Fantasy

The Nature of Middle-earth

The Nature of Middle-earth

  • Downloads：3232
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-12-23 08:51:38
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
  • ISBN：000838794X
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
  • Download

Summary

First ever publication of J。R。R。 Tolkien’s final writings on Middle-earth， covering a wide range of subjects and perfect for those who have read and enjoyed The Silmarillion， The Lord of the Rings， Unfinished Tales， and The History of Middle-earth， and want to learn more about Tolkien’s magnificent world。



It is well known that J。R。R。 Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5。 What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed， right up until the years before his death in 1973。


For him， Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored， and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation。 From sweeping themes as complex and profound as the metaphysics of Elvish immortality and reincarnation， and the Powers of the Valar， to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of Númenor， the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor， and even who had beards！


This new collection， which has been edited by Carl F Hostetter， one of the world’s leading Tolkien experts， is a veritable treasure-trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkien’s shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page， Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life。

Download

Reviews

Joshua Clark ，

Some really interesting content here and there but this reads like a critical edition of some ancient text， and is often hard to ascertain what is actually being said。 The first section is so riddled with contradictions that you're left wondering which one is tolkien's actual 'canon' answer。 Can anyone tell me after reading this at what rate elves actually gestate and grow？？ Love the dancing bears of Númenor。 Some really interesting content here and there but this reads like a critical edition of some ancient text， and is often hard to ascertain what is actually being said。 The first section is so riddled with contradictions that you're left wondering which one is tolkien's actual 'canon' answer。 Can anyone tell me after reading this at what rate elves actually gestate and grow？？ Love the dancing bears of Númenor。 。。。more

M S Ram ，

Too esoteric in nature。 It almost reads like a historical research compendium with plenty of references。 It can be pretty taxing for the casual reader who may even find it difficult to progress beyond the first chapter。 However， it's a great book to try and understand the depth of the world created by Tolkien， if that's your cup of tea。 Too esoteric in nature。 It almost reads like a historical research compendium with plenty of references。 It can be pretty taxing for the casual reader who may even find it difficult to progress beyond the first chapter。 However， it's a great book to try and understand the depth of the world created by Tolkien， if that's your cup of tea。 。。。more

Diego Thomsen ，

This is a solid book with tons of interesting bits （like the dancing bears of Númenor） but a lot of it failed to hold my interest。 I still recommend it for die-hard fans of the Legendarium。

Kristen （belles_bookshelves） ，

"Death is death; and it may be healed or amended， but it cannot be made not to have happened。"A really concise book of information。 The beginning is notable dull as it's all math explaining the different ageing of Elves and if the book had continued in that vein I probably would have given up。 But then we get into all sorts of things: different languages， population growth， notable instances of language， reincarnation。I purchased The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle "Death is death; and it may be healed or amended， but it cannot be made not to have happened。"A really concise book of information。 The beginning is notable dull as it's all math explaining the different ageing of Elves and if the book had continued in that vein I probably would have given up。 But then we get into all sorts of things: different languages， population growth， notable instances of language， reincarnation。I purchased The Fall of Númenor: and Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-earth along with this， so I'll dive into that soon， too。 。。。more

Philip Chaston ，

Variable survey of Tolkien's legendarium。 Insightful。 Variable survey of Tolkien's legendarium。 Insightful。 。。。more

