Lately, I've been really wanting to read a good biography on J.R.R. Tolkien. I know there has to be one out there. It's impossible that someone could not have written about him. The few fragments of stories I've heard from his life sound interesting, so naturally, I want to have the whole story. So, does anyone know a good biography on him? A title or author would be nice...... some thoughts about the book, anything you like. I just want to know if anyone's read one and if I can find one out there.

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
by: Humphrey Carpenter

This is by far the best biography I have read, it has just about everything about J.R.R Tolkien's life in it... I used it for a project

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The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and the other writers known as The Inklings.

Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' -- and worldwide renown awaited him.

Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.

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The waves that C R A S H E D upon
The R O C K S that you were trying to step along

And in my head I heard them play a S O N G

Oh wow Pandora. Thank you so much! That's just exactly what I wanted. It sounds great. I am definitely going to be buying this one. Myabe when I've read it, I'll come back and post a thread so everyone can discuss? Thank you again!