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The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8)
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Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
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Our Price: $11.20
You Save: $ 2.80 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Average Customer Rating:
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The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780618083596
ISBN: 0618083596
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2000-09
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780618083596
ISBN: 0618083596
Label: Houghton Mifflin
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 496
Publication Date: 2000-09
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Studio: Houghton Mifflin
Editorial Review of The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8)
In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.
In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').
The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.
In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').
The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.
Customer Reviews of The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 8)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Overview of The History of Middle-earth Series
Review: Collections of an author's work are often confusing, particularly when what the author has created is as complex as Tolkien's writings. Here's an overview of the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, which was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. Hopefully, it will help you select which book or books to buy.
Keep something in mind. In the U.S. Houghton Mifflin publishes Tolkien's authorized works in hardback and trade paperback editions, while Ballantine Books publishes them as cheaper mass-market paperbacks. For some reason, Ballantine doesn't always make it clear that some of their titles are part of the same History of Middle-earth series as those published by Houghton Mifflin. If the title is the same, the content is the same. Which you buy depends on your taste in books and finances. I have copies of both.
GROUP ONE, VOLUMES I - V
These five volumes deal primarily Tolkien's writings before the publication of The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55). In them, Tolkien was struggling as a still unknown author to create his first history of Middle-earth.
Vol 1 & 2, The Book of Lost Tales Part 1 ( 1983) & 2 (1984). The Book of Lost Tales was written during the 1910s and 1920s. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The framework for the book is that a mortal Man visits the Isle of Tol Eressëa where the Elves live. In the earlier versions of the `Lost Tales' this man is named Eriol, of some vague north European origin, but in later versions he becomes Ælfwine, an Englishman of the Middle-ages."
Vol. 3, The Lays of Beleriand (1985). These are collections of poems, many of them incomplete, written between the 1920s and the late 1940s.
Vol 4, The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986). As you might guess by the title, in this book Christopher describes how his father shaped his vision of Middle-earth from the primitive The Book of Lost Tales to early versions of The Silmarillion. This theme is taken up again in volumes X and XI.
Vol 5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987). Along with other writings this volume includes Tolkien's drafts of a tale about time travel. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The Lost Road itself is a fragmentary beginning of a tale, including a rough structure and several intiguing chunks of narrative, including four entire chapters dealing with modern England and Numenor, from which the entire story as it should have been can be glimpsed. The scheme was of time-travel by means of 'vision' or being mentally inserted into what had been, so as to actually re-experience that which had happened. In this way the tale links first to Saxon England of Alfred the Great, then to the Lombard Alboin of St. Benedict's time, the Baltic Sea in Old Norse days, Ireland at the time of the Tuatha's coming (600 years after the Flood), prehistoric North in the Ice Age, a 'Galdor story' of Third-Age Middle-Earth, and finally the Fall of Gil-Galad, before recounting the prime legend of the Downfall of Numenor/Atlantis and the Bending of the World. It harps on the theme of a 'straight road' into the West, now only in memory because the world is round."
GROUP TWO, VOLUMES VI - IX
If you or the friend you're buying for is primarily interested in the LOTR, then these four volumes are the books to have. Just keep in mind that you'll find in them many unfinished plots that may or may not fit well into LOTR. Tolkien was a perfectionist, always trying to improve plots and fill in details. These are his drafts.
Vol. 6, The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v. 1, 1988). Describes the initial stages of writing LOTR and covers the first three-fourths of The Fellowship of the Ring (until the Mines of Moria).
Vol. 7, The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 2, 1989). Covers from the Mines of Moria until Gandalf meets Théoden about one-fourth of the way into The Two Towers.
Vol. 8, The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 3, 1990). Continues the tale up to the opening of the Black Gate not quite three-quarters of the way through The Two Towers.
Vol. 9, Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 4, 1992). Completes the tale and includes an alternate ending in which Sam answers questions from his children. There is also a much shortened version of Vol. 9 called The End of the Third Age, which leaves out material that isn't related to LOTR.
GROUP THREE, VOLUMES X - XI
Just as The Hobbit created a public demand for more tales about hobbits, The Lord of the Rings created a demand for more tales about Middle-earth. To meet that demand, Tolkien struggled to reconcile and adapt many of his earlier tales to the historical framework made well-known by his two published works. He never completed those labors, so it was left after his death to his son Christopher to do so in The Silmarillion (1977). If you or a friend is interested in knowing more about The Silmarillion, these two volumes may be of interest.
Vol 10, Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion, v. 1, 1993). Contains material from earlier (1951 and later) drafts of The Silmarillion. Wikipedia notes that: "The title of this volume comes from a statement from one of the essays: 'Just as Sauron concentrated his power in the One Ring, Morgoth dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda, thus the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring.'"
