The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth: 1 Hardcover – 9 Jun. 2020

This book is full of stunning imagery, showcasing the inspiration behind the incredible world created by Tolkien. The book is full of variety, with interesting text and brilliant imagery, from maps to historical art to landscape photography, there's plenty to look at and read.

This wonderful book by John Garth expands on his history of Tolkien in the Great War and places him in the English Landscape that imbued his work with such love. The large format of the book allows the illustration and photographs to give the reader much more detail than normal and I find it hard to find fault. Copious amounts have been written about J.R.R and "The Lord of the Rings" but here's one book that will add to what you know or thought you knew about the man and his work.

This was a fascinating, well researched book from John Garth and gave interesting insights into the places that may have inspired JRR Tolkien. No dust jacket, but the book has a lovely cover. A most entertaining addition to anyone's Tolkien library.

Good to get out of the Shire of the English midlands and into the wider world.

I bought it as a present for my Tolkien fan younger son. He is delighted

This is a wonderful and meticulously researched book, in which John Garth traces the connections between places that inspired JRR Tolkien and where they turned up in his writing.Tolkien was born in South Africa and came to England as a small child, living near Birmingham. Place was important to him throughout his life, as was a love of language and mythology.England, in Tolkien's opinion, lacked the rich stories that were found in other nations’ mythologies and so he set out to create his own. He wove his personal life into his mythology.In creating his own mythology, Tolkien also drew on many sources, all of which are discussed at length, with detailed annotations, drawings and paintings, photographs, and quotations to support the text.I took my time with this book. It is not to be glossed over in one or two sittings but should be used as a point of reference to complement and illuminate Tolkien's writings.As an avid fan of both film trilogies of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I know that place matters. The films were shot in New Zealand because of its stunning landscapes. They look, and are, spectacular, and suit the panorama and narrative of the films perfectly. But are they what Tolkien himself envisaged?The answer is perhaps a surprising one, as Tolkien only travelled once among mountains, on a trip to Switzerland in 1911. Yet they clearly left a deep impression on him. His landscapes are so descriptive, and reading about his childhood you can begin to appreciate the breadth of his imagination. He never really left his childhood behind, you sense, but took the joy of remembered places and experiences with him throughout his life.Tolkien was influenced by England and its countryside and appalled by industrialisation. He also admired the Arts and Crafts movement and believed in preserving the British rural landscape, creating Middle-earth ‘to reflect what he most loved and detested in his own world’.If you buy one book this year to grace your coffee table, then you need look no further. This beautifully presented and illustrated book is one that I shall personally be adding to my collection.I was sent an advance review copy of this book by White Lion (Quarto Publishing Group), in return for an honest appraisal.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion for a temporary digital edition via NetGalley of ‘The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-Earth’ by John Garth in exchange for an honest review.John Garth is the author of the highly acclaimed ‘Tolkien and the Great War’ as well as a number of papers and articles relating to Tolkien and Middle Earth. His scholarship shines.The book is organised by eleven themes, including trees and woods, mountains, the sea and shore, and others. The entire book is lavishly illustrated with paintings, maps, and photographs.Garth presents a fascinating account of the ‘tale that grew in the telling’ and provides a sense of how Tolkien’s work was influenced by his travels and experiences as he crafted his ‘mythology for England’.There is a sense of Tolkien’s legendarium evolving over decades before the publication of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ finally fixed it in print. Still, he continued to tinker with the wider mythos until his death in 1973. Garth also clears up popular misconceptions and also offers his own new claims.This was a fascinating work that provided me with a great deal of food for thought. I hope to add its hardback edition to my collection of Tolkien-related books in due course.Highly recommended.

This is an amazing book for any Lord of the Rings enthusiast. John Garth book explores the life of Tolkien with his book. Packed with fantastic pictures and drawings from the writer as well as other artists, as well as details of the landscapes and geography, history and folklore that influenced the creation of Middle Earth as well as points in his life which have found their way into his books.I first read the Hobbit when I was only 8 years old and have recently listened to it on Audible. I have also read LOTR three times over the years, so it was a pleasure to read Garth's book and see where the influences come from. There were things I had not heard before about Tolkien and some I knew.Even though I received this from Netgalley and the publisher I will be buying this book as it is one I want sitting on my bookshelf when I pick up the Hobbit and LOTR to read again or even to listen to BBC dramatisations or audiobooks.An excellent companion to the classic books.

Hermosa edición: pasta dura y papel mate de calidad para disfrutar de todas las ilustraciones y fotografías que inundan el libro. La investigación realizada por el autor es muy especial pues coloca a la naturaleza como la protagonista; al tiempo que ofrece nuevos puntos de vista que permiten disfrutar aún más la obra de Tolkien.

A dream of a book. The images and the information is amazing. I love it!

As a member of the Tolkien Society I enjoy reading comments in the Society's periodicals and on its Facebook page about the latest advertisement identifying various places as having "inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to write his masterpiece!" A few of these claims have some credibility, in that it is known that Tolkien visited or could have visited the site in question, but most are nonsensical: Tolkien never once set foot in Nepal, Iceland, or even Virginia. That is not to say, however, that Tolkien was not inspired by landscapes, ruins, and buildings he saw or read about, and that as a highly educated man of wide interests he and his writings were not influenced by what he read. In The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien John Garth presents us with a sumptuously illustrated book identifying and discussing places that can be solidly identified as having been important to him and to have affected his creative processes. The many illustrations are accompanied by Garth's enjoyable commentary, which is approachable to non-specialists without sacrificing scholarly rigor, as the many end notes attest.The eleven chapters are each devoted to aspects of Tolkien's life and influences. Garth's careful and thorough research means that nearly every page contains new details, thoroughly annotated in the end notes. All are beautifully illustrated with color and black and white photographs as well as artwork from Tolkien himself and such artists as Pauline Baynes, Alan Lee, John Howe, and many others. I can't identify any particular chapter as a "favorite," because I find them all so fascinating in different ways, from English landscapes to Swiss Alpine grandeur to seascapes, caverns, and forests. I also enjoyed the sections dealing with archaeology and history, in which it becomes clear how rooted in reality Tolkien's descriptions of towers and fortresses really are. More poignantly, the chapter dealing with Tolkien's experiences as an officer at the Somme makes clear war's impact on him and his creations.The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien is beautifully designed and constructed and might be considered a "coffee table book," though its value as a reference work is even greater than its "eye appeal." John Garth is the author of Tolkien and the Great War, an account of Tolkien and his three closest friends' lives before and during World War I which is justly considered a classic. His latest work fully deserves the same acclaim.

I'm knocking off one star for the brutal shipping, book bound is slightly damaged upon arrival. The book itself, however, is very informative and somewhat 'academic'. Would recommend to hardcore Tolkien fans, not really for light reading though.

It is a beautiful hardcover edition worth every penny. The images depicted and the well-informed texts make it the most enjoyable read. It's easily a must-have for your Tolkien shelf.