A hobbits holiday indeed!
355807
When I was but a child, having seen no more than eight years my mother read to my siblings and I this most beloved of tales.  Amazing in both its simplicity and its scope Tolkien's Hobbit is a delight to readers of any  age, and should-as others have proposed-be read over and again, at  different stages of one's life.  It is in this humble reviewer's opinion  that it remains a jewel in the crown of fantasy literature, timeless in its  appeal and its applicability.
I am now in my twenties, and have only  recently re-read "The Hobbit", and while I am more critical of the book now  than I was when I was eight, I cannot in any way belittle or take away from  its effect.  While I read it, I fought against the constant exclaiming of  the characters, more often than not a sentence ends in "!".  However, once  I understood the simple, cheery, and kindhearted nature from which our  vantage point sprang, I embraced it.
"The Hobbit" or "There and Back  Again: a Hobbits Holiday" draws the reader into the first adventure of the  honorable Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit.  We are privy to his journey, along  with a band of Dwarves as they venture off across the Wilderlands in search  of treasure and nothing more than vengeance against the venerable and most  feared Smaug the Dragon.  No doubt, the story is familiar to you, but if  not, I will not be the one to ruin any of the suspense or wonder you will  behold.
This wonderful story is necessary for every respectable reader,  and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone of any age without remorse.  And I'll always take one thing away from it with me, best summed up in  these words: "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded  gold, it would be a merrier world."  Indeed, I believe old Tolkien hit the  proverbial nail on the head.
1647467
I love the Hobbit & the Trilogy, so I looked forward to the presentation of this flic.
I loved it , It is certainly the best portrail of Tolken texts. The photography is marvelous , and the characters are rich in their personalities and their interrelationships with each other. The sets are filled with the fabulous New Zealand countryside and the movie follows the  book as well as can be expected and not be 12 hours in length.
I have seen it multiple times and do get some detail more clearly on my repeat visits to the aometimes lush , horrific at times to the Hobbit world.
A true fantasy visit...
3210972
Brilliant.  It's such a joy to return to Peter Jackson's imagining of Middle Earth.  Martin Freeman is the perfect Bilbo.  The dwarves singing of their homeland . . . haunting and beautiful.  I saw this in the theater, along with The Desolation of Smaug the following year.  I was not able to see the final film and was hankering to see it all once again.  I wanted the extended editions as I have those of LotR.  Only the last two movies were available at my local Walmart, so I bought them and then watched the extended edition of this film here on Amazon Video.  I have since purchased it on DVD and look forward to watching it again with the commentaries . . . ich bin ein NERD.  And I'm OK with it.
4560561
Patty Koontz has delivered another beautifully written and illustrated story about Wee Darby and his mystical friends as they journey to the North Pole in search of Merlin. The vivid descriptions of ice sculptures, trolls, gnomes, fairies, noisy penguins, curious seals, and more place you right into the scenes.

Children of all ages will enjoy this special Christmas story. I enjoyed this little gem so much I bought multiple copies for friends, nieces, and nephews. Its a perfect gift for the holidays! I cant wait until the next Wee Darby book.
3216295
Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed reading the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy! It's one of those classics where you can just keep on reading on and on and you don't want to finish. Yes, this book just captivated me with the adventure, suspense, excitement, and humor.
"The Fellowship of the Rings" is the first book of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Hobbit Frodo Baggins, the nephew of the famous Bilbo Baggins (read J.R.R. Tolkiens prelude to the trilogy, "The Hobbit") is visited by the wizard Gandalf. When Bilbo had left years ago he had left his magical and mystical Ring which he had taken from Gollum in his earlier adventures to Frodo. From Gandalf Frodo learns that this Ring is actually the Ring of Power from the Elven lore:
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
Lost for centures, if this ring should fall back into the hands of the evil Sauron, he would be enabled to destory everything which is good in Middle-earth, bringing the land into darkness. Frodo and his hobbit friends Sam, Pippin, and Merry travel to the Rivendell to seek counsel from the Elf Elrond on what to do with the ring. There he finds out that he must destroy the Ring and to do that, must cast it into Mount Doom, located at the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom. Thus the Fellowship is created to help Frodo in his journey. The Fellowship consists of Frodo, Gandalf, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn the Ranger who is not what he seems, Legolas of the Elves of Mirkwood, Boromir a man of Gondor, and Gimli the dwarf from the Lonely Mountains. Together the nine set out for Mount Doom. But the way is treacherous and the dark, evil Ringwraiths are searching for them.
