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The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien by Wayne G. Hammond, J.R.R. Tolkien, Christina Scull
winterscape's review against another edition
5.0
Not only does the artwork bring Middle Earth to life again, stirring up so many childhood memories, but the included self-deprecating quotes bring to life Tolkien the man, who states that his drawings "are not very good" and that some things are "better left to someone who can draw." As the book suggests, the reader will likely have a more charitable opinion. I was left in awe at how much of himself he put into the process, how much of The Hobbit is truly one man's achievement, from each word to each ink stroke.
The noted motif of the trailing road inviting the viewer into an unknown adventure ("The road goes ever on and on...") is one that made me tear up. Without realising, I have kept a photo I took of exactly this--a path of stone steps disappearing into a shaded wood--as my phone background for years. This book reminded me that Tolkien, and The Hobbit specifically, has had a profound influence over the way I see the world. I can't recommend it highly enough!
saaraa96's review against another edition
4.0
اول توضیحات لوکیشن ها رو داشت. بعد اسکچ های مرحله به مرحله شون رو.
دیدن طرح های کار خودش لذت بخش بودن.
آها نویسنده برا یه سری قسمت ها گشته بود از چک نویس ها و نسخه های نادر نقشه اینای محل رو پیدا کرده بود و اون تیکه ها هم آورده بود.
بعد این طرح هایی که تاکین زده فقط برا نقشه، اژدها و محیط و اینا نیست ها، این جناب گرفته جدا کننده فصل ها و اینا هم خودش طراحی کرده.
neilrcoulter's review against another edition
5.0
I love beautiful [a:Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1383526938p2/656983.jpg] books, and I love beautiful art books. [b:The Art Of The Hobbit|11870160|The Art Of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien|Wayne G. Hammond|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1322352371s/11870160.jpg|16827542] is a beautiful Tolkien art book (and I love it). We own a lot of Tolkien books (I have a hard time resisting any new edition of [b:The Hobbit|5907|The Hobbit (Middle-Earth Universe)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1372847500s/5907.jpg|1540236] and [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388181159s/33.jpg|3462456]), and this one is one of my favorites. It was a birthday gift from my wife a few years ago, and I'd been saving it for a while, expecting that I would really enjoy it (I don't know why I do this with books sometimes). What [a:Hammond|9498|Wayne G. Hammond|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-09ae6e5eb554f8a5ab0515c05488ea34.png] and [a:Scull|9497|Christina Scull|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/f_50x66-3498e835d024c789dd934a5c5fb5bdbc.png] have put together is an example of the kind of presentation that is possible now that we're on the other side of the publication of [a:Christopher Tolkien|9533|Christopher Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235772383p2/9533.jpg]'s [b:History Of Middle-Earth|214175|The Complete History Of Middle-Earth (Middle-Earth Universe)|Christopher Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334597698s/214175.jpg|18608966] series, [a:Douglas Anderson|1582|Douglas A. Anderson|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-a7c55399ea455530473b9f9e4da94c40.png]'s [b:The Annotated Hobbit|823754|The Annotated Hobbit The Hobbit, or, There and back again|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387665810s/823754.jpg|10445036] (which is what Hammond and Scull use as their primary authoritative source text), and [a:John Rateliff|42158|John D. Rateliff|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-09ae6e5eb554f8a5ab0515c05488ea34.png]'s [b:History of the Hobbit|20344120|The History of the Hobbit|John D. Rateliff|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388335993s/20344120.jpg|28345001]--all of which are excellent and highly recommended for any Tolkien bookshelf. Hammond and Scull, seemingly effortlessly, weave together strands of information and history from Tolkien studies, inviting the reader into an engaging and informative tour of Tolkien's artwork.
If a book can be judged by its cover (and despite the saying, we all know that a great many books can be so judged), then The Art of the Hobbit gets high marks just from its packaging. People who care little about Tolkien will probably wonder why the work of an amateur artist merits such lavish beauty in production. But for those of us who are fans, there is so much here to love. The book itself is housed in a sturdy cardboard slipcase (which I assume will keep the book covers from bending with humidity). The slipcase shows Tolkien's painting for the dustjacket, and when you pull out the book, you see that the book cover shows one of Tolkien's drawings for the entrance to the elvenking's hall. The matching symmetry of the two illustrations is striking, and makes for a wonderful reveal when the book is removed from the slipcase. The artwork presented within the book is large and (in some cases for the first time) shown in its original quality (subtle shading preserved, colors accurate).
I highly recommend this for any Tolkien-loving family's bookshelf. It is an instant favorite for me.