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The Hobbit (Collector's Edition) (Hardcover) (Hardcover)
by J.R.R. Tolkien
| Category:
Classics, Fiction, Ages 9-12, Children's books |
| Market price: ¥ 368.00
MSL price:
¥ 338.00
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Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
All those, young or old, who love a finely imagined story, beautifully told, will take The Hobbit to their hearts. A flawless masterpiece! |
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Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Pub. in: October, 1973
ISBN: 0395177111
Pages: 320
Measurements: 9.6 x 7 x 1.5 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00414
Other information: Collectors edition
ISBN-13: 978-0395177112
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- Awards & Credential -
First published in the U.K. in 1937, it is a world’s treasure and classic. |
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- MSL Picks -
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."
The Hobbit is a masterpiece of Fantasy literature. It combines elements of drama, comedy, suspense and adventure to bring your emotions to the surface. The book appeals to fans of the Fantasy genre of almost all ages. The grandfather-telling prose in which The Hobbit is written will appeal to adolescents while the sheer language, storyline and myths that Tolkien has created will surely entice the adult readers. Hobbit is one of the most invaluable and indispensable classics given to the world of literature by Tolkien.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit, comfortably residing in his comfortably furnished "hole in the ground". His relaxed life-style, however, is interrupted by the magician Gandalf who enlists Bilbo as a thief. Reluctantly Bilbo sets out on a pilgrimage with 12 elves to recover a stolen treasure from a dragon. While trying to accomplish their mission, the unlucky crew encounters countless adventures imbued with life-threatening dangers. Exceeding the elves' expectations, Bilbo becomes of great use in these predicaments. The final bloody battle is the climax of the book.
The alluring story line is something that will be parted with reluctance. However lighthearted the novel is, there is some profound symbolism and allusions to real facts. e.g. The final battle in the book is a blatant reference to the events of World War One, through which Tolkien has lived. He was obviously against it, as he demonstrates that myriads of decent, innocent people were obliterated. Also, basically the whole book reverberates the theme of maturing, demonstrated in Bilbo as he transforms from a timid creature to a more heroic persona.
Overall, this is a beautifully written book. The writing style used by Tolkien is commendable. The word choice is charming and amiable. The overall style is simple and lucid, but very enthralling and captivating. Definitely something that can be read for leisure. The same can be said of the story-line. It is very solid and well-knit together, there probably isn't a single loophole to taint its value. Filled with wonderful tales of magic and adventure it is second to none in the fantasy class. One of those childhood books that will be fondly remembered later in life. A timeless treasure and classic.
- From quoting a reader
Target readers:
Kids aged 9-12
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J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.
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From the publisher
This deluxe collector's edition of Tolkien's modern classic is boxed and bound in green leatherette with gold and red foil rune stamping on the spine and cover. The text pages are printed in black with green accents. It includes five full page illustrations in full color and many more in two color in addition to Thror's map - all prepared by the author. J.R.R. Tolkien's own description for the original edition: "If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) - if you do not already know all about these things - much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise."
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Chapter I
An Unexpected Party
In a Hole in the Ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats - the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on,
going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill - The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it - and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left-hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden, and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river.
This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself
doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained - well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.
The mother of our particular hobbit - what is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to
disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making a noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes, because their feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruity laughs (especially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it). Now you know enough to go on with. As I was saying, the mother of this hobbit - of Bilbo Baggins, that is - was the famous Belladonna Took, one of the three remarkable daughters of the Old Took, head of the hobbits who lived across The Water, the small river that ran at the foot of The Hill. It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife. That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them, and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures. They discreetly disappeared, and the family hushed it up; but the fact
remained that the Tooks were not as respectable as the Bagginses, though they were undoubtedly richer. Not that Belladonna Took ever had any adventures after she became Mrs. Bungo Baggins. Bungo, that was Bilbo's father, built the most luxurious hobbit-hole for her (and partly with her money) that was to be found either under The Hill or over The Hill or across The Water, and there they remained to the end of their days. Still it is probable that Bilbo, her only son, although he looked and behaved exactly like a second edition of his solid and comfortable father, got something a bit queer in his make-up from the Took side,
something that only waited for a chance to come out. The chance never
arrived, until Bilbo Baggins was grown up, being about fifty years old or so, and living in the beautiful hobbit-hole built by his father, which I have just described for you, until he had in fact apparently settled down immovably.
By some curious chance one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green, and the hobbits were still numerous and prosperous, and Bilbo Baggins was standing at his door after breakfast smoking an enormous long wooden pipe that reached nearly down to his woolly toes (neatly brushed) - Gandalf came by. Gandalf! If you had heard only a quarter of what I have heard about him, and I have only heard very little of all there is to hear,
you would be prepared for any sort of remarkable tale. Tales and adventures sprouted up all over the place wherever he went, in the most extraordinary fashion. He had not been down that way under The Hill for ages and ages, not since his friend the Old Took died, in fact, and the hobbits had almost forgotten what he looked like. He had been away over The Hill and across The Water on businesses of his own since they were all small hobbit-boys and hobbit-girls.
All that the unsuspecting Bilbo saw that morning was an old man with a staff. He had a tall pointed blue hat, a long grey cloak, a silver scarf over which his long white beard hung down below his waist, and immense black boots.
"Good Morning!" said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat.
"What do you mean?" he said. "Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is a morning to be good on?"
"All of them at once," said Bilbo. "And a very fine morning for a pipe of tobacco out of doors, into the bargain. If you have a pipe about you, sit down and have a fill of mine! There's no hurry, we have all the day before us!" Then Bilbo sat down on a seat by his door, crossed his legs, and blew out a beautiful grey ring of smoke
that sailed up into the air without breaking and floated away over The Hill.
