I collect books from Easton Press. That being said, this book getting a rating of 4 says enough about it.

A good binding, but a bit thin, I can't see this spine living through more then 10 years, assuming it was picked up at least every other, the weight of the book is not overwhelming, but it IS a quite a bulky volume. If this is leather bound, then it really is a thin strip, that would seem to be bound over paper, as normal. To me, it feels like a smooth hardcover as normal;compared to an easton press leather bound, this simply is not the real thing. Also, moire end pages would of been nice, especially since the spine really is a bit thin. Perhaps, in regards to the binding, its quality dropped along with the price? In anycase don't expect a thick, unbend-able slice of premium cow butt. Leave that to the pro's at Easton Press.

ASIDE from the Easton Press editions of Lord of the Rings, this is good quality, the price cannot be beat, especially considering the E.P. version (which includes the hobbit and sillmarillion) costs literally 7 times as much.

Click buy, it will look SO nice on your shelf, and you will feel refined while reading it, reclining in your favorite chair, enjoying your favorite beverage, in the place you call home.

When my copy of Lord of the Rings started to fall apart from reading and age (they were circa 1975) I took up the task of finding a replacement copy. This is the first one i saw and it struck me on a level I couldn't describe. I kept looking at other copies but this edition grabbed me. However the reviews worried me: not real leather but cheap cardboard, bad case for the book, etc. However after seeing a very recent review that those problems were with an earlier printing I bit the bullet and bought it. When it arrived I realized that it was NOT cheap material but rather very supple, wonderful to the touch and actually changes from a blue tint to a slight marbled green when shifted in the light. The gild on the pages is a nice touch and the maps inside are wonderfully detailed. Two things I can't get over, and something that many true book lovers will appreciate. One, it smells wonderful. Not old book amazing, but still very good. Two, the pages are smooth like the cover but not onion page brittle: it feels like its meant to be read.

One important thing to remember is to be VERY VERY SLOW in unfolding the maps, they can tear due to the way they are folded in the book. They also used a kind of adhesive to hold the map pages together so again, be VERY VERY SLOW and you'll be fine.

Unlike most I won't even dare to summarize the story or plot as this space would hardly do it justice. Just trust me that if you like fantasy stories, get ready for (quite literally) the grand daddy of all of them. You don't really get a much more epic story then this that don't feel stretched, already done, or convoluted.

All in all it's a delight to have on my shelf as well as to read. The construction is wonderful, the thought to editing the text is careful and well done, and it is visually captivating but at the same time toned down. It is a book that I will no doubt read to my children when they are young and then leave to them when that unfortunate time comes.

And yes, the pictures do NOT do it justice.

The pictures of this book do it no justice. This is an incredibly well made book, and it is of extremely high quality. When I opened the box that it shipped in, I was immediately struck by the high quality leather cover and the extremely impressive gold trim that reflected light in an almost magical manor. At $51 and free shipping, this book is a must have for any fan of The Lord of the Rings, or books in general.

The only "complaint" I have is with the "glue" or rubber cement that they used to keep the maps closed during shipping. As careful as I tried to be, I too experienced slight rips in the paper trying to remove the glue. The entire book ships in a leather-bound cardboard case, which is also wrapped in plastic. I'm not sure the glue was even necessary on the maps. Just take your time opening the maps and you will be fine.

Ok, so I had been looking at this box set for a few years. Sure, I'm 31 and have been re-reading LOTR since I was about 7 or 8 yrs old. I've owned crappy paperbacks and loaned them out, at some point I had a hardcover 1 volume edition, which got ruined in a basement flood. I love Alan Lee's work. THIS IS A MUST OWN. I cannot sum it up any other way, the print is 1000 times more readable (font looks nice too by the way) , each volume has a satin ribbon book mark, the inside covers (F+B) bear a 2 color (black and red) map of third age middle earth, and the illustrations are so pretty they, well, they will fire up the imagination station and make the read all the more pleasurable. Sure, I'd love to see a John Howe edition as well, but this three volume illustrated edition is nothing short of beautiful. Spend some time in your study, with a good 12 year single malt, and you will enjoy.

a long-time Tolkien fan, this is simply how it should be. extremely satisfying weight, type, page texture... can't say enough about it. only problem i had was that i was too hasty in opening up the maps inside so there are tiny tears in them from the glue, but that's my fault...not the book's

