Tolkien and the Great War - The Threshold of Middle-earth (Paperback) (J. R. R. Tolkien)Author: Karen Blumenthal Age: Adult English Page: 320 Paperback 13 x 2 x 19. 8 cm * TOLKIEN * Now a major motion picture Acclaimed as the best book about Tolkien, this award winning biography explores J. R. R. Tolkiens wartime experiences and their impact on his life and his writing of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead. So