Ashley Dean ，

This review is written with typescript text， which is unfortunate because black-nib pen is the preferred method of writing in regards to this book。 To be frank， the best thing this book can do is sit pretty beside the rest of my collection of a shelf。I honestly haven't had a worse time with a Tolkien book ever， and I know that was not due to Tolkien himself。 This was slow， repetitive， dull， and full of so much math。 I haven't read the word "gestation" in a book more than I have here。 And I've re This review is written with typescript text， which is unfortunate because black-nib pen is the preferred method of writing in regards to this book。 To be frank， the best thing this book can do is sit pretty beside the rest of my collection of a shelf。I honestly haven't had a worse time with a Tolkien book ever， and I know that was not due to Tolkien himself。 This was slow， repetitive， dull， and full of so much math。 I haven't read the word "gestation" in a book more than I have here。 And I've read some baby books prior to this。Were there some interesting parts？ Yes。Was this information useful to further understand Middle-Earth？ No， most of it was not。Did I think every incomplete scribble of Tolkien needed to be published， including what writing utensil was used and on which stationary type？ Also a giant no。I guess I wanted more of a story and not a cash-grab info-dump full of things that can mostly be found in other， more enjoyable Tolkien works。 Originally I was not going to give this less than 3 stars based on my biasm for this series， but when I realized the thought of reading more of it was in itself agonizing， I knew I had to go one lower。 I don't find this particular book necessary to read in order to comprehend all the lovely things Tolkien has to offer。 。。。more

sare ，

Really cool background to the Lord of the Rings， good esp for those who like geography， linguistics， and/or philosophy。 Don't read before the books obviously。 Carl Hostetter is a way better editor than Christopher Tolkien who is a huge wet blanket。 Really cool background to the Lord of the Rings， good esp for those who like geography， linguistics， and/or philosophy。 Don't read before the books obviously。 Carl Hostetter is a way better editor than Christopher Tolkien who is a huge wet blanket。 。。。more

Kyri Freeman ，

If I'm ever a famous author， please nobody take and publish all my worldbuilding notes and jottings。 There are some interesting tidbits here to glean， but also a lot that was never intended for people to read and is not in fact very interesting for me to read， like population calculations about exactly how many Elves would have originally journeyed to Valinor。Aggravatingly， there's a ton on aging and life cycles， but never anything to justify or clearly contradict the odd-to-me casting of middle If I'm ever a famous author， please nobody take and publish all my worldbuilding notes and jottings。 There are some interesting tidbits here to glean， but also a lot that was never intended for people to read and is not in fact very interesting for me to read， like population calculations about exactly how many Elves would have originally journeyed to Valinor。Aggravatingly， there's a ton on aging and life cycles， but never anything to justify or clearly contradict the odd-to-me casting of middle-aged characters as Elves in 'the show' （cue catcalls and raspberries）。 （I think there is something somewhere else， among all those massive volumes， to the effect that 'fading' doesn't mean wrinkles and grey hair， but hard to find when wanted。） 。。。more

Nathanael ，

A collection of Tolkien's notes and writings on middle earth。 Lots of the material is either repetitive or very concerned about what would appear to most people as trivial details， though neither of these is anyone's fault。 Buried within this book there are interesting details that enhanced my appreciation of Tolkien's world and imagination， and the entire collection is testimony to the great care and thought Tolkien had for his middle earth， as well as his phenomenal imagination。 A collection of Tolkien's notes and writings on middle earth。 Lots of the material is either repetitive or very concerned about what would appear to most people as trivial details， though neither of these is anyone's fault。 Buried within this book there are interesting details that enhanced my appreciation of Tolkien's world and imagination， and the entire collection is testimony to the great care and thought Tolkien had for his middle earth， as well as his phenomenal imagination。 。。。more

Arthur B ，

This is essentially a continuation of The History of Middle-Earth， continuing the same approach， presenting yet more dregs of Tolkien's unpublished notes。 Absolutely inessential and for only the most hardcore completists for whom even The History of Middle-Earth was not enough - and if you're that sort of reader， you don't care about reviews anyway。 Full review: https://fakegeekboy。wordpress。com/202。。。 This is essentially a continuation of The History of Middle-Earth， continuing the same approach， presenting yet more dregs of Tolkien's unpublished notes。 Absolutely inessential and for only the most hardcore completists for whom even The History of Middle-Earth was not enough - and if you're that sort of reader， you don't care about reviews anyway。 Full review: https://fakegeekboy。wordpress。com/202。。。 。。。more

