Books
By Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien's epic trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) tells the story of Frodo Baggins, who must bear the dangerous Ruling Ring to the fires of Mount Doom, the only place in which it can be destroyed.

The Hobbit.
Sixty years before The Lord of the Rings, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins is conscripted into an adventure with dwarves. On the way, Bilbo encounters a creature called Gollum, and acquires a peculiar magic ring.

The Silmarillion.
In these stories collected and edited by his son, J.R.R. Tolkien tells the mythology of Middle Earth, from the creation of the world to the rebellion of the elves and the fall of Númenor, through the story of the stolen jewels called Silmarils.

Unfinished Tales.
A collection of "smaller" stories about Middle Earth.

History of Middle Earth.
A several-volume collection of notes and drafts on The Lord of the Rings, edited and with notes by Christopher Tolkien.

The Tolkien Reader.
A collection of Tolkien's smaller works, including the parable "Leaf by Niggle," the tale of "Farmer Giles of Ham," and Tolkien's famous essay, "On Fairy Stories."

Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Tolkien's opinions on everything… especially Middle Earth.

About Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, by Tom Shippey.
Shippey, a professor of literature, defends his choice of Tolkien as one of the 20th century's most important authors.

Meditations on Middle Earth, edited by Karen Haber
Essays on Lord of the Rings by well-known authors, including Orson Scott Card, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Terry Pratchett.

Tolkien: A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter
The best known and most complete biography of the author.

Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings: A Guide to Middle Earth, by Colin Duriez.
A look at various aspects of Tolkien's world, with an A-Z guide.

Tolkien's Ring, by David Day.
Scholar David Day traces the evolution of Middle Earth. Illustrated by Alan Lee.

Videos

The Hobbit (Rankin-Bass)
The 1978 cartoon version of Bilbo Baggins' adventure, complete with singing dwarves.

The Return of the King / Rankin/Bass Productions.
The 1979 cartoon that follows the end of Frodo's quest, as he and Sam make their way across the plains of Mordor to Mt. Doom. Complete with Orcs singing to a disco beat.

The Lord of the Rings / a Ralph Bakshi film.
Bakshi's half-complete filming of the trilogy ends in the middle of The Two Towers, and employs a unique mix of pure animation and traced live action, or rotoscoping.

The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring / directed by Peter Jackson. VHS and DVD.
Peter Jackson's version of the first book of the trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: National Geographic Beyond the Movie /
National Geographic's special about the various real world concerns that influenced J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Master of the Rings / Producer/Director Stephen Grant.
A video look at Middle Earth and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Websites

Lord of the Rings - The Official Movie Site
http://www.lordoftherings.net/
Go behind the scenes of Peter Jackson's screen adaptation of Lord of the Rings, download images and screensavers, shop for LotR-related merchandise, and join the fan club.

TheOneRing.net
http://www.theonering.net/
One of the largest fan sites on the web, TheOneRing offers material on Tolkien and exclusive information on Tolkien fandom, and news and rumors about the Peter Jackson films. Includes a fan area, with fiction, music, art, and discussion.

The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
http://www.elvish.org/
The Elvish Society studies Professor Tolkien's created language, Elvish, and includes its own scholarly journal on the subject.

Book list by Barbara Walton, Young Adults Room, Boston Public Library December, 2002