J.R.R.'s son Christopher bookworms on through his father's writings in one of the greatest displays of filial devotion--and painstaking scholarship--of the century. In this seventh volume of his tracing--by collating and comparing his father's drafts and jottings--the evolution of J. R.R.'s writings, Christopher whacks away at the magnificent edifice of The Lord of the Rings, uncovering much material relating to the trilogy's first two volumes. As in Christopher's previous presentations, here most of the Tolkieniana will be of interest primarily to Tolkien scholars or fanatics--although J.R.R.'s authorial grapplings can intrigue or charm (e.g., on conjuring up a particularly vile locale, he wrote, ""Minal Morgul must be made more horrible. The usual 'goblin' stuff is not good enough here""). And of particular interest, especially to cartographers, are the many pages here devoted to J. R. R.'s ever-evolving maps of Middle-earth.