I became interested in reading LOR after I saw the three LOR Movies many many times. I read the Silmarillion first, then the Hobbit and finally LOR. I also followed along with The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. While it is depressing and very difficult to read the Silmarillion, it was worth it by the time I got to LOR. I was able to experience the richness of LOR to its fullest. Much has been written so there is not much more I can really say about this brilliant piece of literature other than it is truly a privilege to read this book. Mine was the 50th anniversary edition. It is a book of quality. The gold leaf held up well and the attached ribbbon that acts as a book marker is very handy. After one read it still looks new. I wished it had pictures like The Hobbit but really pictures are not needed with such a brilliant and gifted author, JRR Tolkien. No one can paint a picture like JRR Tolkien. What truly amazed me is how different the story is in the book verses the movies. The movies are basically an outline to the book. Buy and read this book. You will never regret it. When I started watching the movies, I believed the story to be fantasy. Now being at the end of the JRR Tolkien journey, I am convinced that the story was real! I experienced it firsthand!

These books are simply gorgeous. They are top-quality, with glossy paper and come in a very sturdy box. However, they books are a LOT larger and heavier than I expected, which is fine, but would definitely make reading them difficult. It would be a burden to have to carry them around, as each individual book is surprisingly heavy. However, they are great collector's items, meant to last. I bought them because they look nice, and I wanted to own a better copy of this magnificent series other than my old beaten up paperback editions. (I will still use the paperbacks for re-reading, though!)

Even so, they are wonderful copies, and I highly recommend them if you are looking for a nice edition to collect or display. I think it would have been better if they made these books more practical, though, as nice as they are.

Great books, great price.

This is an awesome set. I love the movies, but I had never read the books. If you loved, enjoyed, adored, appreciated, fancied, liked, savored, relished, luxuriated in, basked in, reveled in, were pleased, were enthralled in, or were even mildy interested in the movies, then you NEED this set.
Like all movies that are based on books, you miss parts of the story that were in the book; but were left out of the movie. The story has so much more depth then what is portrayed in the movie; you also get a much better sense of the time the journey took.

Reading these books made me look at the movies completely differently. Now when I watch them, I can't help but think about all the events that tooks place between scenes.

Needless to say, I am very happy with my purchase.

This collection contains the most famous work of J.R.R. Tolkien -- The Lord of the Rings. When we read through the pages of these books, we discover a living world of wonder. We follow the fate of the Ring of Power, filled with evil, and one which could lead to the rule of darkness if it ever returns to its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron. Now some few people who really think they are so 'intellectually superior', or 'have more demanding taste', or whatever title of arrogance they try to give themselves, often dismiss this fascinating myth as 'children's stories', and that if one was to read a real novel, they would never return to such 'rubbish'. Well, I pity them, for they (like the Cynic in Hawthorne's 'The Great Carbuncle')must look at everything through dark spectacles, not allowing themselves to experience the beauty of this tale. Their preferences are theirs, and I am glad there is variety in this world. But when they mock those of different taste, it often displays their own ignorance. The Lord of the Rings is not just a story of magic and imaginary creatures. It is a tale of good and evil, and not just a 'Guy in White vs. Guy in Black' kind of story. It shows the subtlety of evil, how it can worm its way into even the hearts of the most honest person. It shows how good can strengthen a person, and how love can allow one to bear a multitude of burdens. I have read many novels (A Tale of Two Cities (Penguin Classics), Lord of the Flies (50th Anniversary Edition), The Scarlet Letter, and On His Own being some of the finer examples), and although good ones are compelling, none that I have read would make me turn away from Middle-Earth. It is not just a 'children's story' (though most children enjoy it), but an enthralling study in the nature of mankind, and the forces that shape him.
Now, on to this particular presentation of these books! This boxed set by Houghton Mifflin is very nice. The design (with its beautiful cover illustrations by Alan Lee) and the layout of the books is fitting, and the size is convenient, and yet conveys a sense of expansiveness. This all adds to the experience of the legend, and I am grateful that such a fine edition has been released.

Ryan Robledo
Author of the Aelnathan:

This is an amazing edition of The Lord of the Rings. The books are very heavy, printed entirely on acid-free superbright textbook quality paper. The illustrations are beautiful, and seeing elements of Alan Lee's work that were inspirations for the films is always fun.

All told, this is THE collector's edition of the books as it is still three separate volumes (instead of the MASSIVE single edition) yet has all of the illustrations and is printed on very high quality paper.

Is it the most practical for reading? Probably not. I would honestly suggest getting a simple paperback boxed set if you want to be mobile with the books. These books are designed to be the centerpiece of your fantasy section of your library and are of the very highest quality. I would recommend them for someone who is fan of the books and wants to have the best edition to date as part of their library.

These heavy books were more then worth my money.
If your going to buy all 3 books you best get this set and have discount + a nice box around them for extra protection.