Chris ，

This was a delightful little book （well， not that little） with just random facts and lore about middle earth。 It has 10000% more math than I ever would've expected from a Tolkien book （my man went hard on Elvish and Numenorean aging calculations）。 For the record， Aragorn does have a beard。 Sorry， Tolkien。 This was a delightful little book （well， not that little） with just random facts and lore about middle earth。 It has 10000% more math than I ever would've expected from a Tolkien book （my man went hard on Elvish and Numenorean aging calculations）。 For the record， Aragorn does have a beard。 Sorry， Tolkien。 。。。more

Carolina ，

Fiz bem em ler este livro ao mesmo tempo em que a problemática série estava em andamento。 Isso porque， ao mesmo tempo em que a obrigação moral com Tolkien me obrigava a conferir o que estava sendo feito da obra dele， a leitura me oferecia uma pausa em meio ao caos midiático do momento。 Só bebendo das palavras do próprio Tolkien para aguentar esse último mês de série flopada viu。Mas voltando ao que interessa。 O livro é um grande compilado de textos escritos ao longo da vida do autor， direcionados Fiz bem em ler este livro ao mesmo tempo em que a problemática série estava em andamento。 Isso porque， ao mesmo tempo em que a obrigação moral com Tolkien me obrigava a conferir o que estava sendo feito da obra dele， a leitura me oferecia uma pausa em meio ao caos midiático do momento。 Só bebendo das palavras do próprio Tolkien para aguentar esse último mês de série flopada viu。Mas voltando ao que interessa。 O livro é um grande compilado de textos escritos ao longo da vida do autor， direcionados a diversas temáticas。 É impressionante a dedicação de Tolkien aos mínimos detalhes， e aqui temos acesso a muitos exemplos de seu trabalho discorrendo desde o modo de calcular as idades élficas à assuntos mais corriqueiros， como nomes de rios， aparências dos povos da Terra-média e muitos estudos e ensaios sobre palavras pertencentes às línguas de seu universo。Confesso que em alguns momentos a leitura não é tão fácil。 Sou de humanas e em alguns momentos o autor vai fundo nos cálculos referentes às idades élficas， então depois de um tempo eu simplesmente aceitei os números sem questionar。 Mas para os fãs mais emocionados （assim como eu）， essa é uma leitura fantástica。 。。。more

Adam Balshan ，

2。5 stars [Literary]（W: 2。45， U/P: 2。54， T/O: 2。79）Exact rating: 2。59Tolkien scholars and acolytes welcome this addition to the continuing compilation of J。R。R。 Tolkien's papers after Christopher Tolkien's death。 We are grateful for Hofstetter's painstaking work on this one。Hofstetter， or Houghton Mifflin， ought however to have removed almost all of the first 168 pages to an appendix。 Cataloging Tolkien's labyrinthine calculus on mortal aging plagued almost half the book。 Everything afterward wa 2。5 stars [Literary]（W: 2。45， U/P: 2。54， T/O: 2。79）Exact rating: 2。59Tolkien scholars and acolytes welcome this addition to the continuing compilation of J。R。R。 Tolkien's papers after Christopher Tolkien's death。 We are grateful for Hofstetter's painstaking work on this one。Hofstetter， or Houghton Mifflin， ought however to have removed almost all of the first 168 pages to an appendix。 Cataloging Tolkien's labyrinthine calculus on mortal aging plagued almost half the book。 Everything afterward was much better， of better quality than The History of Middle-Earth。 The result is that this book will not be re-read by most of us in full， but rather its sections referenced。 It might be superseded one day by someone organizing the entirety of Tolkien's papers into one large volume。 Hopefully that person will excise part of this one。pp。 1-168 （W: 2， U: 2， T: 2。67） Part I: Timing and Agingpp。 169-204， 219-291， 295-375 （W: 2。75， U: 3， T: 2。83）pp。 205-218 （W: 3。5， P: 3。5， O: 4） Ósanwe-Kentapp。 292-294 （W: 3。5， P: 3。5， O: 3） The Powers of the Valar 。。。more

