J.R.R. Tolkien's writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in a single volume. J.R.R. Tolkien described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a "dark age, and not much of its history should be told." For many years, readers had to be content with its glimpses revealed through the pages of "The Lord of the Rings" and its appendices, including the making of the Rings of Power, the construction of Barad-dûr, and the rise of Sauron.

It wasn't until Christopher Tolkien published "The Silmarillion" after his father's death that a fuller story could be told. Although most of the book's content concerned the First Age, at its end there were two significant works revealing the tumultuous events concerning the rise and fall of the island of Númenor.

Númenor, raised from the Great Sea and given to the people of Middle-earth as a reward for their assistance to the Valar angels and the Elves in defeating and capturing the Dark Lord Morgoth, became a seat of influence and wealth. But as the power of the Númenóreans increased, the seeds of their downfall would inevitably be sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Much greater illumination on the Second Age was revealed in later publications, first in the "Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth," then expanded in Christopher Tolkien's monumental twelve-volume work "The History of Middle-earth," in which he presented and discussed a rich array of further tales written by his father, many in draft form.

Now, following the chronology of the "Tale of Years" in the appendices of "The Lord of the Rings," editor Brian Sibley has assembled in a comprehensive volume a new chronicle of the Second Age of Middle-earth, narrated primarily in the words of J.R.R. Tolkien from the various published texts, with new illustrations by leading Tolkien artist Alan Lee.

Pages: 480, Dimensions: 15.3x15.3cm