Rating: 
Summary: Tolkien
Review: The reason why I chose this book is because I respect Tolkien for all his accomplishments as an author and I wanted to know a little more about him then I already did. This Biography did a wonderful job of making me get to know Tolkien as a person through showing me his life. This book was entertaining... because I wanted to learn about Tolkien. It was also educational because I learned a lot about Tolkien and it was thought provoking because it made me think about the reasons certain things were in his stories and also what my life would be like if I had the motivations and drive to work for what I wanted just like he had. I recommend this book to any one who is interested in Tolkien in the slightest.
Rating: 
Summary: falls apart in the last few pages
Review: This book could be divided into two: one documenting the story of his personal and professional lives, the othe explaining the history and development of his mythology. The first part is interesting. The second part seems to fall short in satisfying the reader, almost as if there are patches of information that are left out. The first half makes the read worthwhile, however.
Rating: 
Summary: THE definitive biography of the Master of Middle Earth
Review: This book is the definitive biography of one of the 20th century's most beloved authors, JRR Tolkien. Humphrey Carpenter, Tolkien's official biographer was given unprecendeted access to Tolkien family members and family papers, and this clearly shows. Tolkien's early life, his love of Edith Bratt, his devout faith and his war-time experiences are all chronicled, giving new understanding to his life as not only the premier fantasy-genre author of his day (and of all time, for that matter), but also his academic career as a noted philologist, and his relationship with "The Inklings", especially CS Lewis.No fan of Tolkien will want to be without this book. Tolkien fans will also want to read "Letters of JRR Tolkien" also edited by Carpenter, and fans of the Inklings as a literary group will want to read Carpenter's "The Inklings". 5 solid stars for this biography.
Rating:
Summary: A hobbit's life!
Review: This hobbit is profoundly grateful to Mr. Carpenter for providing this biography of the Master of Middle-Earth. Many thanks should also be rendered to the Tolkien family for the personal access granted to Mr. Carpenter during the writing process. This biography demonstrates what we hobbits have suspected all along: Professor JRR Tolkien was one of us! He was, in fact, a hobbit among hobbits. Any hobbit of the Shire who remembers the Great Years can sympathize with Professor Tolkien's terrible experiences during the Great War; the elves will be singing of the love between John and Edith for many ages to come; and the friendship described between the members of the "Inklings" (what a wonderful, hobbitish word!) reminds one of the love and companionship expressed between Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. All hobbits, especially those who love their land and their people owe it to themselves to acquire and read this book and to share it with their children and grandchildren, so that all hobbits of the Shire can be aware of their debt to the Master of Middle-Earth.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but feels like something is missing . . .
Review: This is the only biography of Tolkien which I have read. It was good and I enjoyed it, but it feels like something was missing. Carpenter does a fine job of sketching the events of Tolkien's life and there are plenty of quotations from letters and diaries, and I now understand a little more about the actual creation of Tolkien's mythology and the production of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Simarillion . . . and yet, I still feel like I don't know Tolkien that well. The author fails to provide the emotional connection with Tolkien and his world that would make this biography really excellent.
Rating:
Summary: The Standard Biography
Review: This is the standard biography of Tolkien, and not just because Carpenter had the cooperation of the Tolkien family. He has presented a full picture of Tolkien's life and gets his facts straight. Without a doubt this is the best starting place for discovering the man behind the myth. On the other hand, there is a certain remoteness and lack of focus that prevents me from giving the book 5 stars. In trying to capture all facets of the man, Carpenter prevents any one from shing out brightly. The work is adequate on facts (the best I've seen) but short on insight. Not that biographies benefit from the drawing of daring conclusions from slender evidence, but after having read this one, one doesn't feel that one has gotten to know Tolkien better.
Rating:
Summary: The Standard Biography
Review: This is the standard biography of Tolkien, and not just because Carpenter had the cooperation of the Tolkien family. He has presented a full picture of Tolkien's life and gets his facts straight. Without a doubt this is the best starting place for discovering the man behind the myth. On the other hand, there is a certain remoteness and lack of focus that prevents me from giving the book 5 stars. In trying to capture all facets of the man, Carpenter prevents any one from shing out brightly. The work is adequate on facts (the best I've seen) but short on insight. Not that biographies benefit from the drawing of daring conclusions from slender evidence, but after having read this one, one doesn't feel that one has gotten to know Tolkien better.
Rating:
Summary: inspiring biography of Tolkien
Review: This very well written account of Tolkiens life as a boy, a husband, writer and professor takes you away from where you are into the heart of Tolkien's being. It covers his writtings in depth, the making of languages, of peoples, of maps. But also his academic life, Beowulf, the Islandic Saga, the inklings, his relationship with C.S. Lewis, his day-to-day habits, his children, his religion. It breathes a wonderful inspiring atmosphere. I've read is several times now, and it still enchants me. This biography is a gem in its own right. You won't regret buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Charge 'em and they scatter!
Review: Tolkien readers who want to know more about the man behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings need look no further than Humphrey Carpenter's thorough biography. Carpenter dispells many myths concerning Tolkien's early life and values, but more importantly shows that the famous author lived a full life even though enduring loss and hardship through two world wars. Some of Tolkien's private correspondence, shared by his family, is published only in this book, and it reveals how profoundly the man was affected by the people with whom he became close. He was literally robbed of an entire generation of friends by the first world war, and the experience resonated throughout the remainder of his life. The most poignant moments in Tolkien's life bear a strong resemblance to the moments in his heroes' lives when they turned dark days around and moved out into the full sunlight. One almost gets the feeling that Tolkien's achievements overshadowed those of his characters. He was a magical man in many ways, and must have eaten a piece of cake with a star embedded in it when he was a child.
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