When The Silmarillion was published in 1977, four years after J.R.R. Tolkien's death, his son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, was often criticized for producing too much of a summary and not enough of the magic of his father's creation. A few years later Tolkien began to publish The History of Middle earth series in order to present the full range of his father's writings. The first five volumes in the series, which eventually reached 12, are presented here: The Book of Lost Tales Parts I and 11, The Lays of Beleriand, The Shaping of Middle Earth, and The Lost Road.

It is important to understand that these are not finished works by any means. Tolkien started and restarted his tales, not at first meaning to collect them into any kind of organized mythology, then as the tales grew and his imagination expanded they became a sort of new "mythology for England." Discerning readers who have studied The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion will recognize some elements which survived throughout Tolkien's career. Readers who are not that familiar with Tolkien should not start with this set, but should instead focus on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings first.

My favorite volume in this set is The Lost Road, an abandoned project for a science fiction novel Tolkien wrote in the 1930s. It contains elements of the story of Numenor, Tolkien's Atlantis, and contains some of Tolkien's best writings.

Now before I sing the praise of this series
A warning must be given,
You may find yourself hopelessly weary
If this is your first look at J.R.R. Tolkien.

These books were compiled by that great master's son
As a glimpse into his father's deep mind.
These tales never could claim being 'done',
And thus are a motley combine.

Yet for all of you who have read that master's works
And wish that more about Middle-Earth could be,
Behold! Here it is, down to the origin of Orcs
And the singing of the Ainu in sweet melody.

The great elves in battle against Morgoth and Sauron;
Men of the West in their earliest days.
Battles with dragons--like the mighty Glaurung.
A multitude of tales told in multiple ways

Many of these tales are in a more coherent book--
The Silmarillion is its name.
Yet though it is beautiful; more fluid to look,
It does not delve as deep, page upon page.

There is the Lay of Leithian
In its poetic might,
Unlike the version in the Silmarillion,
Which does not pierce the heart with a sword so bright.

And so you come to ask me,
'Why four stars, not five?'
I must give you my answer,
And be honest--not lie.

The Histories of Middle-Earth, I must confess--
As enjoyable as they may be--
It is, for the most part, an utter mess
That often confused and baffled me.

Tales told by the old, the young, and aged scribes
Each varying by telling;
Difficult on the mind,
Sending my head spinning, like the tide swelling,
Like the Earth rending, in fire and ice.
And yet still an entertaining
Legend-revealing device.

Post Poem Script:

Forgive my poor meter--
It's so very drear.
You can watch it peter
Out there and out here.

I am no Longfellow,
Nor Edgar A. Poe
Yet rhyme is like bellows
That makes the fires go.

Once I have started
I can't even think to quit.
I feel lighthearted,
Though my poems be poorly writ.

Ryan Robledo
Author of the Aelnathan:

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, EARLY TALES

These five volumes deal primarily with 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 10 and 11.

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, LORD OF THE RINGS

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, SILMARILLION

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, WRAP-UP

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.

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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.

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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

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I hope this helps you to select wisely based on your own interests. You can save some money by buying collections of The History of Middle-earth in multi-volume sets. You can also save by buying the Ballantine mass-market paperback instead of the Houghton Mifflin trade paperback edition, although the former may have smaller type and you may need to use both hands to keep it open while you read,

AWESOME COLLECTION. LOTS OF READING AND PIECING THE STORIES TOGETHER. JRR TOLKIEN WAS A BRILLIANT MAN AND WITH THE HELP OF HIS SON THEY WERE ABLE TO HELP PIECE TOGETHER SOME OF THE QUESTIONS PEOPLE HAD HOW THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY CAME ABOUT. WORTH THE READ.

This book is definitely not for a casual reader. It was a compilation of random notes and documents that Tolkien left scattered at his death. Even so, Christopher Tolkien did a fine job of trying to organize this and I got a real in-depth view of how the Lord of the Rings COULD have turned out.