New preface to the Silmarillion? *For those who keep track of new reissues*

Just a quick question: I noticed on Amazon.co.uk (while I live in America, new copies of The Road Goes Ever On are hard to come by on this side of the pond) that a printing of the Silmarillion was released in July 2006 that is said to contain a "preface" by Tolkien the elder. Is this something new, or is it the same letter to Milton Waldman they've been printing for the past 8 years? If anyone happened to buy it or look through it at the bookstore, I'd like to know if it us American fans were missing something (although I suppose that would be justice, since we get video games so much earlier than you).

Oh, and another question: Is there anything new in that huge three-volume History of Middle-earth set? Like a new forward or something?

[davem]

Originally Posted by johnboy3434

Just a quick question: I noticed on Amazon.co.uk (while I live in America, new copies of The Road Goes Ever On are hard to come by on this side of the pond) that a printing of the Silmarillion was released in July 2006 that is said to contain a "preface" by Tolkien the elder. Is this something new, or is it the same letter to Milton Waldman they've been printing for the past 8 years? If anyone happened to buy it or look through it at the bookstore, I'd like to know if it us American fans were missing something (although I suppose that would be justice, since we get video games so much earlier than you).

Oh, and another question: Is there anything new in that huge three-volume History of Middle-earth set? Like a new forward or something?

Same old same old. The 2006 Sil is the revised second ed. with the Waldman letter & there's nothing new in the 3 vol HoM-e. The Sil edition is much better quality in terms of production & materials used than Harper-Collin's previous editions & is part of a uniform edition of Tolkien's M-e works (3 vol. LotR, Sil, UT & forthcoming Hobbit 70th anniversary) with matte dustjackets showing Tolkien's original paintings. I've read there may be a new foreword by CT for the 70th anniversary Hobbit...

Whew... thanks a lot, man! I've already read just about every book Tolkien wrote about Middle-earth, but I mostly got them in trade paperbacks and stuff since they were cheaper. Well, fast forward about five years and, sure enough, they're all going to pieces. Since I had a big pile of cash set aside from tutoring struggling kids in math (I almost felt guilty: the prices we charge for that sort of thing are almost highway robbery), I figured I'd get the best hardback editions of all of them. For those Americans interested in collecting all of them, these are my picks:

The Annotated Hobbit (2002)
http://www.amazon.com/Annotated-Hobb...dp/0618134700/

The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition (2004)
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-50t...dp/0618517650/

Poems and Stories (1994)* [Contains "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil"]
http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Stories-...dp/0395689996/

The Road Goes Ever On (2002) [Also contains "Bilbo's Last Song"]
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Goes-Ev...dp/0007136552/

The Silmarillion: Illustrated by Ted Nasmith (2004)
http://www.amazon.com/Silmarillion-J...dp/0618391118/

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (2001)
http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Num...dp/0618154043/

The Book of Lost Tales: Part One (1984)
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Tale...dp/0395354390/

The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two (1984)
http://www.amazon.com/Book-Lost-Tale...dp/0395366143/

The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
http://www.amazon.com/Lays-Beleriand...dp/0395394295/

The Shaping of Middle-earth: the Quenta, the Ambarkanta, and the Annals (1986)
http://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Middle...dp/0395425018/

The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Other-Wri...dp/0395455197/

The Return of the Shadow: The History of "The Lord of the Rings," Part One (1989)
http://www.amazon.com/Return-Shadow-...dp/0395498635/

The Treason of Isengard: The History of "The Lord of the Rings," Part Two (1989)
http://www.amazon.com/Treason-Isenga...dp/0395515629/

The War of the Ring: The History of "The Lord of the Rings," Part Three (1990)
http://www.amazon.com/War-Ring-Histo...dp/039556008X/

Sauron Defeated: Including The History of "The Lord of the Rings," Part Four (1992)
http://www.amazon.com/Sauron-Defeate...dp/0395606497/

Morgoth's Ring: The Later Silmarillion, Part One (1993)
http://www.amazon.com/Morgoths-Ring-...dp/0395680921/

The War of the Jewels: The Later Silmarillion, Part Two (1994)
http://www.amazon.com/War-Jewels-Sil...dp/0395710413/

The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Middle...dp/0395827604/

The Children of Húrin (2007)
http://www.amazon.com/Children-Hurin...dp/0618904417/

While the majority of this next book is not by Tolkien, it does contain a linguistic essay of his called "Guide to the Names in 'The Lord of the Rings.'"

"The Lord of the Rings:" A Reader's Companion (2005)
http://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Rea...dp/0618642676/

If all of these books don't slake your thirst for Middle-earth, there's a two-volume set of books coming to the US in a month or two. They cover the development of "The Hobbit" in much the same way that the History of Middle-earth series covered "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmariliion."

Well, That was probably a wasted effort, but there's always a chance this list might be helpful to some newer fans to the series.

*There is a deluxe version of this book released in the UK in 1980, but the prices people ask for are unreasonable (upwards of $150). If you've got the cash, I'd suggest you scoop up the deluxe version, but most will want to stick with the one listed.

[davem]

Well, I'd avoid the Houghton Mifflin 50th anniversary LotR deluxe edition. It looks very nice from a distance, but close up you can see the poor quality. The 'leather' binding is only a little thicker than tissue paper, & if you check out reviews of it you'll notice lots of complaints about damage. Worst part is the little blobs of rubber glue which they've used to hold the maps folded - its very difficult to open up the things up without leaving tiny surface tears. The Harper Collins one is a bit more solid, but about double the price - & the quarter binding is paper, which seems a bit cheap somehow. For preference (if I was going for something currently available that is) I'd go for the Harper Collins 3 volume H/B set - decent bindings & Tolkien's own cover designs. That said, probably the best edition in terms of quality is the Folio Society edition.

However, the old Allen & Unwin editions are still superior in every way. I recently got a 1966 first edition LotR hardback set & a '71 second edition TT & they're good quality work, designed to last, unlike most current hardback books. The older Harper Collins Tolkien hardbacks (published pre 2005 when this new edition started) were dreadful quality.

BTW, the History of the Hobbit 2 volume set has been out over here for a few months. I've read volume 1 & a chunk of volume 2. Very interesting stuff.

While I'm sure the quality of the books is finer elsewhere (you seem to know a lot more about it than I do), this list was specifically targeted at American Tolkien fans. As such, I listed American editions and links so they can buy it at the bookstore instead of getting it online (some prefer this because of the "instant gratification" factor). The only exceptions I made were when something relatively significant was added to a foreign edition and was not released Stateside (like the addition of Lúthien Tinúviel to "The Road Goes Ever On"), and when a work wasn't released Stateside at all (the HoMe Index, which probably won't ever be released, considering it's been five years since its publication). The same goes with the HotH books: that haven't shown up on our side of the Atlantic, yet.

If it was supposed to list the best versions overall, I would have looked into the foreign editions with more scrutiny, and probably changed a few entries (such as the condensing of the HoMe into three volumes). Oh, and offhand, what exactly is "deluxe" about the deluxe edition of Poems and Stories that makes it worth $200+? Is it some sort of protective jacket, some extra illustrations, or what? Despite its out-of print status, I chose Poems and Stories because it is the largest collection of Tolkien's works that includes "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" (well, A Tolkien Miscellany has Gawain, Pearl, and Orfeo in place of Beorhtnoth, but I chose the latter because it was actually a work written from scratch by Tolkien, instead of a translation of a preexisting work).