But the story doesn't end here. If you have never read the books and you want to try it out, I suggest that you get all three books, not just the first one because this. If you like it, I assure you that you will be in agony at the end to find out what happens. The books are very addictive and it's very hard to stop at just "The Fellowship of the Rings". Have "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" on hand.
My favorite character has got to be the Elf, Legolas. Elves have always fascinated me, for their mysterious, quiet, and almost immortal ways. I love it also how Legolas and Gimli the Dwarf in this book are sort of unfriendly towards each other since Elves and Dwarves usually do not get along. But towards the end of this book and the rest of the trilogy, they're the greatest of friends and inseparable.
Another good character is Pippin the hobbit with his bright and cheerful ways. One of the youngest of the group of hobbits, he is always in a positive mood but somehow manages to get in trouble often.
All of the books in the trilogy are must reads. Also the prelude to the trilogy, "The Hobbit", should also be read to understand the events which had happened before the "Lord of the Rings". Though it is written mostly for adults, I'm sure teenagers wil also love it, though younger kids might not be able to understand it. Enjoy, this book will have you fascinated and keep you in total suspense!
2005398
The Hobbit is JRR Tolkien's prequel to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Though it stood on its own legs for 30 years, it is now difficult to disentangle this tale of Bilbo Baggins' adventuring with dwarves and finding of the One Ring from the grandly-scaled tale that would follow.  This is a charming story, less an epic than a good old-fashioned tale, as Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield and the rest trek to the Lonely Mountain to wrest dwarvish gold from the dragon Smaug.  Along the way they encounter Beorn the Bear-Man, elves, trolls and spiders.
Rob Inglis, who reads the unabridged edition of this fantasy classic, is a Shakespearean actor, and has the chops.  His voice is clear, resonant and beautiful, and he has created unique voices for each character -- even the fourteen dwarves.  He could relate the dialogue with no intervening narration and you would be able to tell who is speaking!  In addition, he lends animation to the text, not reading in a dry style, but with appropriate inflection, humor and drama.  It's a pleasure to hear this beloved book brought to life by such a talented actor.
Minimal packaging of ten CDs, each approximately 1 hour in length.
This is a wonderful way to introduce The Hobbit to children, to enjoy the book as a family, or to give to someone who, for whatever reason, can't read the book for themselves.
1820536
These Hobbit tshirts are great!  We are planning to bike 700 km across the South Island to see some of the amazing sites from the movies and we are happy to have this as one of our precious few items we will be carrying on our own unexpected journey!!
1910484
I have an affection for the Hobbit that I don't have for the other volumes in the series, likely due to seeing the cartoon in childhood and enjoying the comic book adaption. (see paperback edition highly recommended!)  It is rightly described as a prelude to greatness.
We see how it all began when the most inoffensive of creatures Bilbo Baggins enjoying a day of smoke rings and the ordinary life he leads is drawn by fate (or Gandalf) into a great adventure with 13 Dwarfs, Elves, Spiders, Gobblins, Eagles, and of course a dragon.  It is an adventure where he finds out more about himself than he himself knows.
Unlike the later volumes the songs are of a higher quality (or so I think) but that again could be because I have actually heard them sung in the old cartoon.  The story is both exciting and calm and easy.  Not even the climatic battle near the end seems to take the focus off the Hobbit.
The book seems to keep the calm and relaxed pace that a Hobbit likes in his life.  In my opinion it adds to rather than takes away from the telling.  Lots of time for more adventure in the next series.
I think the pace of the book more than anything else makes it.  It doesn't thrust itself upon you.  It seems to say; to paraphrase the words of Bilbo:  "It is a fine day for smoke rings, come blow some with me."
It is an invitation worth taking
3300502
I waited to buy The Hobbit until this version was released.  The special features are exactly comparable to those on the Lord of the Rings extended edition sets.  My family loves this movie, and I was very entertained by the special features.
654131
The jubilee series has the same wonderful stories for The Hobbit, The Two Towers, Return of the King and Fellowship of the Ring, but with very exceptional and lovely cover illustrations. The Silmarillion is not included in the set, so don't know how that one got in the photo. Highly recommended!
4793919
Wow, this Extended Version DVD is definitely an exceptional buy! I was disappointed with the regular release version when there were no director's commentary or other good extras and then heard about this DVD set. I had to get it! And was not at all disappointed. I first thought the extra footage was mainly for fans of the book, but I think anyone that is into the movies will find the extra footage worth watching. There's a whole extra introduction at the beginning on hobbits that is charming, and of course the extended gift-giving in Lothlorien. But even more there is more interaction of the characters and story development that explains a lot more. While it does change the pacing of the movie somewhat, this should not be an issue if you are watching at home on your own time.
