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A beautiful set but I have to agree it is surpassing strange that the is no map for the tale of Beren and Luthien, particularly given the geographic range that tale covers.

I think the picture at the bottom of The Hobbit map is the dwarves gathering at Bag End rather than the Unexpected Party.I use Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas which has considerably more detail than these maps and for that reason I haven't got this set. But it seems you are secretly getting commission from Harper Collins (no, I know you are not,nits just that seeing them opened and shown properly always depletes my bank balance when you show something I don't have 🙄). I would really like these to have all the detail Karen added, but nevertheless I shall be off to see if I can get this direct from Harper Collins before midnight tonight. I have already had to buy a new Atlas because my original is starting to suffer from its years of use.

I never realised there was a slipcase version of this book. However, I do love having so many of Tolkien's illustrations in one place - and with the commentary too. In fact, for a writer I don't think his art skills were that modest - I like the Tolkien editions I have that use his own art just as much as Alan or Ted.

Hi James, since this video have you acquired the new blue hardback embossed with Telperion and Laurelin on silver and gold? It's not such a heavy book as some and as a result is much easier as a reading copy, opening quite easily but retaining the hardback quality.

The green color is the reason I bought the expensive deluxe edition instead.

James, just a thought but... When reviewing various editions it would be really helpful to add the ISBN for each, either on-screen or in the comments. With so many editions it would help people to seek them out.

Great find! I missed out on these and when I recently found the CofH edition it was over £2500, so not even a possibility. Well done.

does this ultimate book include all three lord of the rings books?

I love this edition. Well worth the reading - you'll have read it by now I guess - what did you think?

They look great without the jackets. But I love Alan and Ted illustrations too, let alone JRRT's. And then, some DJs are reversible! Choices, choices ..

New hardback edition of Gawain, Beowulf, Rather and Sigurd due in April '25.

Can't find your book now - is it available anywhere?

Great collection ection - and much expanded since this video of course.🙂

Hi there. Thank you very much for the many great videos. I just recently found myself diving into the world of Tolkien books and subsequently your channel. I have some nuanced questions that I'm hoping you can help me out with. Is there a good way to chat? Thanks - Mike

My copy has no pages stuck together by the gold sprayed edging. All the pages are the same colour. But I suspect you are right about the limited nature: mine is the 5th printing so presumably they fixed those problems? Does yours say it's first printing (or not give a print run number)?

Beautiful. Well done laying hands on that one

Another nice precis. Very enjoyable - I do like your presentation. 👍

I photographed the cover, printed it on a photo printer and wrapped Mathoms so it looks the same colour as the book. What a daft choice they made there!

Quite a few errors in this but a good intro to The Silmarillion, though confusing Ea with the Universe, Valar and Maia with Elves and Men and a few other errors, may be confusing to the newcomer.

Great story. I picked up The Hobbit at about 10, I think (long time ago anyway) in around 1967, LotR followed. The superb BBC radio series (listen if you haven't heard it) in the early 80s cemented a vision of Middle Earth that had come through those books, my first failed attempt to read The Silmarillion and a successful attempt a few years later, followed by many, many since. I was one of those who thought LotR could never be filmed, having watched the appalling Ralph Bakshi animation (ugh!). However I was definitely hyped for the Jackson Fellowship after seeing some trailers and I loved it. Saw it on release day, packed out. I still read Silmarillion, Hobbit, LotR every 18 months but my shelves are full of other Tolkien - there's not enough time to read it all! I dip into the Histories regularly but apart from all those books there are books like Tolkien's translation of Beowulf and his reimagination of Kullervo (which, as a Sibelius fan, has a special place for me). One of the newspaper reviews many years ago, said (IIRC) something along the lines of "How, given little over half a century, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?". I don't think anyone can fully answer that question even today.

Valerian? That's a riot. Valinor. I found The Silmarillion hard the first time, age about 11. I tried again at about 15 and now I read it every 18 months or so. Just received a whole batch of Tolkien deluxe editions today so time to reread The Fall of Numenor, The Children of Hurin,bBeten & Luthien, The Lost Tales, Unfinished Tales etc...

