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Thread: The Complete Tolkien Companion


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Is that the one by JEA Tyler, Aule?

There is, of course, Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle Earth, David Day's Tolkien Bestiary, and another one by David Day which I cannot remember the name of just now.
There is "the Encyclopaedia of Middle Earth" as well. It's very good and combines all the indexes of LOTR, Silm and UT, along with a plethora of other information you never knew you needed. I haven't got it (been meaning to buy it for ages) and don't know who it's by though.
Quote:
Is that the one by JEA Tyler, Aule?

There is, of course, Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle Earth, David Day's Tolkien Bestiary, and another one by David Day which I cannot remember the name of just now.


Yeah the postAuthorID is J.E.A. Tyler and it is completely MARVELOUS!! Never heard of the other ones but my sister said she bought another book about Tolkien and his work......maybe it was Complete Guide to M-E by Robert Foster? oh well....
Aule, I have Robert Fosters Guide and find it wonderful. I haven't seen the one you have, though.
As to more Tolkien books, I love Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey. It analyzes LotR, the Hobbit, The Sil., Leaf by Niggle and Farmer Giles of Ham. It also points out some ancient literature from which Tolkien may have drawn his ideas.
If you are interested in books about Tolkien as a person, I strongly recommend Humphrey Carpenters biography, called simply Tolkien, and The Letters of JRR Tolkien, also compiled by Carpenter.
Mmmm....I want the Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien......but I cannot find them! But I got this book that is NOT postAuthorIDised by the Tolkien estate or New Line Cinema! It’s called The Magical World of The Lord of the Rings!

I found it quite interesting but I do not fully know if it is true or not! So you can see my dilemma!
Yes that is a problem Aule. I've found it very reliable but you're right you never can tell. You could cross-reference in LotR and other Tolkien books by Tolkien.
Yes of course that to! Thanks for the advise Sam....you are as supportive as Sam in LOTR is to Frodo:P hahahaha
i agree that the tolkien companion by JEA Tyler is a great book, explaining everything about the things of Middle Earth.
JEA Tyler is a good and cheap alternative if you can't afford the Foster books.
For coverage of the Hobbit, LotR and the Silmarillion I prefer Foster because it goes into more detail, but Tyler's later book does have the advantage of covering UT and some of HOME too.

I prefer Foster. Foster, to me, has created a great (not necessarily perfect) internal guide -- that is, a guide to everything Tolkien himself published plus the 1977 Silmarillion. Even Christopher Tolkien recommended it... I think he did anyway (I seem to recall him mentioning it at least).

Tyler, by trying to update his book (I have an old edition), has 'mixed' things a bit. Granted the 1977 Silmarillion is not author-published, but it is the only 'shared Silmarillion' on bookshelves, and that alone, I think, means that it's the best candidate for such a guide. 

Add The Children of Hurin these days too -- although I'm not sure there is an edition that considers this fairly recent publication. I have a version of Foster's guide that was written before the Silmarillion was published.