The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 7) Paperback – September 1, 2000

I have always been a fan of Tolkien and with the whole Lord of the Rings world and adventures. Two thousand years from now, a new generation of humans will discover this book from the rubble of the old world order and will be the basis of their new faith. Great stories of an array of values and survivals. A lesson of the past and the existence of the unearthed extinct creatures and monsters. A lesson of friendship, valor, honor, and all the virtues and weakness of humans and of other beings. In other words, this is a very convincing book to be considered a non-fiction just like we do with other books of faith. I'm sure a lot of people disagrees with my thoughts, and that's fine, everyone is entitled to an opinion and so am I. For Tolkien fans, this is another of a collector's addition to an ever growing library of J.R.R. Tolkien creativity.

Fascinating the way Tolkien wrote my favorite story. I'm very glad to have read it. I recommend it to any Tolkien fanatic like myself.

I am a writer and looking into the writing craft of master like JRR Tolkien is an invaluable experience. The work is meticulously researched by Tolkien's son--who also did many of the illustrations used in the various editions. You couldn't get a more conscientious and knowledgeable guide, a guide who had full access to all of Tolkien's notes. It's a real pleasure, at least for a writer/geek, to read several versions of the various chapters and see how the final vision came into being. Did you know that Aragon was in fact slated to be a wooden-shoe wearing hobbit named Trotter? Did you know the original story was going to be about Bilbo going to see another dragon (Smaug's magic put a desire in him to find another dragon)? The series is full of interesting revelations.However, don't start with this book. Begin your studies with the Return of the Shadow and read all four volumes. You'll be glad you did.

I grew up with Tolkien and was a huge fan before the Jackson films ever hit the silver screen. If you want to have a more in-depth understanding of Middle Earth and its histories this is one of the books you need to read. If you wanted to know why a great wizard would choose a path that could only lead to death, sorrow and destruction this is the book which holds the answers.

So this and another book were a gift to my brother. He said he'd been putting off buying them for a few months so he'd have somethings to tell people what he wanted for Christmas. When he opened them, he looked like a little kid again (he was 31 at the time, so that made me feel good).

This book is at times tedious and repetitive but it is necessary when going into the details of the writing of a great work of literature. An valuable source of insight into the writing of the Lord of the Rings

Perhaps only a Tolkien fanatic would appreciate these books about his early drafts for Lord of the Rings. The fascinating thing for readers is how much this story evolved as Tolkien wrote it. Some events were foreseen early on while others were late developments. Tolkien tried out some ideas, then rejected or changed them. Others gradually took form as he wrote. It’s fascinating to read Christopher’s Tolkien’s notes about the state of these early papers, where his father would write up an outline, some points with a question mark, then comment on those points in the margins with “yes” or “no, better to have. . .” At one point, Christopher makes the comment about his father realizing that what he’d written wasn’t what “really happened,” suggesting that after a time, this story took on its own life and needed only for Tolkien to channel its message.The title of this volume is misleading. The book does not focus on Saruman and Orthanc, but on the continued development of the story. The first 190 pages cover the same material as the previous book, “The Return of the Shadow,” with new revisions. From the tomb of Balin, the story continues through the breaking of the fellowship to the first glimpses of Frodo and Sam in Mordor and King Theoden in Edoras. We see that Tolkien foresaw Frodo’s poisoning by the spiders, capture by orcs, and rescue from the tower by Sam. Other plotlines weren’t so clear. Legolas and Gimli originally turned for home and encountered the resurrected Gandalf. Boromir survived to return to Minas Tirith. Aragorn was to marry Eowyn, the character of Arwen not yet having appeared in the narrative. Theoden was simply an old man dubious of Gandalf, without a treacherous Wormtongue brainwashing him according to Saruman’s directions. Originally, it was Gimli who received a green gem from Galadriel and adopted the name of Elfstone. Galadriel herself took shape gradually after Lothlorien was introducedNames presented a great challenge for Tolkien. We saw in “The Return of the Shadow” that he couldn’t settle on names for the hobbits, even when their characters were established. In this book, it’s Aragorn he had difficulty with. Elfstone and Ingold were other considerations. Even when he finally made up his mind, we know he wasn’t done because he still used the epithet “Trotter.”Some chapters are intriguing or boring depending on your area of interest. We read the several lengthy precursors to the Lay of Earendil that Bilbo in Rivendell. A chapter is devoted to the evolution of maps of Middle Earth, and the appendix explores the development of runic writing.One passage I found particularly interesting concerns Celeborn and Galadriel. We know from “Return of the King” that he did not accompany her on the ship to Valinor, and his parting words to Aragorn suggested that this could be a permanent separation “may your fate be different from mine and you keep your treasure.” In one of the outlines, Tolkien writes that Celeborn desired to stay in the world, reinforcing this possibility.Reading through these books gives one a new appreciation for the process of novel-writing. While some authors may have their stories already well-mapped out beforehand, others may go through a period of evolution involving alternate plot lines and events. For those who are interested in the roads not taken, “The Treason of Isengard” offers a tantalizing glimpse into what might have been.

Another great book from the series.