A comprehensive, illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth. The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, and creatures--as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In this beautifully illustrated, leather-bound volume, best-selling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants Middle-earth. Sections of this A-to-Z dictionary are devoted to discussion of the battles, history, beasts, and heroes of Tolkien's stories, and are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations. This comprehensive volume on Tolkien's world also includes an appendix of three primary legends that served as sources for Tolkien's creations--the Volsunga saga, the Nibelungenlied, and Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle--and more than 200 black-and-white illustrations. This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.