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Dr. Christopher A. Snyder is a professor of European History and Director of the Honors Program at Marymount University in Arlington, VA. He has written numerous books, including The World of King Arthur. His works have been featured in the Book of the Month Club and the History Book Club, and have been translated into French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Dr. Snyder has been a presenter on the History Channel, the BBC, the Learning Channel, and the National Geographic Channel.
This informational book deals with Tolkien's scholarly and writing life, the mythical and medieval influences on his works, and his legacy. . . . The book itself is a visual delight, from its medieval-door-photo endpapers to its textured sepia pages, several laced with lined designs on the wide margins.. . . Several framed sidebars provide fun facts. Most of the double-page layouts include an image (all of which are captioned and cited at the end of the book). . . . this volume gives readers plenty of interesting details and fills a nice niche by combining author, source, and literary discussions without being neither too scholarly or too commercial. --Booklist As Christopher Snyder's 'The Making of Middle-earth: A New Look Inside the World of J.R.R. Tolkien' makes clear, Tolkien cleverly adapted ideas, characters, and themes from myriad source materials. . . . [I]n Snyder's readable study we see how Tolkien was changed by his literary forebears, which inspired him to create his own 'legendarium.' . . . [Snyder] adds an important voice to the growing body of Tolkien scholarship for laypeople and provides a lightning quick overview of Tolkien's life, academic trajectory, and literary interests in a highly readable style. Colorful sidebars and archival illustrations bring the history alive, and the look and feel are appropriately medieval. . . . Comprehensive footnotes, appendices, and other resources are there for more in-depth exploration. --Boston Globe
