Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
A Hobbit Journey: Discovering the Enchantment of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has delighted millions of fans worldwide in book and movie form. With the theatrical release of the two-part film "The Hobbit "slated for 2012 and 2013, attention will once again turn to J. R. R. Tolkien's classic works. In a culture where truth is relative and morality is viewed as old-fashioned, we welcome the chance to view the world throug...more
Paperback, 260 pages
Published
September 1st 2012
by Brazos Press
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
205)
I came late to the Lord of The Rings fandom. While I missed out on quite a few things, I'm now grateful I missed out on the LOTR movies (the Peter Jackson ones). At least, that's the impression I have after reading A Hobbit Journey.
A Hobbit Journey is an analysis of the LOTR books, including the prequel (The Hobbit) and the "sequels"/canon. The book discusses issues like the ethics of war (including the question, is torture ever justified?), freewill, and the role/portrayal of religion in the bo...more
A Hobbit Journey is an analysis of the LOTR books, including the prequel (The Hobbit) and the "sequels"/canon. The book discusses issues like the ethics of war (including the question, is torture ever justified?), freewill, and the role/portrayal of religion in the bo...more
RATING 2.75
Dickerson may have gone far beyond the deep end in his explorations of the text. Shrouded in academics and literary criticism, A HOBBIT JOURNEY seeks to excavate meaning from The Hobbit with thorough analysis and complete immersion in the text. The problem with this book is that it takes things more seriously than many people might find healthy. It’s a more difficult read, as Dickerson tosses around ten-dollar words and makes this more akin to a collegiate dissertation than a casual d...more
Dickerson may have gone far beyond the deep end in his explorations of the text. Shrouded in academics and literary criticism, A HOBBIT JOURNEY seeks to excavate meaning from The Hobbit with thorough analysis and complete immersion in the text. The problem with this book is that it takes things more seriously than many people might find healthy. It’s a more difficult read, as Dickerson tosses around ten-dollar words and makes this more akin to a collegiate dissertation than a casual d...more
I read The Lord of the Rings about ten years ago and absolutely loved it so I was very excited to read this book and get a better understanding of Tolkien. Dickerson knows his subject well and I was impressed with his depth of knowledge on Tolkien and all of his works. The books main subject is how Tolkien's Christian views are shown in his books in a way that is not totally obvious to the reader. Dickerson shows with examples from the books how Tolkien shows the importance of Christianity in hi...more
Two themes predominate in Dickerson's book: free will and the nature of morality. In his exploration of Tolkien's views on these subjects it is fairly evident that Dickerson enthusiastically endorses those views, so in what follows I will make no effort to separate Dickerson's treatment of those themes from Tolkien's views on the matter.
Dickerson goes to lengths to show that the 'good' characters in the ring trilogy have and exercise free will, as opposed to the 'bad' characters who are essentia...more
Dickerson goes to lengths to show that the 'good' characters in the ring trilogy have and exercise free will, as opposed to the 'bad' characters who are essentia...more
This is one of those remarkable texts that, when discussing the contents with friends, truly solidifies your nerd status. Without a question, I loved this book. It will remain for me a reference and an inspiration in my understanding not only of Tolkien's world, but also of my own.
Dickerson moves at a fluid pace, neither striding ahead in leaps and bounds nor dragging the reader forward against their will. I found the approach to be logical, well-documented, and rooted in the heart of the Tolkie...more
Dickerson moves at a fluid pace, neither striding ahead in leaps and bounds nor dragging the reader forward against their will. I found the approach to be logical, well-documented, and rooted in the heart of the Tolkie...more
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. If you read J. R. R. Tolkien books for fun, than you may not enjoy this book as it expounds on what Tolkien both explicitly related and implied about characters, places, and time periods in his writings. The title of this book, A Hobbit Journey, does not really describe the content of this book. I also didn't find the book as a discovery of the Enchantment of Middle-Earth. If you are a scholar studying Tolkien or a student who has been...more
(A Goodreads copy) I really could not get into this book at all.. Kept forcing myself not to read faster to make the pages go quickly. I did not get very far with the book. Kind of like reading a history book and one way it settle is since telling the history really of "the book series" of The Hobbit, TLOTR.. At the same time even though I really dislike them have found other books of this type more interesting like I read not to long ago..
Tried to give book a shot but just could not do it and s...more
Tried to give book a shot but just could not do it and s...more
This is like a rehashing of rehashing with no more love or joy in the exploration. Just plain exploitation of the information the author already had on hand and, heck, Why not exploit it because the movie is coming out? If you've read any book on Tolkien (the man) you don't need to read this book. It's dry and loveless. Besides, it's hard to hear someone go on about exploiting forests and industry when the author is so obviously exploiting the reader.
Excellent book on really understanding Tolkien.
view all 3 comments
decent overview of how the writings of Tolkien had Christian underpinnings.
Jun 05, 2013
Cherish
marked it as to-read
May 22, 2013
Brooke Gilley
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Liz
marked it as to-read
Apr 27, 2013
Matthew
is currently reading it
Mar 26, 2013
Danny Biles
marked it as to-read
Mar 25, 2013
Danny Klopovic
marked it as to-read
Mar 24, 2013
Pierre
added it
Mar 20, 2013
Chelsea Joyner
marked it as to-read
Mar 14, 2013
Ryan Jarvis
marked it as to-read
Mar 13, 2013
Beth
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Matthew Dickerson (PhD, Cornell University) is a professor at Middlebury College in Vermont, a writer, and the director of the New England Young Writers’ Conference at Bread Loaf. His previous works include From Homer to Harry Potter; The Mind and the Machine; Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis; and Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J. R .R....more
More about Matthew Dickerson...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
