Book

Author:	J. R. R. Tolkien
Title:	The Hobbit
Publisher:	Ballantine Books
Country:	USA
Date:	Jul 1967
Format:	Paperback
Genre:	Fiction, Fantasy
Cat#:	U7039
Total Editions:	14
Rating:	Rate
Collection:	I Own It I Want It
Community:	1 Owns
Price Guide:	Valuation Page
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Comments and Reviews


ppint. 7th Sep 2023		the cover art is by j. r. r. tolkien, originally in black & white line drawing, for a scene in "the hobbit". (this comment is from another edition of this book)



OldMod67 19th Jun 2020		@23skidoo. Thanks for uploading the pix. Even if I could scan mine it would be useless, as mine has been read to death over the last 40 years and the condition reflects that! The cover illustration is as your copy, but mine's on a brown background, an Unwin logo at centre bottom. Thanks again. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



23skidoo 18th Jun 2020		I uploaded scans of my copy which was actually obtained around the same time as OldMod67. I am aware that the front cover displays the Canadian cover price. There is nothing within the book itself to suggest this was a Canadian printing (same ISBN, for example), other than perhaps they did a run of the front cover with the $2.75 price. That said, if anyone has the original UK edition for scanning, please feel free to replace the covers. The cover art and overall design is the same across the 1979 versions. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



OldMod67 7th Dec 2019		This entry copy acquired December 1979. Pricing detail : United Kingdom £0.85 Australia $2.50 (recommended) Canada $2.75 Typeset in 10 on 11 point Times and printed in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, London, Reading and Fakenham. © George Allen Unwin (Publishers) Ltd. 1979. Unwin Paperbacks, 40, Museum Street, London, WC1A 1LU (this comment is from another edition of this book)



ppint. 6th Aug 2019		cover price uk £5.99, can. $9.99; ruled to be an international edition and so re-flagged, by respected moderator's rule as applies to vinyl - - even though it was actually published by harpercollinspublishers uk - - and isn't vinyl - - and should be flagged as a uk edition according to equally well-respected moderator's heartfelt plea. (- & has been rereflagged sensibly as uk by 25/11/2022) (this comment is from another edition of this book)



ppint. 6th Aug 2019		number in the isbn10 field is^W was wrong and should^W has been corrected to 0261102214 as per the data block on the image of the back cover (this comment is from another edition of this book)



HelBic 21st Oct 2017		This was indeed written as a children's book. The (to me) really interesting information about TLOTR is that Tolkien, being a philologist was inventing a language but felt the need for the language to have (for want of a better term) a 'back story'. To be real, he had to invent a race to use the language - and hit on the concept of using Elves. He then wrote TLOTR as well as a whole host of other shorter myths and legends of his Elvish race which his son Christopher eventually collected, edited and finally published as The Silmarillion. (this comment is from another edition of this book)



Magic Marmalade 4th Oct 2017		Incidentally, the original first edition hardback, with this cover art on the dust jacket is worth serious cash... a Tolkien signed copy recently sold for £130,000 or so, and even an unsigned one went for £66,000. Keep yer peepers open :) (this comment is from another edition of this book)



Magic Marmalade 4th Oct 2017		Review In case you were wondering... ...This is a very different experience than watching the recent Peter Jackson movie adaptions. I first read this at school some years ago, and in the intervening years, I've read The Lord Of The Rings, and seen the very good movie adaptations of that trilogy of books... I was particularly struck by how faithfully rendered the movies were to the books – bar a couple of scenes which would have perhaps sat awkwardly in the context of a movie (Tom Bombadil) – ...So, like many, I was a little perplexed at how Peter Jackson managed to spin out three movies from this 270-odd page book, the same as he did with the three movies from the 1000 or so page Lord Of The Rings. I'd intended to get a copy when I next saw one anyway, so I could find out, and saw this on the shelf of a charity shop; recognising the cover art from school, I decided to get it. What I have discovered, is that the basic reason the movies have been made the way they are is that this is very different in tone than even The Lord Of The Rings books, as it seems this, being Tolkien's opening venture into that world, is the initial idea, and the Lord Of The Rings, a much more developed examination of that world, with Elvish and other languages, mythologies, histories, and characters much more evolved and involved. ...As such, this reads more as a children's book comparable to any of the genre from around that time, and would sit more happily on the shelf next to the likes of Peter Pan, The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, than it does with the depth, and more adult “Rings”. It's quite playful, and simply presented, and more easily read by a younger audience... a kind of “fireside tale”, or bed-time story – a situation it would which it would suit very well (although a few passages could frighten younger children, I think – Large Spiders etc.). And The Dilemma facing Peter Jackson, it seems,was to make another, single film, which was as faithful as his Lord Of The Rings, and yet contrasted wildly; Due not to this, but because of the differences in the tone of the original texts; Or, having already madethe Rings, “retro-fit” the Hobbit to match that, and so that I would sit more easily with it. In that world... and from this point of view, I think the correct decision was made. Here, there is no Pale Orc (Completely Jackson's creation – unless he appears in some other Tolkien work?), no Legolas (Imported from Rings) or female elf (another possible Jackson creation) or accompanying story-line, The whole Barrell scene has been re-rendered for action scenes, and some of the attitudes of the Dwarfs are “enhanced”. The “Necromancer” is known only as that, and no reference to Sauron is made, and this is only briefly mentioned when Gandalf goes out of the story for a time. Radagast The Brown Wizard is mentioned only once by name, and Smaug The Dragon is a jewel encrusted red creature, who's weak-spot, and relationshipto Bard does not involve the same back-story... Finally, actually the Eagles, and the Thrush have had their roles diminished, as in the books, these birds (and a raven) can communicate, which may have seemed too quaint for the movies. So if you read this expecting the movie experience, you may be disappointed, but then if you didn't like the movies, but like a simple adventure tale told in the best traditions of the genre, you may like this better. (this review is from another edition of this book) 3 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?