Customer Reviews

Tolkien in the Land of Heroes: Discovering the Human Spirit

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you read only one "academic" book on the works of Tolkein, read this one. Clearly and concisely written, Petty's "Tolkein the the Land of Heroes" takes us beyond Middle-Earth into the greater mythologies of all human history and imagination. Unlike many analyses of his works, this one does what it's supposed to do--it makes you want to read those works of Tolkein which you haven't read, and re-read the ones you have.

Both heroes and villains in Middle-Earth have their ancient ties. We find out who they really are, and how our Middle-Earth heroes and villains exemplify the archetypes of human culture. The author is a learned guide through the tangled webs of many paths and many stories, weaving them into a coherent whole. Her fondness (to say the least) for Tolkein is evident throughout this intelligent, clearly-written analysis.

For readers familiar primarily with "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", this book will motivate you to read Tolkein's other works, most especially, "The Silmarillion", where all the stories really begin. Dr. Petty's carefully-crafted work is a must for all serious Tolkein fans.

Not written in dissertationese, as the author's "One Ring to Rule Them All" is, but in very colloquial English. Petty even apologizes for considering LotR alone without the context of the drafts, but there's no need to do that: it's a clear, straightforward, and insightful study of considerable quality.

I loved this book! This is the kind of book you want to be reading for you college lit courses. Its a fun and easy read that uses comparisons that everyone can understand and/or relate too. I have to give Anne C. Petty high praise for using anime characters and plots in comparision to Tolkien's. Being a VERY BIG anime fan myself, I was very excited to see this in her book.

Ditto what everybody else said about Tolkien in the Land of Heroes. I got it based on the Amazon reviews and it totally lived up to what they said. Conversational style with an impressive knowledge of Tolkien. Best book on Tolkien I've read this year.

I'm reading this book now and love it. A friend gave it to me for my birthday because I'm obsessed with Tolkien. Everytime I go in the bookstores I always check the Tolkien shelves for anything new and there was this one I had not seen before. I haven't put it down since I got it. I finally understand the 'big picture' of what Middle-earth and Tolkien's world view was all about. I tried The Silmarillion a couple of times and couldn't really get into it, but I think now I'll try it again, because there is a great discussion of the Fall of the Elves, starting with Feanor and the silmarillion jewels. I reccommend this book to any Tolkien fans.

Solid scholarly content in a readable, thought-provoking format. Not just another "Tolkien" bandwagon effort, this is another fine book from Petty. More readable than her first one, which I assume was her doctoral dissertation. Much mature thinking here, with good awareness of the general reader.

What I liked best about this Tolkien book was the approach. It's written by a Tolkien scholar, but the style is highly readable. It was like having a conversation with someone, looking at all the general Tolkien issues from a couple of different points of view, and maybe deciding that there's not any one right answer. She poses intriguing questions as well as offering answers; this book makes you think. A couple of times I laughed out loud, too. Thoroughly enjoyable and interesting. A valuable addition to my Tolkien books collection.

This is a very interesting book. It throws yet more light on the richness of Tolkien's mind and learning, and of the world he created. Plainly this is a mine from which much treasure is yet to be dug!

To compliment it I would recommend Hal GP Colebatch's "Return of the Heroes." This looks at Tolkien's relevance to modern mythologies.