"A visual celebration of the vast lands, epic battles, formidable beasts, heroes, peoples, and armies of Tolkien's world. Tolkien's works have inspired artists for generations and have given rise to myriad interpretations of the rich and magical worlds he created. The Illustrated World of Tolkien gathers together artworks, essays, and commentaries from illustrators, painters, and etchers, and fascinating and scholarly writing from renowned Tolkien...

Peter Jackson's film version of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the accompanying proliferation of Rings-related paraphernalia, has once again brought the work of J.R.R. Tolkien to a popular audience. There are, however, few full and accessible treatments of the religious vision permeating Tolkien's influential works. Bradley Birzer has remedied that with his fresh study, J.R.R. Tolkien's sanctifying Myth: understanding Middle-earth. In it Birzer...