As friends and fellow members of the literary circle known as The Inklings, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis embarked on a challenge. Lewis was to write on "space-travel" and Tolkien on "time-travel." Lewis's novel Out of the Silent Planet became the first book of a science fiction trilogy. Tolkien's unfinished story "The Lost Road" chronicles the original destruction of Númenor, a pivotal event of the Second Age of Middle-earth.

In this intriguing volume, Christopher Tolkien traces the vivid history of Middle-earth, bringing the land--its topography and ever-clashing forces--to the state readers recognize from The Lord of the Rings. Entertaining and informative, The Lost Road and Other Writings shares fresh insights into the evolution of one of the world's most enduring fantasies.