Evan ，

A great read， but this isn’t a novel。 Be wary: this is more so an extended appendix。 The author clearly compiled this with love and it is well organized。 I think a casual reader would be rather bored but a major Tolkien fan will love it。

Ovi Buciu ，

An interesting look at very late notes and scraps from Tolkien’s reflection on Middle Earth。 Some of the sections are more worthwhile than others， but the whole is a good look at the depth of thought that went into Tolkien’s creative process （even if the innumerable changes， alterations， and editions of texts introduce headache-inducing complexity trying to understand it all）。

Rebecca ，

The first part involves a lot of mathematical tables of Elvish populations and calendars。 Which is not the most dramatic thing to read， but it does bring home just how much time， thought and calculation J。R。R。 Tolkien put into Middle Earth。 The mathematical aspect is particularly impressive given that he was working all of this out on paper in a time before calculators were a thing。 The amount of work he was doing， to make sure the various calendars made sense with each other and trying to make The first part involves a lot of mathematical tables of Elvish populations and calendars。 Which is not the most dramatic thing to read， but it does bring home just how much time， thought and calculation J。R。R。 Tolkien put into Middle Earth。 The mathematical aspect is particularly impressive given that he was working all of this out on paper in a time before calculators were a thing。 The amount of work he was doing， to make sure the various calendars made sense with each other and trying to make them fit with the events of the story。。。 That gave me a new appreciation of the man。 The later parts are concerned with various topics， from deep philosophical and spiritual ideas to more every-day things like clarifying the appearance of characters and certain lands。 It's a real mixed bag of material， ranging from short pieces of half a page， to much longer essays and story drafts。 Some people may wonder what the point is of publishing pieces like this， but for me， I found it interesting to see that， right up to the end of his life， Tolkien was still refining elements of Middle Earth and it's history。 It was never-ending， because he was always finding some little detail to add or correct or recalculate。 Having made my own small effort to invent a world for a story， I find it rather comforting to know that even the Professor struggled to keep all of his details in line at times。 If you're the sort of nerd that likes seeing into details and the processes that go into creating worlds， then this will be of interest。 Now I just need to find my own copy to add to the personal Tolkien library。 。。。more

Eirienel ，

Giving this four stars because even though it wasn't a personal favourite I think for anyone super into Tolkien and worldbuilding （and academic style writing） then it's a great read！ I found some of the notes within to be interesting and it answered a few questions I had。 I skimmed over quite a bit of it as it got very technical and difficult for me to interpret。 I feel like this would have been better for me if I read it very， very slowly and wrote things down/took notes etc。 Would use it for r Giving this four stars because even though it wasn't a personal favourite I think for anyone super into Tolkien and worldbuilding （and academic style writing） then it's a great read！ I found some of the notes within to be interesting and it answered a few questions I had。 I skimmed over quite a bit of it as it got very technical and difficult for me to interpret。 I feel like this would have been better for me if I read it very， very slowly and wrote things down/took notes etc。 Would use it for references。 。。。more

Court ，

This is interesting， but EXTREMELY repetitive， and contradicts some of what is in MORGOTH'S RING and other volumes of The History of Middle-earth。 Really only recommend if you're interested in every single tiny bit of minutiae Tolkien ever wrote about Middle-earth。 The evolution of his text and how elaborate it all came to be is pretty cool， but you can definitely skim a lot of this。 This is interesting， but EXTREMELY repetitive， and contradicts some of what is in MORGOTH'S RING and other volumes of The History of Middle-earth。 Really only recommend if you're interested in every single tiny bit of minutiae Tolkien ever wrote about Middle-earth。 The evolution of his text and how elaborate it all came to be is pretty cool， but you can definitely skim a lot of this。 。。。more

Jonathan Edward ，

Somewhat interesting。 A good reference guide。 Not meant to be read cover to cover

Timothy Boyd ，

If you a fanatic Tolkien fan then here is the book for ya。 Tons of charts and musing by Tolkien on everything form the birthrate of the Elves in the early years of Middle Earth to the types of animals that inhabit the lands。 Interesting read。 Recommended

