Rating: 
Summary: A great edition of a fantastic book.
Review: "The Hobbit," J.R.R. Tolkien's classic of children's fantasy, is regarded as such for good reason - it is fun, light-hearted, full of adventure, episodic in nature and simply BEGS to be read out loud. All this combines for a perfect adventure tale.This annotated edition ads a slew of illustrations from throughout the world and dozens of annotations explaining the origins of names, details on early drafts and story ideas, and other interesting tidbits. The illustrations are wonderful, representing interpretations of Tolkien's text from a wide variety of cultures, and the annotations, while not providing knowledge vital to understanding "The Hobbit," are interesting. Before reading "The Hobbit," those fresh from "The Lord of the Rings" should know in advance, the tone here is much lighter than the 'trilogy.' The writing is very much meant for children. That doesn't mean an adult can't enjoy this - adults read Harry Potter, after all - just that this is not cut from the same mold as "Rings." Be prepared to read a children's book, because that's what this is. For those willing to plunge into children's fantasy, "The Hobbit" is a pure delight. Bilbo Baggins, a homebody of a hobbit (a small humanlike creature), is pulled into an adventure with a wizard, Gandalf, and a group of dwarves. Their quest is to venture across dangerous mountains and dark forests to reclaim treasure stolen by a terrible dragon, Smaug. What follows is a series of adventures that have our heroes meeting trolls, goblins, wolves, giant spiders, elves and more. Each encounter is an adventure unto itself, with a thrilling climax that leads us to the next. The adventure is nonstop. Each chapter brings a new discovery. Fans of Middle Earth will find plenty to enjoy here. We see our first glimpses of Gollum and the One Ring. Elrond appears in Rivendell. We hear about Middle Earth's ancient lore, see the origins of famous swords like Sting, and meet dwarves who play a part in "The Lord of the Rings." The cross references will bring a smile to your face and will enhance your enjoyment of the famous trilogy. Just be prepared for the light, brisk tone. For those looking to explore Tolkien's world or simply looking for a good children's fantasy, "The Hobbit" is a no brainer. This Annotated Edition would make an especially nice gift for ardent Tolkien fans.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: "The Hobbit" is one of the best-beloved books out there, for either kids or adults -- it's cute, funny, charming and very well-written. (In general, stories that were originally created to entertain kids are the best) Author J.R.R. Tolkien first scribbed down the opening line of this book on an extra sheet of paper, and later concocted a complex and colorful bedtime story for his kids... "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." That hobbit is the determinedly normal Bilbo Baggins, whose comfortably boring life is turned upside-down when the wise wizard Gandalf turns up with thirteen dwarves. But they're not there just to abuse Bilbo's hospitality -- they're there to recruit him as a burglar, so that they can sneak back to the old dwarf stronghold of Lonely Mountain and reclaim it from the dragon Smaug. Before Bilbo knows what's happening, he's being whisked off with the dwarves and Gandalf across Middle-Earth. His odd journey rapidly turns dangerous when they are captured by goblins, he is forced to riddle with a withered creature, finds a golden Ring that will turn its wearer invisible, and they are nearly devoured by monstrous spiders. And he hasn't even gotten to the Mountain yet -- where the dragon is still sleeping. I was seven years old when I first read "The Hobbit," which wasn't even the start of my appreciation for Tolkien. Now with the movie trilogy partly released, a new buzz of interest around anything and everything "Lord of the Rings"-related has brought "The Hobbit" back into bookstore displays. This is a less serious, dark book than the Rings trilogy, but the charming tone and delightful, unexpectedly brave unlikely hero Bilbo will delight both kids and adults. At a bookstore recently, I saw a teenage boy insisting that "Hobbit" was not a children's book, because he still read it. (The final chapters hint at the future epic battles of the "Rings" trilogy, and several plot threads are picked up in those books as well, so note the details...) "The Annotated Hobbit" is a special treat for Tolkien fans, or just people who want to know more about this book and about Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Pictures (Tolkien's own) are included in the middle of it; Douglas Anderson includes plenty of careful footnoting, citing works of mythology, legend, and careful usage of other books by Tolkien to back up his commentary. (For example, one major question is answered: Do Elves have pointy ears? Answer: Yes, and check this book to see why) The binding is nice and tight, the cover is one of Tolkien's illustrations (Smaug on the dwarves' gold), the paper is smooth and very pale so that the words are always clearly visible. Needless to say, if you liked the movies or the books, you'll adore "Hobbit." If you haven't read it, then do so. And then check out "Annotated Hobbit," with its extras and bonuses. Great read.
