Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth

Although Tolkien denied that the war had anything to do with his popular Lord of the Rings novels, journalist Garth examines the author's experiences as a young officer during the war, both at the Battle of the Somme and then sidelined due to trench fever, arguing that the mark of the war is all over his work. Tolkien's growth as a writer is examined through the war and through letters to school friends, many of whom were not to survive the conflict. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Port…