Many decades ago in England, a highly respected professor at Oxford was correcting exam papers and, having a few minutes to spare, idly scribbled on a blank page in an exam book, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." He didn't even know what a hobbit was, or why he wrote those words. But they were, nevertheless, the beginning of one of the most famous fantasy adventure tales ever written. The professor was J.R.R. Tolkien, and the book, of course, was "The Hobbit."

With the publication of "The Hobbit," and, later, "The Lord of the Rings," readers were introduced to Tolkien's unique creation, Middle-earth. No other writer has conceived a world as distinct as Middle-earth, complete with its own geography, history, languages, and legends. And certainly no one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. The hobbits and their fellow inhabitants of Middle-earth—wizards, men, elves, ents, dwarves, orcs, trolls, wargs, the Nazgûl, and others—continue to seize the imaginations of readers of every age.

In celebration of the publication of "The Children of Húrin," the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in 30 years, Houghton Mifflin has put together an essential collection of Tolkien books. This set makes a great gift that every Tolkien fan should own. This collection includes everything from the first books that made Tolkien famous to the entire History of the Middle-earth to works indispensable in navigating Tolkien's great vision and creation.

• "The Essential (Complete) Tolkien Library" @ Amazon.com

This new hardcover edition of "The Hobbit," to be released on September 21, 2007, will feature an introduction by Christopher Tolkien, a reset text incorporating the most up-to-date corrections, all of Tolkien's color illustrations, including the rare "Mirkwood" piece.

• "The Hobbit" 70^th Anniversary Edition @ Amazon.com

To celebrate the 30^th anniversary of its first publication, on November 5, 2007, HarperCollins will release a new deluxe edition of "The Silmarillion," featuring the revised, reset text, a color frontispiece illustration, bound in special materials, and presented in a matching slipcase.

• "The Silmarillion" (30 ^th Anniversary Edition) @ Amazon.com

Houghton Mifflin has acquired U.S. rights to publish the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien since the posthumous "The Silmarillion" in 1977. HarperCollins UK acquired the project from The Tolkien Estate in a world-rights deal. Presented for the first time as a fully continuous and stand-alone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with elves and men, dragons and dwarves, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

"The Children of Húrin," begun in 1918, was one of three "Great Tales" J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an "unfinished tale." Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide audience.

Christopher Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of "The Children of Húrin" as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it."

Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original "The Lord of the Rings" more than fifty years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Oscar®-winning designer of the film trilogy.

"The Lord of the Rings" was already acclaimed worldwide as the most popular book of the twentieth century before the blockbuster films in 2001 through 2003 broke new ground and inspired millions more to read J.R.R. Tolkien's books — an additional 50 million copies were sold, leaving new fans wanting more. "The Children of Húrin" will be published in the United States by Houghton Mifflin in April 2007, on the same day as HarperCollins' international editions.

Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins Publishers UK, said: "This epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship, and heroism stands as one of the finest expressions of J.R.R. Tolkien's skills as a storyteller. With a narrative as dramatic and powerful as anything contained within The Lord of the Rings, it can now be read and enjoyed as Tolkien originally intended, and will doubtless be a revelation for millions of fans around the world."

Janet Silver, Vice President and Publisher of Houghton Mifflin, said, "As J.R.R. Tolkien's original American publisher, dating back to The Hobbit, we are extremely proud to be bringing this project to Tolkien's devoted readership in the United States. Christopher Tolkien has done a great service in realizing his father's vision for "The Children of Húrin."

• "The Children of Húrin" (Deluxe 'Slip-cased' Hardcover Edition) @ Amazon.com

• "The Children of Húrin" ('Illustrated' Hardcover Edition) @ Amazon.com

Note: On September 3, 2007, HarperCollins will release an 'Unabridged' Audiobook of "The Children of Húrin," read by Christopher Lee.

October 21st, 2004, marked the 50^th anniversary of the first U.S. publication of "The Fellowship of the Ring," being the first part of Tolkien's epic "The Lord of the Rings." To celebrate this event, Houghton Mifflin has released the outstanding Single Volume 'Slip-cased' '50^th Anniversary Edition' of this "crown jewel of fantasy literature."

This edition's text is now fully corrected to Tolkien's exacting specifications, and also features Tolkien's hand-colored leaves of the "Book of Mazarbul," two large-format two-color foldout maps, protective slipcase with inset panels, two color foil stamping, gilded edges, ribbon bookmark, and a two-color title page. In short, this is a supreme edition of a supreme author's masterwork.

For those in the U.K. (as well as U.K. edition collectors), HarperCollins also released a '50^th Anniversary Edition.' The U.K. version features a red and white color scheme.

Another nice feature of the U.K. edition is that HarperCollins has as a really nice 'Deluxe' Slip-cased Edition of "The Hobbit" with a green color scheme as a companion to '50^th Anniversary Edition.'

This note is for those über fans intensly interested in the works of Tolkien. HarperCollins has made available a three volume hard cover set comprising all twelve books of "The History of Middle-earth" series.

• "The History of Middle-earth: Part 1"
  "The Book of Lost Tales (1 & 2)", "The Lays of Beleriand," "The Shaping of Middle-earth," and "The Lost Road."

• "The History of Middle-earth: Part 2"
  "The Return of the Shadow," "The Treason of Isengard," "The War of the Ring," and Sauron Defeated."

• "The History of Middle-earth: Part 3"
  "Morgoth's Ring," "The War of the Jewels." and "The Peoples of Middle-earth."

Houghton Mifflin has released a new series of books that explore the creation of Tolkien's Middle-earth.

• Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull's two volume "The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide," is the most comprehensive reference ever published to Tolkien's life and works, including synopses of all his writings, a Tolkien 'A-Z,' a 'who's who,' and a chronology.

• Rose Zimbardo and Neil Isaacs's "Understanding The Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism," include the definitive essays on "The Lord of the Rings," spanning fifty years of critical reaction, offer penetrating insights and guidance for a new generation.

• Douglas Anderson and Marjorie Burns' "On Tolkien," offer a rare glimpse in the world of Tolkien through his own words and the words of those closest to him.

• Patrick Curry's "Defending Middle-earth," another classic Tolkien criticism, is now in softcover, with a new forward.

• Mathew Lyons's "There and Back Again: In the Footsteps of J.R.R. Tolkien," follows Tolkien's footsteps through the English landscapes and countryside that inspired one of England's greatest writers -- from charming Staffordshire villages to breath-taking Somerset caves. Tolkien may have given little away directly, but Lyons argues that clues exist throughout his work, in his letters and in interviews, to the places whose beauties Tolkien celebrated in "The Lord of the Rings." No ordinary travelogue, "There and Back Again" examines the rich variety of England as Tolkien most likely saw it, peeling back the layers of history to the Victorian world of Tolkien's childhood; to the Anglo-Saxon world of heroes and myth; and further back still to a world beyond history's reach.