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Summary: Must Have For Serious Middle-Earth Fans
Review: When I first purchased this book, the clerk at the bookstore told me that they had not sold any until that moment. She went on to explain that the books had been accidentally shelved in the travel section for months. Once I got the book home, I could understand how the error was made.This volume brings Middle-Earth to life so vividly, you might think you could plan your vacation there. The movements of Tolkien's characters and people can be traced with astounding detail that puts many geography textbooks to shame. My only regret is that I did not have a copy of the Atlas when I first read Lord of the Rings. When next I enter the land of Hobbits, you better believe I will have this guide in hand. If you are planning a trip there sometime soon, I whole-heartedly recommend it to you too.
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Summary: One of your best friends when reading Red Book!
Review: I've just recieved The Atlas, and now I know what you need when you read The Red Book of Westmarch: The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth by Robert Foster & The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. If maps of The Hobbit, The Lord of The Rings and The Silmarillion aren't sufficent for you, and you always ask questions like "Where is Valinor -exactly?" "What happens behind Middle-Earth?" "How fast Shadowfax really is?" or "How life is arranged in The Bag-End?", you must possess The Atlas.
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Summary: Wow!
Review: I always wondered where Valinar was. I was amazed at the detail. A must have for any Tolkien fan!
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Summary: Your official tour guide to Middle-earth..
Review: If you've ever been one flipping to the maps in "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings" , or "The Silmarillion" to see where the action is taking place, then this book is for you. Karen Wynn Fonstad has done a remarkable job of mapping Middle-earth. The atlas is broken down into various sections, each easy to navigate to find what you're looking for. The First Age section is perfect for readers of "The Silmarillion", all the important places are mapped along with ample notes and observations. The Second Age deals with the fall of Numenor, a worthy companion to those reading "Unfinished Tales". The majority of the book deals with the Third Age. This is where "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" takes place. There are maps showing the kingdoms of the Dunedain as well as the migration of the dwarves and the hobbits. There are regional maps detailing the Shire, the Misty Mountains, Eriador, and Mordor. Two lengthy sections are devoted to the Hobbit and LotR, showing all the key places in the books. Fantastic maps to look over again and again. Towards the end of the book are included the thematic maps. Very interesting. These show the landforms, climate, vegetation, population and languages spoken. Overall, if you're remotely interesting in learning more about Middle-earth, or you're just interested in great maps, pick this up. Enjoy.
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Summary: Reading Tolkien? Buy it NOW!
Review: This is essential for first-time Tolkien readers and for experienced too. I bought it to read The Lord of The Rings, and I must admit, I would have lost an important part of the book if I hadn't purchased this one, since it is so descriptive. It has all the creation of Arda (the world of Tolkien), it's ages, geographic formation, climate, vegetation, language distribution, and specifics sections for both LOTR and "The Hobbit", which cover almost a third of the book. In these sections you can find the path of the Fellowship and their "fragments", specific maps of cities and locations with different views, everything with complete and informative texts aside. The maps are very well-drawn, with two colors and legends, dates of arrivals and campings. The book itself is a charming paperback edition, a large book with yellow thick pages and everything. A complete atlas, revised edition with one third of the maps new compared to the older edition. A must-have.
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Summary: Hard to imagine, no problem.... see it for yourself
Review: if you're one of those who just can't imagine what Midle Earth would be like, then this is the oportunity to see it for yourself. K.W. Fonstad draw almost all the places where took place the Lord of the Rings, woth the entire traveling path of Frodo and the companion.
But that's not all, cause she also darws the Midle Earth before the big changes, so if you're reading the Silmarillion or any 1st or 2nd age ambiented book, you can have now the perfect tool to iamgine all those land transitions and all those changes that you just couldn't imaginate.
Also a nice tool for those who play rol games, cuase you can counter with a faithful testimony of the geography of the Midle Earth, so now you can make the game even more realistic. I must have for all Tolkien and ME fan
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Summary: Not just maps, but an excellent summary of M-E history.
Review: If you're like me--you've read all the basic Tolkien books many times and still can't keep the thousands of years of ebb-and-flow history straight--the "Atlas" is your answer. Besides all the clever and beautiful maps, there is a lot of helpful text. I hope Ms. Fonstad issues a third edition reflecting the "History of Middle Earth" volumes published since 1991.
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Summary: A "must" for all Tolkien fans.
Review: For this of you who don't know about Karen Fonstadt (In the words of Studs Terckle " She knows from whence she speaks". Karen Fonstad. Is a professional cartographer who holds a master's degree in that field. Karen has taught at University of Wisconsin system campuses since the mid-eighties. Along with her other professional as a cartographer; one of her secondary interests is to give life and substance to fantasy worlds. I can tell you from the standpoint of my own experience (as I sat in on many of her presentations), when she talks at an academic conference on the geography of Middle Earth, the room is not only filled with your usual academic suspects many of whom have devoted their careers to the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The room has a surprising number of fantasy game designers, and marketing executives who are in the room to get it right since Tolkien's work has inspired a whole secondary industry, which now has moved well into its third fourth and fifth generations, with perhaps the major film effort of the new millennium on deck for the late fall of year 2000, the word on the street is that it make the last episode of Star Wars look like the Three Stooges" So I ask you why not trick a kid into getting interested in something what a great way to get a kid interested in geography which is sadly not even taught on the primary and secondary level any longer. Sadly it has the reputations as a boring subject. But Tolkien built an imagery world, which was based on the axioms of our real world, which were only changed and extrapolated in a manner, which would be logically consistent. Tolkien says it best in the forward to the one volume deluxe leather bound Lord of the Rings copyright 1987 16th printing. " As for the inner meaning or message it has in the intention of the author none... But I cordially dislike allegory in all of its manifestations and I have always done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect it's presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thoughts and experiences of readers." (Tolkien, Second Letter p3.-p4., forward.) So where does the magic lie with Tolkien. A crusty old Tolkien scholar who to some looks more like a bear than a person has allowed me to draw from his unpublished work. He authorized this quote but made me promise to withhold his. You see he has this feeling that people are after him, and he has this ring that he wishes he could get rid but its is just so very neat. "We are looking at how each author includes or excludes the reader in the process of constructing and gaining pleasure from the text... -- Philip Kaveny, Reviewer
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Summary: Monumental
Review: Lord of the Rings is an amazing book. The Atlas of Middle Earth is an amazing companion volume to go with it. Unlike Pern, Middle Earth is far too complex to visualize perfectly, and the atlas of it is a remarkable (and perfectly accurate) resource. All of the maps are annotated and all the sources are quoted on those very pages. Likewise, maps of all scales are provided - from the grand global views to small views of towns and single buildings. Everything is done in a marvelous sepia hue, The book almost passes for an ancient manuscript. This work is, without argument, the most necessary resource for someone embarking to read any of Tolkien's books.
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Summary: Detallado
Review: Yo tengo este libro,y me ha servido mucho para hacerme una idea los bosques, cavernas y palacios descritos en la saga del SdLA. Incluso tiene planos estrategicos de las batallas (mi favorita es la de los 5 ejercitos). Es una pieza de coleccion para cualquier fanatico de Tolkien.
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