"Very pretty!" said Gandalf. "But I have no time to blow smoke-rings this morning. I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it's very difficult to find anyone."
"I should think so - in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can't think what anybody sees in them," said our Mr. Baggins, and stuck one thumb behind his braces, and blew out another even bigger smoke-ring. Then he took out his morning letters, and began to read, pretending to take no more notice of the old man. He had decided that he was not quite his sort, and wanted him to go away. But the old man did not move. He stood leaning on his stick and gazing at the hobbit without saying anything, till Bilbo got quite uncomfortable and even a little cross.
"Good morning!" he said at last. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you! You might try over The Hill or across The Water." By this he meant that the conversation was at an end.
"What a lot of things you do use Good morning for!" said Gandalf. "Now you mean that you want to get rid of me, and that it won't be good till I move off."
"Not at all, not at all, my dear sir! Let me see, I don't think I know your name?"
"Yes, yes, my dear sir - and I do know your name, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. And you do know my name, though you don't remember that I belong to it. I am Gandalf, and Gandalf means me! To think that I should have lived to be good-morninged by Belladonna Took's son, as if I was selling buttons at the door!"
"Gandalf, Gandalf! Good gracious me! Not the wandering wizard that gave Old Took a pair of magic diamond studs that fastened themselves and never came undone till ordered? Not the fellow who used to tell such wonderful tales at parties, about dragons and goblins and giants and the rescue of princesses and the unexpected luck of widows' sons? Not the man that used to make such particularly excellent fireworks! I remember those! Old Took used to have them on
Midsummer's Eve. Splendid! They used to go up like great lilies and snapdragons and laburnums of fire and hang in the twilight all evening!" You will notice already that Mr. Baggins was not quite so prosy as he liked to believe, also that he was very fond of flowers. "Dear me!" he went on. "Not the Gandalf who was responsible for so many quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad
adventures? Anything from climbing trees to visiting elves - or sailing in ships, sailing to other shores! Bless me, life used to be quite inter - I mean, you used to upset things badly in these parts once upon a time. I beg your pardon, but I had no idea you were still in business."
"Where else should I be?" said the wizard. "All the same I am pleased to find you remember something about me. You seem to remember my fireworks kindly, at any rate, and that is not without hope... |
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| View all 10 comments |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
Tolkien's Hobbit takes the imagination on a wonderful flight of fantasy. I read this book on a yearly basis and each year I am delighted and captivated by the world of Bilbo Baggins.
Bilbo is a reluctant member of an adventure that will forever change his life and the lives of those around him. He accompanies 13 dwarves on a mission to reclaim the gold and mountain kingdom of their ancestors from the dragon, Smaug. They have many adventures and mishaps on their journey to the lonely mountain including the climactic battle of five armies. Bilbo finds a magic ring along the way which leads, not only to a rise in his stature, but also to a new adventure for his friends in The Lord of the Rings.
Tolkien is a master storyteller and the depth of his skill is best seen in this tale. In the following trilogy, The Lord of the Rings the story is continued, but the sheer delight of The Hobbit is never fully recaptured. This collector's edition is beautifully bound. Even more enjoyable are the illustrations and paintings by the author himself. |
Gregory Baird (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
This book is the story of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit who lived a quiet life except for a single, life-altering year. He is recruited by a wizard named Gandalf to accompany a band of dwarves on their quest to reclaim the land and fortune that is rightfully theirs by slaying the dragon who took it from them. Bilbo is a reluctant hero, but nevertheless a memorable one. And his tale is an extraordinary flight of fancy that will stay in your heart forever. I am extremely picky about which books I like to reread, but after reading this for the first time I am sure that there will be a second, as well as a third and fourth. Tolkien is a masterful storyteller, and the world he creates is so vivid and well-conceived that it is easy to lose yourself in the forests of Mirkwood, the Misty Mountains or the desolate Lonely Mountain. Bilbo's adventure is captivating from one leg of the journey to the next. "The Hobbit" touches on issues of greed, courage and friendship without ever losing focus or seeming preachy. The only fault I can find is with me, for not reading it sooner. |
Kurt A. Johnson (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
In an earlier time, and in a different place, there was once a time of magic - a time of wizards and dragons and elves and dwarves. And, in an unnoticed corner of the world there lived a race of hobbits: a small people with furry feet, and too much common sense to go on adventures. But, when a particularly stable hobbit named Bilbo Baggins is visited by the great wizard Gandalf, he soon finds himself in the middle of an adventure with 13 dwarves, facing ogres and orcs and all sorts of dangers. Is the adventuring life too much for one small hobbit in the great big world? Read this book and find out!
OK, do you have a young reader whom you would like to introduce to The Hobbit? Well, this graphic novel is just the thing! David Wenzel does an excellent job of illustrating the novel, painting the character just like you would expect them to look (unlike some earlier illustrators). Now, the story is abridged, but on the whole, an excellent job was done of turning that book into a graphic novel.
Overall I think that this is an excellent graphic novel, and an excellent adaptation of The Hobbit. My ten-year-old son and I highly recommend it to you! |
Rod Schwartzkoff (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
As an avid reader of Fantasy novels, none has had such an impact on me then that of Tolkien's classic The Hobbit. Words alone cannot describe the full force of what this book has done to shape fantasy writing in the 20th Century. It is a book in which everyone can associate themselves to in one way or another. There are many very human issues which arise out of this book, and it does not matter if you have read it once, or a hundred times (like me) that you still grasp something new and exciting about the nature of the book.
I truly believe that this is a masterpiece which has and will stand the test of time for now and many generations to come. I would happily give it six stars if I had the opportunity. I hope that people who have yet to experience its wonder do so, for the joys this book has brought to so many people (as seen by these reviews) can be shared to even more people. Any comments appreciated. |
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