{"product_id":"book-ct8i","title":"Tolkien and the Great War","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 … by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead.”\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat is how J. R. R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw \u003cem\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/em\u003e as a reaction to the Second World War. \u003cem\u003eTolkien and the Great War\u003c\/em\u003e tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they had all shared by launching his epic of good and evil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJohn Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth’s enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis meticulously researched biography is distilled from Tolkien’s personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins UK","offers":[{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49377146011952,"sku":"ZEct8i","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio MP3-CD","offer_id":49377146044720,"sku":"ZMct8i","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD [XE]","offer_id":49377146077488,"sku":"XEct8i","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/184348-ct8i-Square.jpg?v=1734902932","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-ct8i","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}