Rating:
Summary: A must have for Tolkien fans
Review: Every Tolkien fan/collector should add this book to their list of must haves. Even though delayed in publishing, it is well worth the wait. The quality of the work and time, research that went into it, is wonderful. Great illustrations and artwork. Included is the full text of THE QUEST OF EREBOR,which was omitted from the appendix to The Lord of the Rings.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating geographical insights
Review: Having lived two years in Switzerland, I always suspected the valley of Rivendell was influenced by the Lauterbrunnen area beneath the Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau, near Interlaken, and that the Lonely Mountain looked a bit Matterhornesque. Nice to have these suspicions confirmed by this wonderful book, especially now that everyone thinks Middle Earth looks like New Zealand.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book
Review: I bought this book as a gift for my brother who is also a big Tolkien fan. When the package arrived, I was tempted to keep the book for myself! The book is hardcover and filled with beautiful pages featuring the published version of The Hobbit, as well as notes and other information in the margin. There are bits of info on where Tolkien came up with some of the ideas for parts of the story and some of the original, unpublished text from the first draft. Beautiful artwork from several previous editions of The Hobbit also accompanies the story. The Annotated Hobbit is definitely a book all Tolkien fans should add to their collection, even if they already own other versions of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: great but not outstanding
Review: I enjoyed Anderson's book, especially the background into Tolkien's sources and early writings that is invaluable. I must say I have read the Hobbit at least 100 times and yet I have never enjoyed reading it as much as when I read it with Anderson's anotations. I especially appreciated the philological background into the many proper names and archaic words that Tolkien used. What is a "carrock"or what does "confusticate and bebother" mean? Now I know! I also enjoyed the immense number of illustrations that were included, many of them sketches and pictures made by J.R.R himself. Alas, they are not in color, most are black and white prints of original color pictures. If more had been invested in the visual quality of this book, it would have greatly added to the level of pleasure in the words of Tolkien that Anderson's comments bring out. Still worth the money, hopefully Anderson will add color in the next edition
Rating:
Summary: Great Version of The Hobbit
Review: I highly recommend the Annotated Hobbit for any Tolkien fan. It is oozing with alternate information that makes reading "the Hobbit" more interesting than it all ready is. Great for reference.
Rating:
Summary: A Mixed Bag
Review: I thoroughly appreciate the illustrations of how the Hobbit has been illustrated in other countries that are included in this edition. The introduction is first rate, though mysteriously it uses end notes while the rest of the book uses annotation in the margin. The notes that delve into the possible sources and influences on Tolkien's thought and work are mostly interesting and informative. The main negative I find is how many marginal notes are devoted to textual variants between the various editions. For example, in the section where the company meets the trolls, a note explains one version has "they dropped him" while another version has "he dropped him." Although the textual variant notes are usually more extensive than this, they are an uninteresting disappointment to me. The level of detail is high, but at times, almost to the point of being pedantic. Still, if you love the work of Tolkien, you will find this version enjoyable as well.
Rating:
Summary: Really Fascinating
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed The Annotated Hobbit when it was first released in the late 1980s, and when I heard it was to be re-released at first I thought I wouldn't bother with another copy. Then I saw the new edition and was amazed. There are many, many more notes, pictures of different editions, and illustrations in general. So even if you have the first edition, this is well worth the price. The real joy of reading an annotated book, especially one as beloved as The Hobbit, is the additional insight one gets into the author's "creative juices" or as Tokien himself said "the leaf mould of the mind." The Annotated Hobbit is additionally valuable in this respect because Tokien was a painstaking and thorough author, who concerned himself with every niggling detail of his world and of the concrete details of his book's publication.
Rating:
Summary: Rediscover "The Hobbit" in annotated and illustrated detail
Review: I was invited to do a public radio talk show about what books to buy for the holiday season and I decided to play the Ghost of Christmas Past and argued for finding old beloved books to give as presents (or, in my case cards: I give books instead of cards). I also talked about the joy of rediscovering beloved books through annotated editions, and "The Annotated Hobbit" of J. R. R. Tolkien annotated by Douglas A. Anderson was my prime example. After all, "The Two Towers" was about to hit theaters and even as I write this I have learned that yesterday would have been Tolkien's "Eleventeenth" birthday. An annotated version of book involves much more than simply rereading a book. If that was all I want to do I still have my illustrated edition of "The Hobbit" will pictures from the Arthur Rankin, Jr./Jules Bass animated production of the story. The annotated edition of "The Hobbit" provides an explication of the sources, characters, places, and things that made Tolkien's novel a classic. The text is fully restored and corrected, for those who care about such things, with Anderson's notes placed alongside for easy reference. That along would justify adding this volume to your Tolkien library, but in addition there over 150 illustrations, including Tolkien's own original line drawings, maps, and color paintings. Those, of course, are treasures, but Anderson has also provided illustrations from around the world and the most fascinating part of this book for me was looking at how, for example, Bilbo and the Trolls were drawn for Portuguese, Slovakian, and Swedish edition of "The Hobbit." "The Annotated Hobbit" won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inkling Studies, which sounds very impressive (and I even have some inkling at the what it means). This is one of those treasures where you would give five stars for the story, five stars for the annotations, and five stars for the illustrations. Granted, this is not the first edition of "The Hobbit" anyone should read. But after you have read "The Hobbit" a few times and gone through "The Lord of the Rings" at least twice (the trilogy itself and not the movies), then it would be time to settle down and pour over this revised and expanded annotated edition.
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