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Summary: A true masterpiece of literature
Review: The entire Lord of The Ring trilogy, starting with this book, is that rare thing which is so often mentioned in literature, but that is so rarely wholly and totally true: the undisputed masterpiece. This book shows that Tolkien's imagination must have been truly boundless. This book starts the trilogy by recounting the events of The Hobbit - adding to them, and greatly enrichening them - and weaving them into the whole tale of the Ring. It then goes on to tell of the forming of the Fellowship, and sets them off on their journey. The book is so epic, so wide in scope that the reader comes away from it feeling that they have just read a true account, an actual happening from an actual world, such is the book's power. Tolkien has really described the whole world of Middle-Earth and all its peoples in such striking and vivid detail that one cannot help but be in awe. Apart from merely the striking array of richly drawn characters (which is a marvel in itself), Tolkien has even created languages and entire histories for these peoples (the Hobbits, of course, being gone into in particular depth.) This is a tale so epic, so novel, so bold that you are bound to like it, regardless of your literary conventions. Tolkien's writing is very smooth (though oldish seeming, and a lot different from what we see to day - modern readers will notice his overuse of semicolons; this, of course, only adds to the book's marvel and sense of wonder), and very poetic at times. It almost feels like you're reading poetry, or prose, when you are reading the passages. (There are, of course, lots of actual songs in it as well.) Not that the book is perfect. It is a bit overlong: some bits drag (some of the walking bits seem particularly slow, as does The Council of Elrond, necessary though it is.) There are also too many songs for my taste (ingenious though they are.) Still, few books come closer to mastery than does this ingenious volume. This is one of the books that everybody should be able to say that they've read.
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Summary: Get this for hours of listening fun
Review: This review is more about the CD than the contents of the book. To learn about what the Lord of the Rings is about, please look elsewhere.I have owned the books for many years, I own a dramatization of the books on CD called "The Lord of the Rings (Mind's Eye Version)" and now I bought this version. I was doubtful at first if I should spend the money to basically buy something I already owned twice - I didn't regret it for one second.
Rob Inglis (the narrator), a recognized Shakespeare actor, is doing an outstanding job on these 16 CDs (and there are 30 more for the next two books), each with more than 1 hour of playtime and divided into tracks of approx. 3 minutes each. His reading style, using distinctly different voices for each character without any additional sound effects or music, draws you very deeply into Tolkiens world. I enjoy listening to this undramatized version a lot more than the dramatized version I own. If you liked the book, you will love this version on CD.
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Summary: The ultimate journey
Review: This book is about the journey of Frodo and his companions. Frodo is a hobbit who lives in the Shire with his uncle, Bilbo Baggins. On the day that the book starts, it is Frodo's and Bilbo's birthday and Bilbo celebrates with a grand party with presents for all. In the middle of the party Bilbo vanishes and leaves a ring for Frodo. This ring is the beginning of his journey and the end of his normal life. Frodo learns of the power of the ring and of the dark forces of Sauron, who wish to steal the ring and slay its bearer. Frodo begins his journey with his companion Sam Gamgee. In the rest of the book, they acquire more alliances and companions to aid them in their quest to destroy the ring and save middle earth, and this is known as The Fellowship of the Ring.
This book is recommended because of the suspense of Frodo's journey and the story behind it. There are many good chapters in the book, and it will rarely leave readers with a boring moment. Readers may wish that the book had is a bit more detail on the story behind the Ring Wraiths of Mordor. The book is a bit hard to understand if read through too fast because of the old style speech that some of the characters use. In some chapters, readers must really pay attention, such as The Council of Elrond, because of the detail Tolkien goes into and what will become of the ring. If one likes fantasy books with elves, orcs, goblins and wizards, read this book.
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Summary: Greatest Epic Ever Written!
Review: This trilogy has to be one of the greatest epic ever written. The book will be pass on from one generations to the next. It has to be one of the greatest book ever written. Mr. Tolkien started all the middle earth, hobbits, orcs, dwarfts, and etc. He will always be remember as the greatest author ever! A must read for everyone who knows how to read.
Rating: 
Summary: ok book
Review: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in a trilogy of books by J.R.R. Tolkien, titled the Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring is about the forming of the fellowship and the beginning of the quest.
The book starts out in a land called middle-earth. In middle-earth, many different creatures live. There is a place in middle-earth, called the Shire. most of the hobbits live in the shire. Frodo, after finding out the truth to his inherited ring, has to begin a journey to a place called Rivendell. Along the way, Frodo and his managiere face many strange foes and meet many new friends. Upon entering Rivendell, an elf by the name of Elrond forms the Fellowship of the Ring. Elrond chooses 9 beings to go on the quest, some Frodo knew and some he didn't. The Fellowship faced many hardships along the way and even lost some of their members.
