The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (Cliffs Notes)

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Accurate
Review: Although it is not a substitute for these four great books (there are so many errors and things like that), this Cliff Notes edition is a pretty good read for a fan of the books or a person struggling with them. It is a lot better than the Barron's Book Notes, to say the least. First, The Hobbit summary is really good. Except for a few minor inaccuracies, this is a very good summary of the Hobbit, probably the best one out there. Even the LOTR one is okay, except for they use all kinds of politically correct terms (Black Riders are Dark Riders), and other miscillany (the Hardy dude does not even mention where Bilbo is going, until the Rivendell part). So, if you need help with the books, this will suffice. Also of note: the whole part in the back about the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ages is really a summary of the Silmarillion. Go figure.

Rating:
Summary: The whole concept is disgusting!
Review: The whole concept is disgusting! The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings are books meant to be read with love, joy and wonderment, NOT turned into texts to be read as exercises in drudgery and compulsion. It makes me furious that idiots and barbarians should so turn these books into texts and so kill children's love for them. It does not matter if they are accurate or not, they are WRONG!

Rating:
Summary: Passable, but Full of Many Errors
Review: While this Cliffs Notes is a fairly good synopsis of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it is nonetheless full of minor inaccuracies. For instance, Dr. Hardy uses the plural 'Dunedain' as a name for Aragorn, when he should have used the singular Dunadan. He states that Faramir and his company engage the 'men of the east' in Ithilien, when they in fact engaged the Southrons. Little things like calling 'The Old Forest' simply Old Forest, or "The Morannon" simply Morannon are annoying to the Tolkien purist. So is his habit of calling the Black Riders 'Dark Riders', a term which I suspect was used in an effort at political correctness by Dr. Hardy, though Professor Tolkien didn't use it. Calling Galadriel's powers 'psychic', as Dr. Hardy does, may not be wholly untrue, but it is hardly a word that captures the essence of her Elven magic. And speaking of Saruman's staff as a 'magic wand' also misses the mark, I think. To folks who have not read the book (who are after all the target audience, I suppose), this Cliffs Notes is a pretty good summary. To Tolkien fans with an eye for detail, finding all Dr. Hardy's little mistakes will at least provide an evenings entertainment.