple biography, but its still quite good, specially for people who have no idea who Tolkien was. If this is your first contact with the man, then this book is for you. That's the only reason I'm giving it 4 stars. Because, as a general view of his life and work, is a fine introduction and foundation to a deeper study of Tolkien.

[Tweedledum · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simplified biography of JRR which borrows heavily from authoritative works and which was clearly aimed at the schools library lists. The style seems dated and slightly patronising now but I can imagine that it might have appealed to me in my early teens and whetted my appetite for a more substantial read. Nicely presented and sprinkled throughout with photographs, albeit black and white ones today the book is more interesting as a curiosity to dip into occasionally and add to the shelf of a Tolkien fan rather than to be used as a serious study for a young person who is far more likely to turn straight to the web.