Ted Tschopp ，

A great collection of Middle-Earth "scholarship" focused on various esoteric topics of Tolkien's world。 Recommended for people who want more then just Lord of the Rings and the Silmarmillion， but don't want to dig all the way into Histories。 A great collection of Middle-Earth "scholarship" focused on various esoteric topics of Tolkien's world。 Recommended for people who want more then just Lord of the Rings and the Silmarmillion， but don't want to dig all the way into Histories。 。。。more

Jesse ，

A bunch of interesting new bits of information， but as with some of the later *HoMe* volumes I get frustrated by the frequent "Well， here's a text， but I've stripped out all of the linguistic stuff" because I would be interested in the linguistic stuff too。 A bunch of interesting new bits of information， but as with some of the later *HoMe* volumes I get frustrated by the frequent "Well， here's a text， but I've stripped out all of the linguistic stuff" because I would be interested in the linguistic stuff too。 。。。more

Maria ，

This book totally challenged my language and math abilities。 I thought that nothing can beat the silmarillion （reading silmarillion as not native speaker was hard） but the nature of middle earth did it。 Apart from difficult vocabulary， the book was amazing :）

Stephen Bedard ，

This is not a story by Tolkien but a collection of his rough notes as he was working through the background details to build the realism of Middle-earth。 There is plenty that can get boring but if you are interested in how Tolkien developed this complex world， you will find it interesting。

Theresa G ，

It's a book that accomplishes its purpose， to make these writings available。 It's the product of impressively careful scholarship， and the organization and notes of various kinds （the appendix on metaphysical and theological themes is especially well-informed and insightful） make the content as accessible as it could possibly be。 The whole thing is definitely worth reading if you take a serious interest in Tolkien， but any of the writings can and should also be read independently。 I personally f It's a book that accomplishes its purpose， to make these writings available。 It's the product of impressively careful scholarship， and the organization and notes of various kinds （the appendix on metaphysical and theological themes is especially well-informed and insightful） make the content as accessible as it could possibly be。 The whole thing is definitely worth reading if you take a serious interest in Tolkien， but any of the writings can and should also be read independently。 I personally found the various cultural writings fascinating。 It's a very unique kind of book， because the content and the editorial work are so unusual and so bound up in each other， and therefore hard to rate。 Not five stars because it's certainly dry， much of it very dry， and took a long time to finish， and because I suspect at least one editorial decision was made for corporate image reasons， but it does what it set out to do， and is the result of incredible care and devotion。 。。。more

