Product Description

The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, fist reached these shores on October 21, 1954, arriving, as C. S. Lewis proclaimed, "like lightning from a clear sky." Fifty years and nearly one hundred million American readers later comes a beautiful new one-volume collector’s edition befitting the stature of this crown jewel of our list. With a text fully corrected under the supervision of Christopher Tolkien to meet the author’s exacting wishes, two large-format fold-out maps, a ribbon placemarker, gilded page edges, a color insert depicting Tolkien's own paintings of the Book of Mazarbul and exceptionally elegant and sturdy overall packaging housed within an attractive slipcase, this edition is the finest we’ve ever produced.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7769 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-21
• Released on: 2004-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Leather Bound
• 1184 pages

Review
'Masterpiece? Oh yes, I've no doubt about that.' Evening Standard 'Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the 20th century.' Sunday Telegraph 'The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them' Sunday Times 'A story magnificently told, with every kind of colour and movement and greatness' New Statesman

Review
"A work of immense narrative power that can sweep the reader up and hold him enthralled for days and weeks." (The Nation )

"J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy remains the ultimate quest, the ultimate battle between good and evil, the ultimate chronicle of stewardship of the earth. Endlessly imitated, it has never been surpassed." (Kansas City Star )

"A remarkable book" (Newsweek )

"One of the great fairy-tale quests in modern literature" (Time Magazine )

"A sustained feat of imagination that has entranced millions" (The Chicago Tribune )

"Tolkien's stories take place against a background of measureless depth…That background is ever-present in the creator's mind and it gives Frodo and company a three-dimensional reality that is seldom found in this kind of writing." (The Washington Post )

About the Author
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Customer Reviews

The finest edition of LOTR ever published
While the price of this book is steep, this is easily the best version of this book in existance. The gilded pages and high-quality leather look, smell and feel wonderful. This is not the questionable quality leather used on previous versions, this is the real deal. More importantly, this version has, as J.R.R. recorded in letters, reproductions of the Book of Marzubul. These are the pages from the Dwarven book found in the Mines of Moria by Gandalf and the Fellowship. In the begining and ending of the book are also included maps that fold out to render Middle-earth for the reader, again as the author originally wanted.

This is the book that Tolkien dreamed of having published but couldn't due to the realities of post-WWII publishing costs and questions about a 400,000 word publication.

For me, there is an emtoional response to this book for two reasons. One, it is as fine or better than the book the author originally wished to have published and two, it is a beautiful piece of art all on its own, suitable for display. If you love books or love Tolkien or both, this is a must have and the centerpiece of any worthy collection.

Poor quality control
Note -- Tolkien's work is rated 5 stars. The physical book is rated two stars.

When you pay $100 list for a collector's edition book, you expect it to be perfect in all respects. I am on my 3rd copy of this edition and am still dissatisfied.

The first book had paper that was poorly folded. There were many pages that were misfolded. I returned that and got another copy. This one had a whole signature [one group of pages] with a tear at the top edge.

I returned that and got a third copy. This one seems OK, but the pages are not centered in the hard cover. Its rather dissatisfying, but I think I will keep it.

The publisher should take their printer/binder to task. Three strikes in three pitches is unacceptable for what is a very expensive edition to begin with.

BTW all three copies had glue that overflowed onto the inside cover pages. When you try to separate the pages, they tear where the glue had been.

I think that the publisher dishonors Tolkien's marvelous work and insults their readers by publishing an expensive edition with such poor quality control.

Excellent Edition
In view of the newly found popularity of Tolkien's classic, I decided to update my old Unwin Paperback edition of LOTR. I compared several editions out there (Boxed Rei, Houghton Mifflin and the sober Harper-Collins with the black cover and the single ring in the centre), and decided to buy this one. It is, hands down, the best.

The folding maps need some care, if you're like me and try to keep your books as if they were brand new. Overall, it's very well put together and makes a great addition to my library.

I'm sorry if this review seems superficial, but I feel all that should be written about the books themselves has already been written--and perhaps more. Suffice to say that this is the edition for the true fan of the books, although the whole thing makes a rather big (and elegant) tome to carry around the house.

If you want your children to read it, perhaps a less intimidating edition would be in order, though (my old Unwin set is ideal for that, and it's making its way to the younger in the family).