Thank you.

i love it :D although i tend to make jokes about it

Such a fantastic collection! 🎉 The different editions really do make each reading experience feel unique. It’s amazing how much depth The Silmarillion holds, and it’s clear why it’s worth having so many versions. Do you have a favorite edition, or does the content itself always take the spotlight for you? Personally, I always find myself coming back to the stories in the book, no matter the format! Can’t wait to see more of your Tolkien content

Tom Bombadil is what happens when you start writing a story without a clear idea of where it's going. He and Goldberry feel like something Bilbo would have encountered in The Hobbit.

My copies seem to have much more subdued colours (7th printing I think) and I think that's a good thing as the ones you have seem quite garish.

My favourite Hobbit is still the paperback I bought back in the 1970s with Tolkien's sketch "Death of Smaug" on the cover.

This has to be the most impressive collection I have yet seen.

Remembering my wonderful 6th grade teacher ,the novel The hobbit itself and a 6th grade classmate who always borrowed my erase Gambito balboa etc

I like this set because in my opinion this is the essential middle earth books. The important ones are the hobbit, the lord of the rings and the silmarillion, but the children of Hurín are an extended edition of the chapter in the silmarillion and the other books are alternative versions, a making of,some answers, interesting facts or extra stuff that may be important but for me this is the perfect box-set.

Hi James, I’m reading these books for the first time and I really appreciate this video. Question for you - would you recommend reading the ROTK appendices immediately after reading The Return of the King? Or perhaps read the other tales of the Third Age, and then go back to the appendices before beginning The Silmarillion? Loving your channel - keep up the great work!

Quality not great. The paper is shit

We have the Jemima Catlin version in hardcover which is a very nice copy! The illustrations are very nice, the printing and pages are well done. A great collector's edition!

hi hi, I'm reading The Hobbit at the moment and I'm not having a very good time :/ can someone let me know if it gets better with the lord of the rings trilogy because I've hit a reading slump now

I avoid Amazon at all costs, I will pay 50 dollars more to avoid Amazon. F Bezo's and ROP

paper is crap

Ingahild Grathmer is a pseudonym of the Danish Queen Margrethe II, who loved the books. She met Tolkien, showed him her artwork and he really liked them. I bought the 1991 Folio edition which contained her illustrations only.

Love it but you should put the hobbit before the lord of the rings and the silmarmillon before the hobbit

gorrrgeous

Are all the pictures in the 3 art books you shared 41:17 contained in the 1 illustration book by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull? 40:02 I don't know which one(s) I should get first.

I try to avoid buying thick books like the all-in-one LOTR editions. The spine very quickly loses its strength at the top, it bows inward, and the text block collapses until the pages touch the bookshelf at the outside lower edge of the book. Books are simply not designed to be this thick. I'd much rather buy LOTR in a three volume set, like the Easton Press version.

Sadly these are not having a sewn binding anymore it seems. Even though the books has the same ISBN the binding is different (glued).

Hey James! Do you have 2024 edition of 'The Maps of Middle-earth: From Númenor and Beleriand to Wilderland and Middle-earth' by HarperCollins. It'd be quite interesting to see what's inside. Thank you!

I just discovered your channel. It’s amazing.

But the hobbit is the later story where to read about first age and second age

Those are nice. I have a single book copy of The Lord of the Rings which has the whole trilogy in it. I think it’s a paper back copy or something like that with a castle cover on it. I’ve read this trilogy as well as The Hobbit twice. They’re both good. Do you like the books of this as well as The Hobbit better than the movie adaptations or both equally?

James, was the 2nd Silmarillion Edition, the 2006 version with the authors illustrated cover, the same as the one issued in 1999? I ask because I would like to get the edition to go with my 60th anniversary LOTR set which also have author illustrated covers and I finding it hard to find the exact edition/year you referenced.

James I just ordered a copy of your book from Amazon this evening . I havent read too many poetry books over the years but your samples intrigued me enough to want to read more. The book is due to be delivered around the 5th of November. I will follow up after I have a chance read all 24hours.

Thank you for showing me both options without me having to do the work. Like many others I store them with covers on but read the with covers off. I do have to admit that they do look great both ways!

James this is a beautiful video. Just added it to my own bucket list! Thank you for sharing.