Great book, only complaints are it is a softcover ...
929246
Great book, only complaints are it is a softcover and some of the bosses don't get more that a page or two spread. Hence the one star missing.
4008504
It looks like the paperback and hardcover photos are backwards.  I was disappointed because the softcover is actually really ugly compared to the item picture.  Still a good book though.
1050194
Love the book. The hardback does not come with a slip cover.
689675
Heavy duty soft cover good quality book! Excellent deal!
424635
This book is really very nice. It is leather bound, contains lots of cool extras, oversized pages, and a slipcover with additional artwork from Alex Ross. Some reviewers have complained that this book looks grainy compared to standard copies. I looked at the book side by side with the paperback trade and only noticed a very minor difference. There is a slightly more grainy look to the absolute edition but even when compared to other editions, it is barley noticeable. The pages are larger and it seems like it is pretty normal to have a little more grain when any image is enlarged. It doesn't bother me in the least.

The reason I took one star off is because there is an issue with the third printing which is the most recent as of the date I am writing this (Feb. 2012). On page 104 of the 3rd printing there is no text where there should be text. The art, boxes, and dialog bubble are there but just no text. Not that big of a deal if you are buying just to read but I would imagine that most people buy the expensive absolute version as a collector's item. Amazon was really cool and replaced my first book with a new one but the new one had the same problem. I ended up finding a 3rd party seller that had an older edition and that had the text. I love this book and recommend it if you for sure know you are getting a 1st or 2nd printing. Since purchasing this book I noticed that Amazon took it off their list and you can only buy it from 3rd party sellers which indicates that they realize the problem. I imagine DC will release a 4th printing with the correct text placement but if you can't wait try to get a 1st or 2nd printing.
65345
Great book - must have in any house! Just 1 thing: Costco sells it in hard cover for 9.99$, therefore I give 4 stars for this soft cover version taking into account the price it will cost you on Amazon + delivery.
2734533
The book is great if your into sewing, creating costumes, and such. But it's a bit skimpy when it comes to us clay sculptors. Basically the latex chapter near the end is a bit too short for my tastes and doesn't offer the different ways of making latex or foam latex masks/props. Or other ways to make masks with clay and molds with different materials besides latex.

It would have be nicer if that section had more pages to it. Overall the book is a great read and good resource. But does it need to be a spiral bound book? Why couldn't the book be bound normally with a protective cover like many paperback books?

I've found that the book cover (front and back) picks up clay, dirt, and gets scratches in a sculpting class. So it's not a book to have on hand in a very hard work environment. If your in a place like that and care for your books, make sure to copy pages from the book and take the Xeroxed pages with you in class or work space.
1394477
First of all, no, although the book has a leather feel, I would find it very difficult to believe that real leather was used to make it.  That being said, I personally wouldn't care either way, except to say that the cover is the least attractive part of the book.  Although it has a leather feel, it actually looks like very tearable, slightly thicker than normal, paper.  Regular hard back books have stronger looking covers, and the red, Collector's Edition, is much better in that respect.

Back in the mid-eighties, I came across a deluxe version that was smaller than most paperback versions, in fact it was about the size of a video cassette.

This version came in a box, rather than a slip case, and obviously as I didn't have the money to buy it I've never seen a better version since.

Critisms aside, this is still a very nice edition, the paper quality is good, and it has a book mark ribbon (missing from the Collector's Edition, and essential if you actually read the book and want to keep it in good condition).

Weight wise, if you didn't like the red one, then you won't like this one either, in fact I'd say it was even heavier.

Maps - well the two main maps are present, both have the same gold/gilt edging as the pages, but the enlarged map of the Shire is not.

Colour - it isn't blue, it's black - does this matter?  Not to me, but I thought people might want to know.

Interestingly (or not) the UK version is pictured as having a burgundy spine, with white front and back.  They also have a standard 50th edition that is black.  As the UK (deluxe) version costs about half as much again as ours, I would be hard pressed to see where the extra value is, unless it has a superior cover.

Which is my only gripe with the book.  It is a very nice version, the print is fine, the paper is excellent quality wise (the spine is stiched, as it should be on a book costing this much), the pictures of the Ori's record book (found in Moria) are great, and the maps are as good as they ever have been (just missing an enlarged version of the Shire - which can be downloaded from many websites or purchased in various box sets).