Vol. 11, The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion v. 2, 1994). Addition material about the earlier drafts of The Silmarillion. Includes information about the origin of the Ents and Great Eagles.
GROUP FOUR, VOLUME XII AND INDEX
Vol. 12, The People's of Middle-earth (1996). Contains material that did not fit into the other volumes. The most interesting include additional appendices like those at the back of LOTR, essays on the races of Middle-earth, and about 30 pages of a sequel to the LOTR called The New Shadow. It was set a century after the LOTR. Tolkien abandoned the tale as too "sinister and depressing."
The History of Middle-earth Index (2002) is an index of all twelve volumes.
******
Keep in mind that books in The History of Middle-earth are nothing like reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. What J. R. R. Tolkien wrote is often fragmentary and unpolished rough drafts, while what Christopher wrote is literary scholarship, concerned more with sources and texts than plots. If you or the friend you are buying for is more interested in understanding LOTR better, you might be happier with a reference works such as:
Karen Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)
Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth
Or my own detailed, day-by-day chronology Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings
All three will give you a richer, deeper understanding of LOTR.
Finally, if you're interested in reading books with the same flavor as Tolkien, you might consider reading William Morris, a once well-known writer who influenced Tolkien. For tales like the warriors of Rohan, see his The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains. For arduous quest journeys much like Frodo and Sam's quest to be rid of the Ring, read his The Wood Beyond the World and The Well at the World's End. The four tales have been collected into two inexpensive volumes:
More to William Morris: Two Books that Inspired J. R. R. Tolkien-The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains
On the Lines of Morris' Romances: Two Books That Inspired J. R. R. Tolkien-The Wood Beyond the World and the Well at the World's End
Note too that you can save some money by buying collections of The History of Middle-earth in sets.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Awesome
Review: Looks like it is going to be a great book haven't read it yet but I know it well be great cause it is going to tell me about the war just have to get their is all. Great condtion by the way.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Notes from Isengard to Mordor's Gates. Fabulous
Review: `The War of the Ring' is the third of a four volume series (`The History of the Lord of the Rings') within a series, (volume VIII of `The History of Middle Earth') edited by Christopher Tolkien, from the unpublished writings of his father, J. R. R. Tolkien, most famous as the author of `The Hobbit' and `The Lord of the Rings' (LotR).
This thick volume, larger than `The Return of the King' begins with the destruction of Isengard by the Ents and Saruman's downfall (sort of) at the hands of Gandalf. The editor brings us at the end of this volume to the climax of the conflict between the forces of the West and Sauron, over the fate of the `One Ring'. Thus, it spans the last third of `The Two Towers and the first three-fourths of `The Return of the King'.
Being an inveterate lover of maps, this volume is especially interesting, as it has lots of original maps penned by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, plus line drawings of important locations in the story, primarily Minas Tirith and Cirith Ungol. The largest map is of Mordor and Gondor, with a very nice `legend' explaining all the major features of the lands, especially those south of the White mountains which get very little mention in the LotR itself.
One sidelight of this review of the drafts is to see how the names and characteristics of minor characters changed from Tolkien's original conception to their appearance in the final work. The Huorns, the semi-senescent trees `herded' by the ents appear under the name of `Galbedirs'.
If you have found your way through the first two volumes of this `The History of the Lord of the Rings', you can't stop now. This volume contains notes on what certainly the most important part of the narrative.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: I almost feel like giving this a 3, but it's tolkien for god's sake
Review: I knew what to expect after reading the first 2, but this one I though picked it up a little bit and wa more informative. This book differs a little bit from part 1, it doesn't just givre you like all 10 versions of a certain chapter, maybe it is judt that tolkien quit writing so many drafts when he was getting close, or maybe christopher realized he was trying to put all this info into 3 books. So this one REALLY progresses unlike the last two.
If you made it through the first 2, you will be pleasantly surprised.
One thing that I though was very interesting is that peter jackson went the same way in making these movies as tolkien did with his books. Of course jackson had all the info already in front of him, but just like tolkien does in the lord's evolution, jackson will take lines spoken by say aragorn and give them to gandalf or faramir.
Another thing I found interesting is that I had a problem with the way jackson had denethor just show up at the end with the palantir in hands with no explanation, well THIS IS THE WAY TOLKIEN ACTUALLY FIRST WROTE IT. Obviously setting it up a little bit, and letting us know that he uses it sometimes in the book is a much better way of writing this part of the book. But it still shows you that even if peter didn't read all the history books, and say him and jrr directed the movie together, I think that tolkien would have found it very acceptable, and I guarantee it would exceed his expectations.
So a must have if you read the previous 2 parts in this series, but maybe only for tolkien die hards.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not for the faint of heart...
