Some May have wanted a facimile of the first edition that was changed in later years to reflect the lord of the rings like printing the original riddles in the dark and so on.

This has the same forward from the 1987 gold anniversary 50th edition. It is all intents and purposed the same as the 2004 Harper Collins, minus the paper quality and slipcase. The new corrections made i cannot place.

The only difference really is the facimile dustjacket of what tolkien would have wanted for the first edition.

The size of the illustrations inside and so on.

The color tinted pages that i think are included for the first time in America. Not sure if this edition has the moon rune that appears when the map is put to light like the british edition.

Ever since I was first swept away by this book when I was in 4th grade, I've had a soft spot for Tolkien's works. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings inspired me to become an English instructor and travel the world in search of adventure. Now, with all the talk of a "prequel" movie based on The Hobbit, I decided to go back and read it again. For a children's book there is an amazing relevance and persistence of indelible imagery untouched by the decades. The story's moral lessons about the destructiveness of greed and avarice are needed in this era of Wall Street bail-outs and 21st century piracy. My used copy arrived in good condition, but without the charming dust jacket designed by Tolkien. My book just had a plain black cover with a big white inventory sticker that tore into the cover when I peeled it off! This rather disappointing experience has convinced me to avoid this seller in the future. Does anybody have a spare dust jacket they could send me?

"The Hobbit" is one of my favorite books - probably top 5 if I were to try to rank them. I especially love the language Tolkien used and how "friendly" it sounds, and as I understand the history, it was originally written simply as a story for his own children - not even meant for publication! But we're all much luckier that it did get published. So, since my family has started listening to books while on driving vacations, I wanted to share this much-beloved story with my own children (and my review is of the *audiobook* rather than the actual book).

The reader, Rob Inglis, has a wonderful English accent that highlights how "English" the story really is, and he gets very theatrical in the many different voices he uses for the many different characters. But that's where the problems began. Most of the voices he used for the dwarves (13 different voices!) we found difficult to understand and not especially pleasant to listen to. His voice for Gollum was worst of all (very screechy - which is entirely appropriate to Gollum - but not at all nice to hear on a long drive in the car). Plus he reads it very slowly, which didn't engage the kids and made it very hard for them to tolerate. Unfortunately, and no matter how many times I tried, we only made it about halfway before my wife insisted I turn it off and not start it again (and none of the kids protested in the least). Sadly it made a very long drive "there and back again" even longer and I wish I'd have had a backup book.

I love this book now i can read it whenever i want, fast speedy delivery, great shape.

We love "The Hobbit" and have several well worn copies of this well written and entertaining book. It is a rare month when someone in our house has not read (or more correctly, re-read) something from J.R.R. Tolkien.

The plot centers around the mild mannered Bilbo Baggins, the Title Character, a perfectly respectable Hobbit who never would have thought to go on an adventure. It should be noted, for those that don't know, that Hobbits are the salt of the earth and enjoy the basics of life (mostly centering around meals). Most Hobbits frown on those who disrupt the status quo or go out adventuring. Bilbo had embraced this way of life and was seemingly willing to live from day to day without any indication that he had anything more in him. All of that was changed with the arrival of Gandalf, a traveling wizard. Soon Bilbo was pulled from the comfort of his home (and many pantries), and did indeed have many adventures involving Dwarves, Trolls, Giant Spiders, Elves, Orcs, Magic Swords, Treasures, and one clever Dragon. Also of note is Magic Ring that plays a big part in the sequel, The Lord of the Rings. 3 Vol. Set.

The Hobbit is great fun for most reading levels and is a great way to introduce the fantasy genre to young adults.

Highly recommended!