TORN's Own Book: The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien - Tehanu @ 20:31 PST
Cold Spring Press is pleased to announce its new book "The People's Guide to J.R.R. Tolkien." This book of essays fills the void between the release of the second and third Lord of the Rings movies. Passionate, ardent, well-informed, and unlike any other book on the subject, this is an indispensable handbook for people who consider themselves experts -- or who wish to become experts -- on the lore of Middle-earth and the man who made the myths.

The People's Guide is written by five contributing writers of TheOneRing.net -- the leading fan website devoted to Tolkien, his books, his lore, the New Line Cinema movies, and the fan community that centers on Middle-earth. TheOneRing.net has always been distinguished by the quality of the original articles appearing on its Green Books and Tehanu's Notes pages. This book adapts some of the most popular articles on the TheOneRing.net as well as offering readers completely new articles that are not available online.

Readers will find essays ranging from a spirited defense of fantasy as a genre, discussions of Tolkien's views of good and evil, an examination of the cultural norms we bring to the understanding of the themes and characters in Middle-earth and much more. There are insightful reviews and critiques of the two Peter Jackson films released to date, and a Q&A section answering both classic and obscure questions from fans the world over.

The foreword is written by Tom Shippey, the world's foremost Tolkien scholar, and author of "The Road to Middle-earth" and "J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century," who says: "The Internet, the experience of continually answering questions and receiving comments ... give the organizers of TheOneRing.net a perspective which is uniquely broad, and uniquely full of surprises, some of which would have pleased Tolkien very much, but which he could not have expected."

The People's Guide is due to hit the shops in early April. Meanwhile it's available for pre-order on Amazon. [More]

You can also pre-order at amazon.ca for all our Canadian readers. [More]

And be sure to check it out at Amazon.uk for our UK contingent. [More]

Amazon.de has the book listed for fans in Germany. [More]

For further information or to interview the authors, contact either Erica Challis at tehanu@theonering.net or Jonathan Stein, Publisher, at jopenroad@aol.com or 631/692-7172