The Lord of the Rings books III and IV, and as such the eponymous towers could be either Orthanc and Barad-dûr, or Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and Cirith Ungol. Tolkien was initially opposed to titles being given to each two-book volume, preferring instead the use of book titles: e.g. "The Lord of the Rings": Vol. 1, "The Ring Sets Out" and "The Ring Goes South"; Vol. 2, "The Treason of Isengard" and "The Ring Goes East"; Vol. 3, "The War of the Ring" and "The End of the Third Age". However these individual book titles were later scrapped, and after pressure from his
The Lord of the Rings iron. Here is a book which will break your heart." Despite these reviews and its lack of paperback printing until the 1960s, "The Lord of the Rings" initially sold well in hardback. In 1957, "The Lord of the Rings" was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped "The Lord of the Rings" become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and