Totally unrelated, a new matching version of The Hobbit will soon be out in the UK - and includes many of the updates done in the annotated version.  There's no reference to an American version on the Houghton Mifflin website, so if you want a matching copy of The Hobbit this may be an oversees order.  It can be found on the UK Harper Collins website, but with no picture, and the link to the amazon.co.uk comes back with nothing found.

Finally, aside from the UK deluxe version of the Silmarillion, no one has ever done a really nice version of this (except for that Eastern press 5 book set that costs nearly $300).  Even that deluxe version was not all that great, and although it matched the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and the Histories of Middle Earth, it's paper quality was the same as a standard hardback.

So if anyone knows of a really decent version of the Silmarillion I would love to know where it can be found..
1499548
I have both the soft and the hard cover versions of this. (This one is the hard cover version. The soft cover version is at&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Moleskine-Ruled-Notebook-Soft-Cover-Pocket/dp/8883707109/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Moleskine Ruled Notebook Soft Cover Pocket</a>.)

They are both great but I prefer the hardcover. Neither the soft nor the hard cover versions open to lie completely flat as would a wire-bound notebook, making them a little harder to write in when conditions are less than ideal. The hardcover is a little easier to hold in one hand in a way to provide a convenient and solid writing surface.

Also, the "elastic closure" on the hard cover is a little more substantial. I have more confidence that it will continue to provide a firm closure over time. I think they had to make the elastic on the soft cover a little lighter so as not to deform the soft cover.

I therefore give the hard cover (this one) five stars and the soft cover four stars.
1691026
I was pleasantly surprised by the softcover option for this textbook.  It was pre-punched and easy to insert into a binder. I love being able to pull out one chapter at a time for reading.
2521769
Excellent book, ultra fast delivery but misleading figures in description of a used item - not an autographed copy and without any slipcover
4125724
The book is fine, same as hard cover version, haven't read it yet as I just ordered it for a class.  My only complaint is that it was supposed to be hard cover, and a paperback version was sent instead.  I could have gone to the university book store and gotten the same thing for a lower price.
2389566
Great book, allows for a lot of fun, relaxing artistic coloring! Almost all of the designs I find very appealing and the hardcover portfolio like deluxe edition is beautiful. However, this is what i wrote in the packaging feedback: "This book should NOT be pressed as hard as it was in the packaging. Since the fold out, double spread pages are shorter than the single sided pages, there is a dented line on a lot of the single page designs that looks kind of ugly because of this. If someone wants to see these colored pages as finished artwork pieces, it might detract from it. "
569933
I love this book, got the soft cover Banner of Truth Trust version.
Only 1 complaint: I would like it to be more usable. It is small and very thick for the size. This makes it difficult to hold and keep open properly.
It also causes the contents to run on over several pages, where a larger book could have kept the passages more together, easier to see the whole (or at least a larger part of it) at a glance. That is important due to how the book is organized (in an outline form). Being able to see more on each page would help to keep it mentally organized for reading. It would also be more useful if the Table on Contents also provided the sub-titles under the main entries. This would make it easier to, again, understand and follow the book's layout, and find the section you need as you pray. There is an index with page numbers for various topics in the back which can be helpful. I came to Amazon hoping to find a larger book which might feature these additions, but there doesn't seem to be any other format or publisher. Again, think it is an invaluable book and I will continue to use it and share it with others, but hope for a better version. Until then, I will treasure this one and I am grateful for its printing, and have shared it with others.
929209
The book is amazing, love all of the different costumes for each of the character especially for Kimdall and The Keeper.  I would gladly give this book a 5/5 however, I noticed one significant problem with my book, I have around 20 extra pages that are the exactly same as the previous 20 pages or so in my book.  So I'm not sure if I lost some artwork or I have extra 20 pages.  That kind of bugged me because the book itself is amazing with all of the cool artwork in different mediums etc.  If I could get a new book that is 100% correct, I would gladly give this book 5 out of 5!
2022968
This was a great book. I started with the audiobook and really wanted to have the actual hardcover book. I tell all my friends about this book. I'm in the process of moving so having this book as a guide is really helpful. My only issue was with how it was received. My book's pages were all folded upon arrival today. Really sad.
2201615
The book is great and will be a great addition to my collection - I wish it was available in Hard Cover...