Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.

Collected by Tolkien's son, these tales further exlore the legendary Middle-earth, including its languages, legends, politics, and kings, and ranging temporally from the Elder Days through the War of the Rings.

Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal elf. Her father, a great elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, [Christopher Tolkien] has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts...

A long time ago, in Middle Earth, humans shared their days with elves, wizards, goblins, dragons, heroes ... and hobbits. Just minding his own business, Bilbo has a guest, Gandolf, drop in on him. Soon, one by one a whole group of dwarves drop in and Bilbo finds himself joining the quest to reclaim their kingdom from an evil dragon.

War rages in the westa titanic battle of will and strategy between the great wizard Gandalf and Sauron, the Dark Lord. Meanwhile, eastward in Mordor, Frodo and Sam approach the end of their improbable quest, bearing the One Ring ever closer to the Cracks of Doomand to a final confrontation with the very essence of evil.While the evil might of the Dark Lord Sauron swarmed out to conquer all Middle-earth, Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor, seat...

Evil Morgoth rules over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, opposes him. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin. Guided unseen by Ulmo, Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin. The story -- only ninety-five pages...

For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien's peerless fantasy has accumulated worldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written. No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues to seize the imaginations of readers of all ages,...

The hobbit Bilbo Baggins bids farewell to his friends and to the world of Middle-earth as he sets forth on his last journey.