Travel to Middle-earth

The World of Tolkien box set includes seven volumes covering the vernacular, lands, battles, dark powers, heroes and inhabitants of Middle-earth by Tolkien scholar David Day. Rich with information and illustrations, it’s a must-have for all Tolkien fans.

Costco Connection What would you most like readers to know about this box set?

David Day As a child and adolescent, I was enthralled by the mythology and literature of the ancient Greeks and the Norsemen. So as a college student in the 1960s, when I came to read The Lord of the Rings, I immediately recognized in Tolkien the creator of the most brilliantly original invented mythologies in literature.

CC Was there anything in the research that you found particularly interesting?

DD Over 40 years ago, I wrote A Tolkien Bestiary, the first fully illustrated reference book and guide to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. Through subsequent research and study of the many posthumous Tolkien publications, I believe the most profound aspect of Tolkien’s genius was in his ability to combine his natural storyteller’s ability with a scholar’s capacity to draw from the deep well of myth, legend, literature and history. This is what initially drew me to Tolkien and continues to fascinate me: his ability to breathe life into archetypal myths and ancient traditions.

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