Terry ，

I have a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards Tolkien’s later writings on middle-earth。 On the one hand there are some real gems and tantalizing glimpses of what might have been if only the professor had had more time， or been slightly less of a perfectionist， such as the beginning of a more novelistic tale of Turin as seen in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth， or the many fascinating essays on a variety of topics， peoples， and characters that helped to flesh out his creation。 On the I have a somewhat ambivalent attitude towards Tolkien’s later writings on middle-earth。 On the one hand there are some real gems and tantalizing glimpses of what might have been if only the professor had had more time， or been slightly less of a perfectionist， such as the beginning of a more novelistic tale of Turin as seen in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth， or the many fascinating essays on a variety of topics， peoples， and characters that helped to flesh out his creation。 On the other hand， I tend to be more leery of many of his late revisions to his Silmarillion-related material whose goal seemed to be to correct what was ‘wrong’， at least as far as known science went。。。a somewhat strange attitude to take towards a work of mythology。 I guess I feel that some of these changes tend to undermine things that I don’t personally feel were in need of fixing。 One example would be his apparent wish to make Galadriel a much less flawed （and thus in my opinion less interesting） character and instead have her modelled more along the lines of the Virgin Mary in regards to moral perfection。 Another was his desire to make the Silmarillion mythos coherent with actual physics （insofar as he was able） and known pre-history: so no more flat earth becoming round， or birth of the sun and moon as fruit and flower of the Trees of Valinor; both exemplify a tragic loss of mythic and poetic beauty and power as far as I’m concerned。 Well， this book covers much of the implications of these latter-day changes and shows just how far Tolkien progressed in his reimagining of his mythology。 Luckily for lovers of Tolkien’s older stories such as myself it is apparent that Tolkien seemed to want to keep as much as he could of his original stories and mythic plot， while applying to it a more rigorous rationale for truth and likelihood when compared to （at least some） known facts about the world。This book reads， and is presented， very much like a volume in the HoMe series， though technically it should be considered an addendum to it as opposed to a part of it。 It also， to my mind， shares a number of similarities with _Unfinished Tales_， especially in its somewhat ‘hodgepodge’ construction: covering many different aspects of the ‘nature of middle-earth’ in a variety of sections and essays。 Indeed， in some ways this book could be seen as a companion to UT since many of the entries， especially in the latter half of the book， include new and expanded material related to subjects covered in UT， but not previously published。The first section of the book is likely to shock most readers of Tolkien simply by virtue of the sheer amount of math on display。 It is primarily given over to Tolkien’s re-working of the story of the awakening of the elves and dives deeply into explicit details regarding their nature and number （esp。 their procreative habits）， with exhaustive （and sometimes exhausting） numeric charts calculating the growth of elvish generations from their awakening to their migration to Valinor。 Tolkien goes through several different iterations of this data， always starting from the beginning when he reaches a point he find untenable or unfitting in his mind and the sheer amount of time and effort he spent on this seemingly simple and 'background' aspect of his elves， one that most people probably wouldn't even consider or care much about if it was pointed out to them， shows just how invested he was in the verisimilitude of his world。Next we see discussions on the physical and spiritual nature of the beings of Arda， philosophical and metaphysical ruminations on the implications of elvish and human interactions with each other and the world around them， and a miscellany of topics covering everything from beards， hair， and elvish horsemanship to the proper way to make lembas， the geography of Gondor， and the tonal quality of dwarven voices。 Many of the entries are， unsurprisingly， in the form of linguistic treatises， but prove to be much more than simple dictionary entries or purely dry linguistic jargon。 There are a multitude of world building （and character expanding） seeds that flower within them and which yet again prove the centrality of the ‘linguistic side’ to nearly all of Tolkien’s creative work， if there were any out there who still doubted it。 Even the plethora of mathematical tables about elven birth rates prove to be fertile ground and， as with his linguistic work， it is amazing to see the stories that emerge from amongst them。That said this is definitely only for hard-core Tolkien aficionados， but it provides yet another fascinating glimpse into the mind of the man who created one of the most comprehensive and well-loved fictional universes ever devised。 。。。more

Clinton Tibbitts ，

I would consider this book （and I think many others do） to be the 13th volume of The History of Middle Earth volumes。 It seems to fit right along those other books and acts as not only a reference to things， themes and ideas present in Tolkien's writing but also a history of the writing process。 While I am always happy for MORE middle earth and I do feel Carl Hostetter did a great job of keeping Christopher Tolkien's writing style; this book just didn't catch my interest as much。 I don't want to I would consider this book （and I think many others do） to be the 13th volume of The History of Middle Earth volumes。 It seems to fit right along those other books and acts as not only a reference to things， themes and ideas present in Tolkien's writing but also a history of the writing process。 While I am always happy for MORE middle earth and I do feel Carl Hostetter did a great job of keeping Christopher Tolkien's writing style; this book just didn't catch my interest as much。 I don't want to use the phrase 'Scraping the bottom of the barrel' but that's kind of how this felt。 These were the last bits of writing before Tolkien's passing and/or the things that Christopher Tolkien just didn't want to work with。 Want to know and understand the mathematics involved with Elvish aging？ Want to know the names of the mountains upon which the beacons of Gondor were built？ Want to understand the metaphysics of Elf bodies and spirits？ This is for you！ Like I said; I'm glad that Tolkien went through all of this effort to make these subtle writings and drastic calculations to build his world。 I love that he cared enough to do that much work。 But knowing all that info kind of takes the magic out of the narrative。 Remember a few years after JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter she started making tweets about Hogwarts history and the Wizarding world of the 1800s and it was kind of like "I don't really need that to enjoy the story， but thanks！" This wasn't this bad （as obviously JK was making thay up post-writing and Tolkien was doing his work pre-writing） but it started feeling similar to that。 。。。more

