Product Description: Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.
Amazon.com Review: "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-hole in question belongs to one Bilbo Baggins, an upstanding member of a "little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves." He is, like most of his kind, well off, well fed, and best pleased when sitting by his own fire with a pipe, a glass of good beer, and a meal to look forward to. Certainly this particular hobbit is the last person one would expect to see set off on a hazardous journey; indeed, when Gandalf the Grey stops by one morning, "looking for someone to share in an adventure," Baggins fervently wishes the wizard elsewhere. No such luck, however; soon 13 fortune-seeking dwarves have arrived on the hobbit's doorstep in search of a burglar, and before he can even grab his hat or an umbrella, Bilbo Baggins is swept out his door and into a dangerous adventure.
The dwarves' goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, they and their reluctant companion meet giant spiders, hostile elves, ravening wolves--and, most perilous of all, a subterranean creature named Gollum from whom Bilbo wins a magical ring in a riddling contest. It is from this life-or-death game in the dark that J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, would eventually spring. Though The Hobbit is lighter in tone than the trilogy that follows, it has, like Bilbo Baggins himself, unexpected iron at its core. Don't be fooled by its fairy-tale demeanor; this is very much a story for adults, though older children will enjoy it, too. By the time Bilbo returns to his comfortable hobbit-hole, he is a different person altogether, well primed for the bigger adventures to come--and so is the reader. --Alix Wilber
The Hobbit I liked it better in English than in German, which isn't astonishing as the original is in English. I like Bilbo and his being an anti-hero and I felt with the elbs when they shot down the dragon who in the end got, what all greedy, power hungry people deserve.
Fast delivery, product as discribed Although a used book it was in very good condition. I read this book many years ago but my wife and daughter have never read it. After seeing the Lord of the Rings movies they now want to explore the story with the detail the Tolkien put into his work. I am sure they will enjoy it.
Childhood memories galore This shall forever and always be a literary classic. In fact, I think I prefer it the popular Lord of the Rings, as it stears to a more childlike sense of wonder in an utterly charming sample of hobbits, dwarves, and dragons.
It's hero: a loveable but unlikely champion called Bilbo Baggins who would rather not go on an adventure if he could help it. And yet he is dragged into a quest for dragon treasure when Gandalf the wizard spreads the rumor that poor Bilbo is an infamous burglar.
Here we have all the necessities of a proper fantasy: a charming, dangerous world, quirky characters, trolls, dragons, and wars.
This is cuter and more of a fairy tale than LOTR will ever be, but perhaps it's better that way: a great story rather than an epic.
Fantastic book and an excellent paperback edition... This is not a literary review, this is about the edition/printing only.
This is a great paperback. I bought it because it was economical, but ended up enjoying it because it is of exceptional quality. This is NOT a mass-market, stiff as a board, tiny font, drug-store printing. This is a book with sturdy binding and thick matte paper with pleasantly large font type. While it doesn't lay flat on a table when open, it is very easy to hold open in one hand. I love hardbacks, but this paperback was a purchase I do not regret.
GREAT BOOK, MEMORABLE JOURNEY WITH UNIQUE CHARACTERS, AND A TOTALLY RECOMMENDED EDITION.
I went there and back again...and back again. I first read this book when I was ten, I thought it was great book and read it again. Just recently I read it AGAIN and it was seemed even better than before. I love this book and I would highly recommend it for any fantasy fan.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