This book was an overall good book. The only things that I didn't like is how there are some really slow parts, for example there would sometimes be 15-25 page long stretches were the book only talks about how the Fellowship is walking. Then there was too many poems and songs. There were also some really interesting added bits to the book. Tolkien gave a history to the peoples of middle-earth and also created several languages.
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Summary: The Fellowship of the ring.
Review: This is the one of the best books I have ever read because it is a story of an adventure and love to read adventure books. I knew this was going to be a great book because I have read the Hobit and that was a good book too. Yet I wouldn't read any of the Lord of the Rings books until you've read the Hobit because the Hobit is the first book of the series and would be confusing if you didn't read the Hobit first. The Fellowship of Ring may be a long book, over 400 pages, but is a great book none the less and is worth spending a little time to read it. If you like books about dragons, wizards and other fantasy characters this would be a great book for you because what the book is about a hobit, who's the heir of Bilbo, must overcome many difficulties to try to get the ONE RING destroyed by tossing it in the belly of Mt. Doom.
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Summary: Tom Bombadil
Review: hey, ive been wondering why was tom bombadil excluded from the movie? One of my friends reminded me of that... who was he again? i barely remember him.. anyway this is an excellent book i really suggest u read it!
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Summary: You gotta read the book
Review: I am not a real fan of fantasy literature and this is a book that has sat on my shelf for years. One of those "I should read this but will get to it one day" books. When I knew the movie was coming out, I picked up and read ... and read ... and read. I now understand why Tolkien is considered a master of the English language. He has a unique nack of creating this world and bringing you in to it like you were there. I would put Tolkien down as one of my favorite authors now along with Dostovesky and Jane Austen. In a way that Dostevesky takes a reader into the psyche of his characters and Miss Austen into the manners of her day, Tolkien takes the reader into a world that you don't want to leave.
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Summary: The Lord Of The Rings
Review: This book was a wonderful book! I recommend it to people who like long adventurous books. Kids would love this book as well.
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Summary: "I will take the Ring, though I do not know the way"
Review: It is quite difficult to review a book which is generally acknowledged as a masterpiece; there is the danger of merely repeating the praises heaped on the book by earlier reviewers, and there is also the difficulty of doing justice to the book's greatness. Fortunately, the release of Peter Jackson's excellent film adaptation of "The Fellowship of the Ring" gives me a fresh perspective from which to review J.R.R. Tolkien's novel.
If you enjoyed the movie, you should read the book, which you will almost certainly also enjoy, even if in a different way. One of the glories of Jackson's film is its great richness and depth, the feeling it gives the viewer of stepping into an unfamiliar but real world with a long history. The reason Jackson's film is able to produce this effect is that the world in which it takes place had already been created, and imagined in almost unbelievable detail, by J.R.R. Tolkien. Far more even than the movie, Tolkien's book lets the reader share the hobbits' experience of wandering out of their doors into a world with a detailed and believable history, a multitude of different mortal and immortal races with distinct cultures and languages, and a well-defined geography (maps are included in the book). I must place special emphasis on the linguistic depth of Tolkien's world: Tolkien, a distinguished philologist, invented around fifteen languages for the inhabitants of his imaginary world to speak. (The "Star Trek" Universe, by contrast, contains only one language, Klingon, which has been devised in any detail.) Moreover, as with any cinematic adaptation of a work of literature, Jackson's movie leaves out characters, events and scenes from the book. These elements are waiting in Tolkien's text for fans of the movie to discover them. In particular, the chapters involving a character named Tom Bombadil are among the best parts of the book, although they had to be left out of the movie to keep it down to a reasonable length. Anyone who has not yet seen the movie should certainly read the book first; it's best if you imagine the characters and events of the book yourself and then compare your visions to the movie version. Like the movie, Tolkien's book is often astonishingly relevant to our post-September 11 world. The film's exchange between Frodo and Gandalf in which Frodo wishes the Shadow of evil had not arisen in his time comes directly from the book, which also contains a few other moments that resonate strongly with the current world situation. Tolkien was writing "The Lord of the Rings" during World War II, but he did not intend it as an allegory of that war or of any other specific situation; rather, he hoped that readers would feel free to find his work applicable to any scenario they might see reflected in it. "The Fellowship of the Ring" is, in fact, not a novel, but the first volume of the three-part novel "The Lord of the Rings." Anyone who reads the book and sees the movie of "Fellowship" will surely want to read the two subsequent volumes, "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King," to find out what happens to the characters without having to wait for the release of the two subsequent movies at Christmas in 2002 and 2003.
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