The definitive critical study of Tolkien's greatest works by the respected and world renowned Tolkien scholar Professor T.A. Shippey.

Throughout the ages, writers have created an astonishing diversity of imaginary places, worlds of enchantment, horror and delight. This guidebook takes the reader on a tour of more than 1200 imaginary cities, islands, countries, and contintents, from Homer to the late 1990s.

The only authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, with a redesigned cover to match the distinctive paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.

Published in 1954, it wasn't until the flower-power generation of the 1960's that Lord of the Rings began to exert its real influence and changed the face of fantasy literature forever. In this book, contemporary fantasy authors share their personal relationships with Tolkien's mythical world.