Review: This is a great book for the hard core Tolkien fan, but I would only recommend it to those who want to find out more about the development and genesis of LOTR.
Review Summary: Overview of The History of Middle-earth Series
Review: Collections of an author's work are often confusing, particularly when what the author has created is as complex as Tolkien's writings. Here's an overview of the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, which was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. Hopefully, it will help you select which book or books to buy.
Keep something in mind. In the U.S. Houghton Mifflin publishes Tolkien's authorized works in hardback and trade paperback editions, while Ballantine Books publishes them as cheaper mass-market paperbacks. For some reason, Ballantine doesn't always make it clear that some of their titles are part of the same History of Middle-earth series as those published by Houghton Mifflin. If the title is the same, the content is the same. Which you buy depends on your taste in books and finances. I have copies of both.
GROUP ONE, VOLUMES I - V
These five volumes deal primarily Tolkien's writings before the publication of The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-55). In them, Tolkien was struggling as a still unknown author to create his first history of Middle-earth.
Vol 1 & 2, The Book of Lost Tales Part 1 ( 1983) & 2 (1984). The Book of Lost Tales was written during the 1910s and 1920s. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The framework for the book is that a mortal Man visits the Isle of Tol Eressëa where the Elves live. In the earlier versions of the `Lost Tales' this man is named Eriol, of some vague north European origin, but in later versions he becomes Ælfwine, an Englishman of the Middle-ages."
Vol. 3, The Lays of Beleriand (1985). These are collections of poems, many of them incomplete, written between the 1920s and the late 1940s.
Vol 4, The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986). As you might guess by the title, in this book Christopher describes how his father shaped his vision of Middle-earth from the primitive The Book of Lost Tales to early versions of The Silmarillion. This theme is taken up again in volumes X and XI.
Vol 5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987). Along with other writings this volume includes Tolkien's drafts of a tale about time travel. Wikipedia describes it this way: "The Lost Road itself is a fragmentary beginning of a tale, including a rough structure and several intiguing chunks of narrative, including four entire chapters dealing with modern England and Numenor, from which the entire story as it should have been can be glimpsed. The scheme was of time-travel by means of 'vision' or being mentally inserted into what had been, so as to actually re-experience that which had happened. In this way the tale links first to Saxon England of Alfred the Great, then to the Lombard Alboin of St. Benedict's time, the Baltic Sea in Old Norse days, Ireland at the time of the Tuatha's coming (600 years after the Flood), prehistoric North in the Ice Age, a 'Galdor story' of Third-Age Middle-Earth, and finally the Fall of Gil-Galad, before recounting the prime legend of the Downfall of Numenor/Atlantis and the Bending of the World. It harps on the theme of a 'straight road' into the West, now only in memory because the world is round."
GROUP TWO, VOLUMES VI - IX
If you or the friend you're buying for is primarily interested in the LOTR, then these four volumes are the books to have. Just keep in mind that you'll find in them many unfinished plots that may or may not fit well into LOTR. Tolkien was a perfectionist, always trying to improve plots and fill in details. These are his drafts.
Vol. 6, The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v. 1, 1988). Describes the initial stages of writing LOTR and covers the first three-fourths of The Fellowship of the Ring (until the Mines of Moria).
Vol. 7, The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 2, 1989). Covers from the Mines of Moria until Gandalf meets Théoden about one-fourth of the way into The Two Towers.
Vol. 8, The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 3, 1990). Continues the tale up to the opening of the Black Gate not quite three-quarters of the way through The Two Towers.
Vol. 9, Sauron Defeated (The History of The Lord of the Rings, v. 4, 1992). Completes the tale and includes an alternate ending in which Sam answers questions from his children. There is also a much shortened version of Vol. 9 called The End of the Third Age, which leaves out material that isn't related to LOTR.
GROUP THREE, VOLUMES X - XI
Just as The Hobbit created a public demand for more tales about hobbits, The Lord of the Rings created a demand for more tales about Middle-earth. To meet that demand, Tolkien struggled to reconcile and adapt many of his earlier tales to the historical framework made well-known by his two published works. He never completed those labors, so it was left after his death to his son Christopher to do so in The Silmarillion (1977). If you or a friend is interested in knowing more about The Silmarillion, these two volumes may be of interest.
Vol 10, Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion, v. 1, 1993). Contains material from earlier (1951 and later) drafts of The Silmarillion. Wikipedia notes that: "The title of this volume comes from a statement from one of the essays: 'Just as Sauron concentrated his power in the One Ring, Morgoth dispersed his power into the very matter of Arda, thus the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring.'"
Vol. 11, The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion v. 2, 1994). Addition material about the earlier drafts of The Silmarillion. Includes information about the origin of the Ents and Great Eagles.
