cover image The Rough Guide to the Lord of the Rings: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Middle-Earth

The Rough Guide to the Lord of the Rings: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Middle-Earth

. Rough Guides Limited, $12.95 (304pp) ISBN 978-1-84353-275-0

Small enough to fit in a back pocket, this guide to all things Middle-earth has enough material on the Tolkien saga to keep anyone reading for days. The editors make no assumptions about how much readers know of The Lord of the Rings; they explain exactly why the trilogy is so popular and plainly delineate its plot, characters, themes and meanings. Yet this isn't a cursory, quickie guide. Chapters explore, among other subjects, Tolkien's life and times; the making of the blockbuster movies based on the books; the culture, geography and language of Middle-earth (where the trilogy takes place); and how institutions from Greenpeace to Russian politics have been influenced by the trilogy. Sidebars add a quirky aspect to the text, sharing, for example, a list of directors' cameos to look out for in the films, a round-up of writers whose work has been influenced by The Lord of the Rings, and an overview of Tolkien's religious background. Photos.