Well, guess I don't have to tell you the story is great with tons of background history in Tolkien's other books if your interested.

It's consensus throughout the publishing world that The Lord of the Rings is the greatest literary achievement of the twentieth century. No other writer than J.R.R. Tolkien would dare to have spent most of his life creating background material for a single book. Even if you have seen the movies, you should read the books because there is so much stuff in the The Lord of the Rings that never made it into the films.
The thing that impresses me the most about The Lord of the Rings is how real everything seems. I'm not yet fully convinced that there isn't a real Middle-Earth with Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards in a forgotten pre-history of our world! Anyone who considers themselves a true fantasy fan should read these books.
The Lord of the Rings is one of the only books (trilogy or otherwise) I find myself constantly reading over and over again. They truly don't write books like The Lord of the Rings anymore. It is a masterpiece of literature without peer and will remain so for years to come. One ring to rule them all indeed!

Let me start with the fact that I am a HUGE fan of the LOTR movies. I would like everyone to know however, that the books came BEFORE the movies! I am glad to see that a set of Tolkein books are offered that don't have the pictures from the movies on them.
Of course, I wouldn't complain to look at Viggo Mortenson or Orlando Bloom, but I am a purist! These books are better with Tolkein-esque covers.

"The Lord of the Rings" is usually found in a single volume, or in three volumes: 1) "The Fellowship of the Ring", 2) "The Two Towers", and 3) "The Return of the King". My recommended reading age is 13+ years old, and I recommend reading "The Hobbit" first.

When I was 15 years old in high school, I had to read "The Hobbit" for an English class. After reading that book, the teacher then let us borrow "The Lord of the Rings". Before I had started "The Return of the King", I had bought my own set of books. After I had read both books, I actually liked "The Hobbit" better than "The Lord of the Rings" at first - because "The Hobbit" was brighter: a fun, grand adventure with more humor, whereas "The Lord of the Rings" was darker: a serious, grim life and death struggle for world survival. But by the time I was about 16, the historical significance of "The Lord of the Rings" began to appeal more to me. This is especially true if you read Appendices A and B of "The Lord of the Rings", and also read "The Silmarillion". You begin to understand the rich history of Tolkien's Middle-Earth/ Beleriand creation. How "The Silmarillion" brings out the significant events of the First and Second Ages, while the events in "The Lord of the Rings" are the culmination of the Third Age...each Age lasting thousands of years and ending with an immensely significant event.

It was 25 years before I read "The Lord of the Rings" again, but Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn, Galadriel, Legolas, Gimli, and many more had become household names! I had matured over those years, and my tastes changed. I was no longer a big fantasy/science-fiction reader: instead I was reading military history. I didn't expect to still love "The Lord of the Rings" the way I did as a teenager. I was happily wrong! This is still an exciting book, but I discovered what I really love...it is allegory-type stories. J. R. R. Tolkien himself has said that "The Lord of the Rings" is not allegory, because he hated allegory where he felt the author is dictating to the reader what is in their story...and that any other interpretation is incorrect. Tolkien wanted a reader to apply their own experiences and tastes to influence what they were reading. OK, but in real history one can still get allegory if their own experiences and tastes allow it. How many can learn about World War II and not apply the basic allegorical interpretation that good triumphs over evil? I've heard of, and can understand, several allegorical interpretations of "The Lord of the Rings". Frodo is like Jesus Christ: bearing the greatest of burdens for world salvation while being tempted to stray from his purpose, and the weight of the ring is similar to Christ's cross . The One Ring is like the atomic bomb: the ultimate weapon that corrupts whoever uses it, despite even good intentions, into a power-hungry creature of evil. There's an ecological message with the Ents trying to protect trees; and also the natural beauty of various places throughout Middle-Earth, while evil beings try to destroy it all (including the use of mechanical and polluting progress). I also get out of "The Lord of the Rings" a sense of a military mission: that Frodo & Sam are behind enemy lines on a mission that could end a war, and that Frodo realizes that getting back home or even staying alive doesn't matter - just completion of the mission...that's also sacrifice, perseverance, & camaraderie so prevalent in the military history I've read. There's prejudice with years of animosity between elves and dwarves, and how small, kind gestures can begin to erase all those blighted years...also, how people or races can put aside differences to solve a common problem. There's the recognition of the small, common people (citizen soldiers) that perform the greatest, toughest, and most necessary duty in any war. There's world peace in peril and that something needs to be done before it's too late. There's avoiding the easier way out, and facing one's problems and seeing them through to a conclusion despite severe hardships.