Then we have the commentaries. I haven't got through all of them, but they are well done and give you a lot of great information on the making of the movie, particularly how Jackson created the illusion of the hobbits being so small and even more, why they felt certain changes from the book were necessary. You have TWO whole more DVDs full of documentaries and extras, tons of images and of course, a look ahead to Two Towers. I was tickled to also get a free ticket to the Two Towers, but that expires 12/31/02 if you haven't bought it yet.
It's too bad the whole movie couldn't fit on one DVD but that's a minor nit. There's so much here and of course, the movie itself is a masterpiece, that it's only natural that it would be one of the largest DVD sets released for a single movie. And just think, by the time the last movie comes out, we'll have TWELVE DVDs to deal with the whole series.
3173567
I had always wanted to read this book.  Sitting down with my kids before their bedtime, proved to be a good time to read this.  We are off to watch the 3rd Hobbit movie tomorrow, now that we have finished the book.  Hope you all have as much fun as my 8 year old daughter and son who is 12 did.
359387
My four year old and eleven year old will enjoy reading these stories this holiday and every holiday. Perfect condition!
283586
As an avid fan of JRR Tolkien's LOTR and Hobbit books, as well as Peter Jackson's films, I wanted a special edition to keep for my collection of this book in particular because it is so special to me and because I love it so much. This edition of the book is beautiful and comes in a hard box-casing, as well, and is a beautiful addition to any collection whilst also being inexpensive, and complete with beautiful illustrations (some of them colored!). I would recommend this for any fan of the novel.
2412250
I wanted to read The Hobbit before the third and final movie was released,  I bought the audio and followed along with the reader with a paperback,  I don't know why it had taken me so long to read this as I had read the Lord of the Rings triology some time ago,  Perhaps because it had appeared  as a animated version and I was under the assumption it was more geared to children,  How very mistaken I was,  I loved every moment of the journey of Bilbo Baggins, often tried sometimes weary and yet he stayed the course and returned home safely,  I have heard others relate The Hobbit to what was going on in the real world of Tolkien, breaking down alternate associations to conflict, making comparisons to the strife of the Jews, WWII and the list goes on.  I don't want to find the hidden meaning behind this work.  I want to enjoy the experience of a well written thoroughly entertaining Fantasy Fiction.  I applaud Sir Peter Jackson and everyone involved in the production of The Hobbit, it is amazing to see so much of Tolkien's words translated onto the screen and bringing his incredible work to life,
1590471
I really didn't need to see the blockbuster hit movie, to visit Middle Earth. I've seen it every time I opened and read all four books including The Hobbit, since 1968. They are so vividly written, you can't help but to see it all, clearly. And I was one of those "Tolkien Geeks" at the front of the line, for the movie.
The hippy generatiion, in the 60's became "the new awakening" for these little treasures. My first experience with the species of Hobbits came as a reading assignment in my Junior High School. I was hard pressed to replace the images of The Shire, Hobbits, Elves, and that gruesome Bulrog.
Finally, I requested all four books for a Christmas present in the later in the 1980's, and was gleefully surprised to get them. The idea of it becoming an epic movie, in my mind was shortly after completeing the trilogy (the first time, as I read them every year, starting a Christmas). Being an Artist, I've drawn them several times, also.
I've had a "secret pleasure" smile, plastered on my face for over a year, knowing what a fantastically, entertaining series of epic movies, would grace our theaters, worldwide.
The movie insists (and I believe) that, The Shire, the Prancing Pony and the Misty Mountains are but a few patches of land away... but you won't find them, at least not without a map. Well, if you have any one of the books, you'll have your maps and I am on my way to buy my first property, in Middle Earth this spring. (BIG SMILE) IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE, for the rest of the year, (until the next movie, due next Xmas)see this movie. You will live again.
3301079
I first met Bilbo Baggins as a Junior in college.  Though a children's book, The Hobbit held my attention.  I was a young believer at the time - but even then I could see spiritual connections throughout the book.  With the soon to be released movie, it was a pleasure to see Ed Strauss' look at those connections in a devotional setting.

As Strauss moves through J. R. R. Tolkien's original book, we find ourselves introduced to the places and people which are familiar to those who have read The Hobbit.  Each of the 60 devotions reviews a portion of Tolkien's book, concludes with a clear application and an appropriate scripture.

I have look forward to reading each day's snippit (of course, I never cheated and looked ahead [:)].)  Reading the devotional has made me even more eager for the movie's release this holiday season.

______________
This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are mine alone.