نبذه عن الكتاب: Ѯis book is the product of a friendship that began long ago with the discovery of a mutual interest in and enthusiasm for the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. Ѯe writing process, which unfolded over more than two years, was genuinely collaborative. Matthew Dickerson, who originally proposed the project, wrote the first draѫ of the introduction and chapters 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, and 10; Jonathan Evans wrote the first draѫ of chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6, the conclusion, and the appendix. Ѯese initial draѫs were exchanged and revised, and the working manuscript as a whole was revised again with much consultation, via e-mail and telephone and in person, to produce the final draѫ. Ѯe entire manuscript was revised in response to queries and suggestions by the press’s anonymous readers and again aѫer copyediting. In retrospect, we liken our working relationship to that of the two main characters in Tolkien’s “Leaf by Niggle,” about whom the narrator says, “it is no use denying that at first they occasionally disagreed, especially when they got tired.” Such moments were rare, however, and by and large the better picture is that of Niggle and Parish at the end of the story, who “walked about together, arm in arm,” each tending to his respective portion of the garden and oĒering his own particular form of assistance to the other. (Ѯose who know us both can make their own guesses about which one is the potato farmer.)