The Lord of the Rings the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, not only the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men, Aragorn, a Ranger of the North, and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas Greenleaf, an Elven
Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" on the story of "The Silmarillion" was added to the chapter "Tolkien Today," the "After Tolkien" section on recent fantasy authors expanded, and some material on the 2001-2003 movie versions of "The Lord of the Rings" included in the introduction. Richard C. West, writing in the "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia", assesses the book in these words: "The honor of the first worthwhile book on Tolkien must go to Carter, who was widely read in literature from ancient times to the twentieth century, and his 1969 book surveys a long list of works behind "The Lord of the Rings" from all periods.