Bea ，

Are you a Tolkienite？ AKA a fan of J。R。R Tolkien & his stories of Middle Earth？ I will literally take any reason to delve back into Middle Earth lol！ When I saw The Nature of Middle Earth for sale I just couldn’t resist， not only is it beautiful， it’s full of interesting stories and lore about the incredible world Tolkien created， reminding me just exactly why he is The High King of Fantasy。 I must admit， the mathematical stuff on the ageing of the Elven race hurt my brain， A LOT lol！ However th Are you a Tolkienite？ AKA a fan of J。R。R Tolkien & his stories of Middle Earth？ I will literally take any reason to delve back into Middle Earth lol！ When I saw The Nature of Middle Earth for sale I just couldn’t resist， not only is it beautiful， it’s full of interesting stories and lore about the incredible world Tolkien created， reminding me just exactly why he is The High King of Fantasy。 I must admit， the mathematical stuff on the ageing of the Elven race hurt my brain， A LOT lol！ However the rest of the book was an absolute delight and I relished every moment of reading it。 If you enjoy delving into nitty gritty details and the books and crannies of worlds authors have created， & you adore world building as much as I do， this is a well worthy purchase。 。。。more

DS25 ，

Questo è in cima alla "food chain" dei nerdoni di Tolkien。 Non solamente ci sono testi spezzettati， etimologie assurde， conti di anni e progeniture elfiche， ma il tutto è fine a sé stesso （contrariamente al resto delle Histories， che ha quantomeno un riferimento diretto all'evoluzione delle opere principali）。Consigliato？ NO！ Meno della metà della metà vorrebbe bene alla metà del libro la metà di quanto gliene vuole l'1% dei fan。 Questo è in cima alla "food chain" dei nerdoni di Tolkien。 Non solamente ci sono testi spezzettati， etimologie assurde， conti di anni e progeniture elfiche， ma il tutto è fine a sé stesso （contrariamente al resto delle Histories， che ha quantomeno un riferimento diretto all'evoluzione delle opere principali）。Consigliato？ NO！ Meno della metà della metà vorrebbe bene alla metà del libro la metà di quanto gliene vuole l'1% dei fan。 。。。more

Ricard ，

Evidentemente no es el clásico libro de Tolkien， si nos atenemos a lo que publicó durante si video。 Pero es la exahustibidad habitual de Tolkien， su ansia por redondear su cuento hasta el menor detalle。 Y en ese sentido nos ofrece alguno de sus textos más difíciles y de su pasión por el detalle y la coherencia interna y con el mundo real。Varios de los textos ya eran conocidos y publicados en ediciones especializadas， por lo que se agradece que puedan llegar al público más amplio。Como detalle lam Evidentemente no es el clásico libro de Tolkien， si nos atenemos a lo que publicó durante si video。 Pero es la exahustibidad habitual de Tolkien， su ansia por redondear su cuento hasta el menor detalle。 Y en ese sentido nos ofrece alguno de sus textos más difíciles y de su pasión por el detalle y la coherencia interna y con el mundo real。Varios de los textos ya eran conocidos y publicados en ediciones especializadas， por lo que se agradece que puedan llegar al público más amplio。Como detalle lamento que Minotauro no haya cuidado la corrección de algunos puntos， como referencias internas dentro del propio libro que no concuerdan， o referencias donde se ve que el corrector desconoce los títulos más básicos de la obra de Tolkien， como referencias a "las Minas Tirith" o similares。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Nature of Middle-earth

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Nature of Middle-earth&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Nature of Middle-earth&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0