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The Hobbit [UNABRIDGED] [BARGAIN PRICE] (Audio Cassette)

Amazon.com

The dwarves' goal is to return to their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountains and reclaim a stolen fortune from the dragon Smaug. Along the way, they and their reluctant companion meet giant spiders, hostile elves, ravening wolves--and, most perilous of all, a subterranean creature named Gollum from whom Bilbo wins a magical ring in a riddling contest. It is from this life-or-death game in the dark that J.R.R. Tolkien's masterwork, The Lord of the Rings, would eventually spring. Though The Hobbit is lighter in tone than the trilogy that follows, it has, like Bilbo Baggins himself, unexpected iron at its core. Don't be fooled by its fairy-tale demeanor; this is very much a story for adults, though older children will enjoy it, too. By the time Bilbo returns to his comfortable hobbit-hole, he is a different person altogether, well primed for the bigger adventures to come--and so is the reader. --Alix Wilber--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, which first appeared on the literary scene in 1937, receives elegant and appropriately fantastical treatment with Peter Sis's artwork on the jacket just in time for the December release of The Fellowship of the Ring. The paperback features sturdy foldover flaps on the cover.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
First published in the U.K. in 1937, this is the volume that introduced the world to hobbits, Middle-earth, Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf the wizard, and the Ring of power. A new edition, formatted for younger readers, was released in August and features cover art by Peter S!s (ISBN 0-618-16221-6. $18; pap. ISBN 0-618-15082-X. $10).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From AudioFile
Rob Inglis expertly bridges the gap between the whimsical, childlike aspects of Tolkien's fantasy classic and the hints of darker things to come later in The Lord of the Rings. Though content to enjoy his cozy life, cheerful hobbit Mr. Bilbo Baggins agrees to help his wizard friend Gandalf aid a group of dwarves seeking their lost treasure. As their various adventures ensue, Inglis treats listeners to a tour-de-force performance rich in colorful characterizations and several engaging singing performances. This story should be the unquestionable starting point for those venturing into Tolkien's Middle Earth. Listeners experience a vocal performance that is in turn charming, gripping, a little scary, and always engaging. J.P.M. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Horn Book Guide
"All those, young or old, who love a finely imagined story, beautifully told, will take The Hobbit to their hearts." --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"A flawless masterpiece."--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review
"It is written with a quiet humor and the logical detail in which children take delight."--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Book Description
Tolkien's classic is splendidly illustrated in full color by noted artist Michael Hague.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Card catalog description
The adventures of the well-to-do hobbit, Bilbo, Baggins, who lived happily in his comfortable home until a wandering wizard granted his wish.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Inside Flap Copy
THE GREATEST FANTASY EPIC OF OUR TIME

Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo?alone and unaided?who had to confront the great dragon Smaug, the terror of an entire countryside . . .

This stirring adventure fantasy begins the tale of the hobbits that was continued by J.R.R. Tolkien in his bestselling epic The Lord of the Rings.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author
Alan Lee was born in England in 1947. Inspired by Tolkien's work to pursue his chosen path as an artist of the mythic and fantastic, he has illustrated a wide range of books including Faeries, The Mabinogion, Castles, Merlin Dreams, the centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. He is a winner of the Carnegie Medal for his illustrated edition of The Illiad, and a conceptual artist for the motion picture adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished career as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He is the renowned creator of Middle-earth and author of the great modern classic, The Hobbit, the prelude to his epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Other works by J.R.R. Tolkien include The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 at the age of 81.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review: Hear me out...
Okay, I know I'm setting myself up for a lot of flack by giving "The Hobbit" only three stars, but I don't think these reviews are worth much unless you're willing to be perfectly honest about your opinions...even if those opinions happen to be different than those of everyone else on the planet, or in the solar system. So here goes.
I'm twenty-eight, and I've been a huge fan of horror and sci-fi books and movies since I was about 12. I haven't read much in the way of fantasy fiction, however, even though it's such a closely related sibling to the two genres I love so dearly. As a kid, I loved the Narnia books, and I recently enjoyed the Harry Potter series quite a bit. So with the new movies based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy coming out, I decided it was time to dig into these pillars of the fantasy genre.

I decided to start with "The Hobbit," since I'm the kind of person who always reads forewords and afterwards. I had heard so many people talk about it over the years, that I felt like I had already inhaled most of the characters and plot points like second hand smoke.

Okay, let me start with some of what I liked: I think "The Hobbit" is an original, often charming and fun-to-read story with some great thematic floorboards holding it all up. I like that Bilbo Baggins has some roguish family blood in his veins causing him to crave adventure in a most unhobbit-like manner. It is inspiring that Bilbo is unafraid to follow his own path. His actions and his unbending courage to be himself make him a role model for anyone. In addition to Bilbo, most of the other hobbits, dwarves, and elves that inhabit this book are also quite likable.

It's generally a fun quest story that appeals to the imaginations of all ages. There's a dragon guarding some stolen treasure, and a series of fortunes and misfortunes along the way that keep the reader vested in the group's concerns.

But there were also a couple of major shortcomings to "The Hobbit" that, in my view, kept it from being a great book. Now here's the part where my opinion will probably veer off from most anyone else's. But like Bilbo, I feel compelled to be my own self.

I felt that the style of the narration was overly intrusive; it made me feel less than involved in the story most of the time. I've read the complaints that "The Hobbit" reads too much like a kids' book. I didn't feel that exactly, but rather, that the point of view was just too off-putting. There's an omniscient narrator who sweeps in on invisible wings from time to time, taking you away from characters and events you've invested large chunks of pages following.

