Master of Middle-Earth : The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien

Rating:
Summary: Outdated but essential
Review: The author is deceased, and the text has never been altered since its original publication in 1972, so some of its facts are outdated. But the bulk of the book remains insightful and useful: nothing published since has invalidated Kocher's discussion of the moral stances and the nature of evil shown in LotR. He also provides the best analysis ever published of the character of Aragorn, and what are still the only studies of the rare poems "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" and "Imram". But it would have been nice to have added a footnote saying that "Imram" is now easily available in its original context (unknown to Kocher) of The Notion Club Papers (in Sauron Defeated, p. 296-9).

Rating:
Summary: Useful guide
Review: This book sets out Kocher's interpretation of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The main weakness of this book is the scant coverage of The Silmarillion - perhaps understandable as Kocher has another book devoted to it.

Kocher had a law dgree and a PhD, both fron Stanford, where he also taught English. He may have practised law - which may account for his lawyerly analysis in this book of Aragorn as the key character of Middle Earth.

If you read only one book to help you along as you read Tolkien's books, this could be a good choice. (Another would be Robert Foster's Complete Guide to Middle Earth.)