"The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, powers, and creatures—as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In these specially designed volumes, best-selling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants of Middle-earth. A must-have guide to the Tolkien world, this collection provides an A-to-Z dictionary of the vernacular, an atlas describing the various terra firma, histories of battles, dark powers, heroes, and the Hobbits that started it all. More than 200 black-and-white and full-color illustrations make the pages a joy to behold as you learn all you'll need to know about Tolkien's fantasy realm.This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers."