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
The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion notes on the book and jacket design of the first editions of 1954-55. The book includes some previously unpublished material by Tolkien. It also reprints part of a 1951 letter in which Tolkien explicates, at some length, his conception and vision of "The Lord of the Rings". Reprinted for the first time since 1980, and corrected and expanded, is Tolkien's "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" (previously referred to as "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings"), an index of persons, places, and things designed to aid the translator in rendering Tolkien's work into foreign languages.