A cult reference work for serious Tolkien readers. Or, those who are looking at building worlds of their own within their writing.

Oh yes, this is an exhaustive, alphabetised companion to the geography, peoples, languages, creatures, histories, and minor details of J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium.

First published in 1971—before The Silmarillion appeared—Foster’s guide reflects a moment when Tolkien scholarship was still being built by readers rather than institutions. The tone is precise, nerdy in the best way, and deeply respectful of internal consistency. 

Indispensable if you want to understand how Middle-earth actually works. And who wouldn't want to know who begat whom, where things are, what words mean, and why obscure names matter? It is truly one of the few works we can call an epic of our times. 

This is the 1978 Unwin revised paperback, not a first edition in the collector sense, but the canonical reference edition most Tolkien readers and scholars actually used for decades.