The Tolkien Companion is an impressive endeavor to guide one through the world of Middle-earth, compiling every fact, name, word, and date from all the works into one comprehensive and accessible volume. Presented in alphabetical order for quick and easy reference, The Tolkien Companion is an indispensable accompaniment for anyone who embarks on the reading journey of a lifetime.

In this book, David Day delves into the inspirations and sources for the Ring stories, exploring an ancient storytelling tradition that dates back to the dawn of Western culture and encompasses Norse mythology, Arthurian legend, Celtic and Saxon myths, the classical tradition, German romance, and biblical tales. Alan Lee's evocative color and black-and-white illustrations capture the magic of these mythic characters and themes with a particular grace and elegance.

Michael Stanton, a noted expert on science fiction and fantasy literature, has written an indispensible new guide to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Stanton, who has been teaching Tolkien's epic for more than 25 years at the University of Vermont, guides the reader through the thickets of characters and places, eschewing academic jargon and an overload of literary criticism to provide an understandable look at Tolkien's fantasy-scape.

This book covers all of Tolkien's invented languages, spoken by hobbits, elves, and men of Middle-earth; it includes a dictionary of 14 languages, an English-Elvish glossary, all the runes and alphabets, and material on Tolkien the linguist. For the Tolkien fan who just can't get enough.