Maps



* Fonstad, Karen Wynn: The Atlas of Middle-earth
* Howe, John: There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit
* Howe, John: The Map of Tolkien's Middle-earth
* Strachey, Barbara: Journeys of Frodo



* Fonstad, Karen Wynn: The Atlas of Middle-earth
    Frontcover (161 k)

    On the back of the book:
    Find your way through every part of Tolkien's great creation from Middle-earth to the Undying Lands of the west...

    Completely revised, Karen Wynn Fonstad's The Atlas of Middle-earth is an indispensable volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the essential guide to the geography of Middle-earth from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, re-creating the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring.
    Authentic and updated (nearly one third of the maps are new with a fully revised text) it illuminates the enchanted world created in The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
    Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys day by day-battles, castles, forests, far lands, distinctive landforms, climate, vegetation and population.

    "Absolutely indispensable... In its scope and coverage it is a masterful work, a fitting monument to the talents and imagination of the cartographer and of the man who invented these lands." -- Mythprint, Mythopoeic Society

    Karen Wynn Fonstad is a noted cartographer who has her master's degree in geography from the University of Oklahoma and has taught geography at the Uneversity of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. As a master of fantasy worlds, she is the author of The Atlas of Pern, The Atlas of the Dragonlance World, The Atlas of the Land and The Forgotten Realms Atlas. She lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and is a member of the City Council.

    Personal comment:
    This is a real atlas of Middle-earth. I belive it covers everything without any personal additions from the author. If you are interested in Middle-earth maps and want something more than the origional maps, this is the one to buy.

* Howe, John: There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit
    On the back of the book:
    This beautiful colour version of Tolkien's map of Wilderland, lovingly re-created by artist John Howe, will take you to all the places Bilbo the Hobbit Travelled through on his great adventure.

    Trace Bilbo's epic journey through the Forest of Mirkwood to the Enchanted River and the Elvenking's Halls.

    Travel through the Desolation of Smaug to the heart of the Lonely Mountain, wherein lives the huge and evil dragon.

    Visit Rivendell, home of the Elves, in a hidden valley beyond the Edge of the Wild.

    The Map of The Hobbit comes with an illustrated explanatory booklet by Brian Sibley, creator of the highly successful radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings and is a companion map to The Map of Tolkien's Middle-earth.

    Personal comment:
    This map isn't as interesting as the one John Howe made over the entire Middle-earth. It also has the same drawback as The Map of Tolkien's Middle-earth. It is folded. A poster should be rolled in a tube. The pictures on the other hand are great.

* Howe, John: The Map of Tolkien's Middle-earth
    Frontcover (127 k)

    On the back of the book:
    This superb map will take you straight to the heart of J.R.R. Tolkien's mythical world of Middle-earth. Redrawn by artist John Howe from the orginal map created by Cristopher Tolkien, it is beautifully decorated with scenes from The Lord of the Rings.

    Trace the epic journey of Frodo and Sam through the Misty Mountains and the Dead Marshes to Mount Doom.

    Follow Aragorn to the great city of Minas Tirith.

    Discover where Gandalf fought the Balrog on the peak of Zirak zigil.

    The map shows how the geography created in such meticulous detail by J.R.R. Tolkien is central to an understanding of his books. It comes with an illustrated explanatory booklet written by Brian Sibley, creator of the highly successful radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings.

    Personal comment:
    Great map. Beautiful pictures. It is just one small problem. It is folded. A poster should be rolled in a tube. The swedish edition is rolled so if you are from Sweden buy that one instead.

* Strachey, Barbara: Journeys of Frodo
    Frontcover (212 k)

    On the back of the book:
    Journeys of Frodo is an Atlas of fifty-one maps charting the epic jourey that Frodo and his companions undertake in J.R.R. Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction, The Lord of the Rings.

    The maps are drawn in two colours throughout and clearly show Frodo's route (together with the paths taken by other principal characters) and provide enough detail to help the reader to envisage the country through which the narrative moves. The maps are based on clear and detailed descriptions given in the text and on the original maps that appeared with the books. Barbara Strachey has also studied Tolkien's own paintings and drawings of the landscape and features of Middle-earth. Each map has extensive notes to explain special points and to give references for the information used.

    Barbara Strachey is not a cartographer or a professional artist. She has known and loved the books since they first appeared and has longwanted fuller and more detailed maps to go with them. Finally she decided to create them herself and her efforts will give the reader of The Lord of the Rings a new and more vivid idea of Middle-earth.

    Personal comment:
    If you are only interested in good maps this is not the right one. But if you want day by day info about the Fellowship's journeys this is the one. Together with The Atlas of Middle-earth it is all you ever wanted.