The Return of the Shadow: The History of Middle-Earth 6: Book 6 Paperback – 4 Feb. 2002

Thoroughly enjoying reading book six in the histories of Middle Earth as the paperwork seems clearer and there are clear examples of Tolkiens' thought processes in putting his ideas down on paper whilst he contextualised them and tried to make sense of his ideas as he moved forward with the construction of The Lord of the Rings. A fact missed in some cases, and as a reader/ past writer seemed clear to see. As a life long enjoyer of the LOTR this has in no way bothered me, but just given extra value to this book. Recommended.

A scholarly masterpiece

I wasn't sure what to expect but I massively enjoyed reading Tolkien's first drafts, and seeing how the story was put together. Really interesting read and a must-have for Tolkien fans

I'm a Tolkien scholar and obsessive. His collective works are the greatest work of fiction ever written and rival the Old testament for detail and imagination. :-) And that's all I have to say about that.

A massive 13 volume work of Tolkein's work by his son Christopher. It's heavy reading but nice to dip into it from time to time especially if you have Tolkien's most famous works, you are a fan of Middle Earth and want to know more. Volumes 1 to 5 and 10 to 11 relate to "The Silmarillion", volumes 6 to 9 to "Lord of the Rings", volume 12 is an appendix and volume 13 an index. There is a shorter version of volume 9 "Sauron Defeated" called "End of the third age". They are available in hardcover which make a fine collection but not so easy to find and would cost nearly £300. I got them all as paperbacks for about £60 which is not a bad buy as you get plenty of insight into Tolkien's mind and how thorough his research was when he wrote "Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings". There are numerous essays, quotes and different versions of his published works so you can see how involved he was with his creation and the meticulous care he took to fill in every detail.

arrived in good shape

Interesting book

a nice addition to my Tolkien library