

This was the bestselling book in the U.S. in 1977. It's a collection of chronicles telling stories of Tolkien's Middle-Earth, from the beginning up to the events of the Lord of the Rings. It's not an easy book, and it's more interested in atmosphere than in keeping the readers attention. I bounced off it forty years ago, so was pleased on this attempt to find it challenging but not awful. I even enjoyed it, but had to consume it in small chunks.