I feel that Tolkien saw a little bit of himself in many of the good races of his world. The hobbits are like Tolkien because they love food, company, and talking about family. The ents are like Tolkien because of their unbounded love of trees. Gandalf the wizard is like Tolkien because of his exceptional intelligence and purpose of guiding others along the right path. Some men are like Tolkien because of their inner strength and gallantry, while other men show weakness by succumbing to evil...very realistic. But I believe he saw the beauty and enchantment of the elves in his wife, and why he loved both most dearly: that's why on their gravestone Luthien appears after his wife's name, and Beren appears after his name. The dwarves don't seem to resemble Tolkien, but they are present in much folklore, which is linked to his personal love of medieval languages.

"The Lord of the Rings" is a masterpiece in my opinion, and it's size (over 1000 pages in any printed format) is pretty daunting, but give it a shot! It'll be time well spent. And get ready for adventure, terror, excitement, love, treachery, devotion, monumental historic events, unforgettable battles, military strategy, exotic languages & culture, etc. See what you get out of the book! I think most people will enjoy it and/or be moved by it. And who knows, maybe it'll become your favorite book too!

Though Tolkien was not the first or most critically-acclaimed fantasy writer, he remains the most beloved and influential, even though "Lord of the Rings" is decades old. Now with the epic movie trilogy based on this book, new waves of readers are discovering the unique power of the "Lord of the Rings." It has quietly created the fantasy genre as we know it, set the tone for most fantasy ever since, topped many "best book" polls, and helped spawn such entertainment phenomena as "Star Wars."

Following up on events in "The Hobbit," "The Fellowship of the Ring" stars the quiet, good-natured hobbit Frodo Baggins, who has inherited a golden Ring that allows its user to become invisible. But his friend, Gandalf the wizard, informs Frodo that the Ring is really the Ring of Power, a tiny invulnerable token that the demonic Dark Lord Sauron has poured his essence and power into. And if Sauron can regain the Ring, he will be able to conquer Middle-Earth. Aghast, Frodo joins a fellowship of Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, Men and a wizard, to go to the one place where the Ring can be destroyed: Mount Doom.

"The Two Towers" begins directly after "Fellowship," after Frodo Baggins flees with his friend Sam into Mordor, with no one to protect them. His cousins Merry and Pippin are kidnapped by orcs from the renegade wizard Saruman. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli begin a frenetic search for the hobbits, and receive unexpected help from unlikely allies. Meanwhile, the Ring weighs more heavily on Frodo, as he is forced to get help from one of the people he most despised: the Ring's slave Gollum.

"Return of the King" brings the trilogy to an action-packed, slam-bang and ultimately poignant finale. Sam barely rescues Frodo from Sauron's orcs, and the two resume their journey to Mount Doom, barely escaping Sauron's forces. As Aragorn leads the desperate battle against Sauron's armies at the city of Minas Tirith, Frodo falls increasingly under the seductive spell of the Ring.

"Lord of the Rings" is indeed a powerful book, speaking to virtually everyone who has read it. J.R.R. Tolkien drew from legends and myths, ranging from the ancient Norse mythology to more recent legends, mingled with his love of the British country folk and his Roman Catholic beliefs. Though there are no direct linkages or lessons in the trilogy, Tolkien probably drew on his experiences in World War I for the ravaged battlefields and breakneck action sequences. His beliefs are equally misty but present: they fueled the ethics of the good guys, the fall of formerly-good wizard Saruman, and the themes of temptation, redemption, evil and good that run through every character.

Frodo Baggins is an everyman hero, who dreams of adventure but begins to treasure the simple, boring life that he had once he is deprived of it. His deteriotation is saddening, all the more so because he is aware of it. Sam Gamgee is his loyal gardener, a shy young hobbit who grows in confidence and courage. Gandalf is the quintessential wizard -- crabby, kindly, powerful, with a hidden unique streak that elevates him over the usual. Merry and Pippin start out a bit flaky, but are matured by their harrowing experiences. Aragorn is noble, kind, kingly, and intelligent, but with darker streaks in his personality that make him ultimately human. Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf initially grate on each other, but overcome their prejudices to become close friends.

Tolkien's writing is evocative and descriptive, though not to extremes; Mordor, for example, is best described through the way that Sam and Frodo react to it. The dialogue ranges from goofy and hilarious to solemn and archaic, or to some combination of the two. And the pacing is gradual but necessary -- readers with short attention spans won't be able to handle this story. If they can handle sprawling, epic tales, then probably they can.

Even after all the years, J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" still rules the fantasy genre and has become an integral part of modern literature. It's an epic for all ages, and few books have even come close to equalling it.