GROUP FOUR, VOLUME XII AND INDEX
Vol. 12, The People's of Middle-earth (1996). Contains material that did not fit into the other volumes. The most interesting include additional appendices like those at the back of LOTR, essays on the races of Middle-earth, and about 30 pages of a sequel to the LOTR called The New Shadow. It was set a century after the LOTR. Tolkien abandoned the tale as too "sinister and depressing."
The History of Middle-earth Index (2002) is an index of all twelve volumes.
******
Keep in mind that books in The History of Middle-earth are nothing like reading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. What J. R. R. Tolkien wrote is often fragmentary and unpolished rough drafts, while what Christopher wrote is literary scholarship, concerned more with sources and texts than plots. If you or the friend you are buying for is more interested in understanding LOTR better, you might be happier with a reference works such as:
Karen Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-Earth (Revised Edition)
Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth
Or my own detailed, day-by-day chronology Untangling Tolkien: A Chronology and Commentary for The Lord of the Rings
All three will give you a richer, deeper understanding of LOTR.
Finally, if you're interested in reading books with the same flavor as Tolkien, you might consider reading William Morris, a once well-known writer who influenced Tolkien. For tales like the warriors of Rohan, see his The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains. For arduous quest journeys much like Frodo and Sam's quest to be rid of the Ring, read his The Wood Beyond the World and The Well at the World's End. The four tales have been collected into two inexpensive volumes:
More to William Morris: Two Books that Inspired J. R. R. Tolkien-The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains
On the Lines of Morris' Romances: Two Books That Inspired J. R. R. Tolkien-The Wood Beyond the World and the Well at the World's End
Note too that you can save some money by buying collections of The History of Middle-earth in sets.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Awesome
Review: Looks like it is going to be a great book haven't read it yet but I know it well be great cause it is going to tell me about the war just have to get their is all. Great condtion by the way.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Notes from Isengard to Mordor's Gates. Fabulous
Review: `The War of the Ring' is the third of a four volume series (`The History of the Lord of the Rings') within a series, (volume VIII of `The History of Middle Earth') edited by Christopher Tolkien, from the unpublished writings of his father, J. R. R. Tolkien, most famous as the author of `The Hobbit' and `The Lord of the Rings' (LotR).
This thick volume, larger than `The Return of the King' begins with the destruction of Isengard by the Ents and Saruman's downfall (sort of) at the hands of Gandalf. The editor brings us at the end of this volume to the climax of the conflict between the forces of the West and Sauron, over the fate of the `One Ring'. Thus, it spans the last third of `The Two Towers and the first three-fourths of `The Return of the King'.
Being an inveterate lover of maps, this volume is especially interesting, as it has lots of original maps penned by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, plus line drawings of important locations in the story, primarily Minas Tirith and Cirith Ungol. The largest map is of Mordor and Gondor, with a very nice `legend' explaining all the major features of the lands, especially those south of the White mountains which get very little mention in the LotR itself.
One sidelight of this review of the drafts is to see how the names and characteristics of minor characters changed from Tolkien's original conception to their appearance in the final work. The Huorns, the semi-senescent trees `herded' by the ents appear under the name of `Galbedirs'.
If you have found your way through the first two volumes of this `The History of the Lord of the Rings', you can't stop now. This volume contains notes on what certainly the most important part of the narrative.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: I almost feel like giving this a 3, but it's tolkien for god's sake
Review: I knew what to expect after reading the first 2, but this one I though picked it up a little bit and wa more informative. This book differs a little bit from part 1, it doesn't just givre you like all 10 versions of a certain chapter, maybe it is judt that tolkien quit writing so many drafts when he was getting close, or maybe christopher realized he was trying to put all this info into 3 books. So this one REALLY progresses unlike the last two.
If you made it through the first 2, you will be pleasantly surprised.
One thing that I though was very interesting is that peter jackson went the same way in making these movies as tolkien did with his books. Of course jackson had all the info already in front of him, but just like tolkien does in the lord's evolution, jackson will take lines spoken by say aragorn and give them to gandalf or faramir.
Another thing I found interesting is that I had a problem with the way jackson had denethor just show up at the end with the palantir in hands with no explanation, well THIS IS THE WAY TOLKIEN ACTUALLY FIRST WROTE IT. Obviously setting it up a little bit, and letting us know that he uses it sometimes in the book is a much better way of writing this part of the book. But it still shows you that even if peter didn't read all the history books, and say him and jrr directed the movie together, I think that tolkien would have found it very acceptable, and I guarantee it would exceed his expectations.
So a must have if you read the previous 2 parts in this series, but maybe only for tolkien die hards.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not for the faint of heart...
Review: This is a great book for the hard core Tolkien fan, but I would only recommend it to those who want to find out more about the development and genesis of LOTR.