Also, despite a pretty decent set up and first half, I felt that the book's ending just wasn't very well constructed. The writing isn't actually bad, but the dramatic momentum is often lacking. With less than a hundred pages left to go, a huge inter-race war breaks out, taking you away from the story you've spent most of the book following. When you finally get back to the end of the original quest, the role of hero and dragonslayer is unceremoniously taken from Bilbo by a character that we hardly know.

I just felt that there was way too much narrative gear-shifting throughout this book. It felt like I was taking a ride with someone who's just learning to drive a stick.

I don't mean to offend anyone with this review. I just felt it was best to be honest. I know lots of people who love this book, people whose opinions I greatly respect. I'll just have to live with a differing opinion on this. In my view, "The Hobbit" is a pretty good story with some major structural flaws that detract from the pleasure of reading it.

If you grew up with "The Hobbit" as I did with "Star Wars" or the stories of Ray Bradbury, you probably have the urge at this moment to poke my eye out with a key or to do something equally terrible. So I'd like to extend a peace offering of some kind. I don't think "The Hobbit" is a bad book, and I think if I had first read it as a young kid, I might have loved it. The same way that if I hadn't seen "Star Wars" until I was an adult, I might have only criticized its bad acting and been blind to the bottomless ocean of magic that swells hypnotically under its surface.

Review: The Hobbit - A fantasy tale for all ages!
The Hobbit written by J.R.R. Tolkien
There and Back Again told by Bilbo Baggins
"The Hobbit or There and Back Again" is, simply put, the seminal novel in modern fantasy fiction. Although many may see "The Hobbit" as strictly being a children's book or at best one for the teenagers, there is much in this novel for fans of fantasy fiction of all ages. I believe the last time I read this wondrous and beautifully crafted story was when I was a teenager myself but having been inspired by Peter Jackson telling the tale of "The Lord of the Rings" in the theaters I gladly purchased this novel to reread the epic and recapture the joy that it is to read one of Tolkien's classics.

Although many an author in many different fantasy series have come close to creating worlds such as Middle-Earth in the fantasy genre, they have done just that, come close. Giving credit where credit is due though, a majority of these authors were inspired by Tolkien and their great works may never have been were it not for his in the beginning.

If you're like me, making a revisit to the world of Tolkien's writings or coming to it for the first time, "The Hobbit" is definitely the place to start. This review is for the Leatherette Collector's Edition, ISBN: 0-395-17711-1 which is a beautifully crafted novel and the illustrations by J.R.R. Tolkien himself all combine to make for a wonderful experience as Tolkien weaves the tale of Bilbo Baggins and his first big adventure through an extraordinary premise, exceptional plot setup and execution and perfect pacing.

The premise:

"The Hobbit or There and Back Again" tells the tale of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit that is visited by Gandalf the Wizard and the very next day twelve dwarves show up in his "hole" and enlist his aid as a "burglar" in their quest.

Before poor Bilbo knows it, he's on a quest with the twelve dwarves and Gandalf to the far reaches of Middle-Earth to rob Smaug the dragon of that which belonged to dwarf King Thorin's father Thrain and is rightfully his, the treasure of Lonely Mountain.

What follows from there is most certainly one of fantasy fiction's classic tales and an extremely enjoyable tale for all ages where Bilbo, Gandalf and the twelve dwarves go from one adventure to another on their way to the Lonely Mountain and an inevitable meeting with Smaug.

I highly recommend this novel in this Leatherette Collector's Edition to those who've never read the story before and to those that have and wish to have the best possible version of it. It would be absolutely perfect if Peter Jackson would see fit to further immortalize this novel by bringing it to the silver screen after the overwhelming success of the "The Lord of the Rings!" {ssintrepid}

Review: Hard To Believe Some People Don't Like This Book
Since this is a book I love, I have always felt I owed it to myself--or the fourteen-year-old me--to put in my two cents worth on a review. But you know, as I sit here, I cannot think of much to add to what's already been written. I mean...if someone has already read The Hobbit, then she's already got an opinion. And if someone hasn't yet had the honor of being among those who have journeyed along with Bilbo through Middle Earth, then odds are she's been exposed to enough "Hobbit 101" background information on this famous subject to the point where anything I say is merely added noise. And if by some rare chance a person who has neither read The Hobbit nor knows details of it should locate this review, then is it really fair of me to say anything at all to influence how this potential reader might feel, or alter what he or she might know? Funny, but I've never felt this hesitation about any other work, and perhaps that says something unexpected about the sacredness of this book to me even now, a dozen years after I first spent a wonderful Saturday in June 1993 reading it. Maybe writing this review has been more of a voyage of discovery about myself and my regard for J.R.R. Tolkien, that right-wing, nature loving Oxford professor, whose life's work made him an icon among those of the political left. So let me end here by saying this: The Hobbit is a work of wondrous scope that was huge to me at one time in my life, is still of more importance than I knew a moment ago, and if you are about to read it for the first time or the thousandth, I hope you enjoy it as much as I always have.

Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was the fist book that I read on my own as a child and it therefore holds a very special place in my heart. The story is not just an adventure story filled with magic and strange and wonderous creatures. It tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the gang of dwarves (Thorin Oakenshield, Kili, and Fili to mention a few) and their amazing journey to find the treasure guarded by the evil and selfish dragon Smaug. The story is a tale of self discovery, maturity and shows how much Bilbo Baggins changes as a man from the start till the finish. The descriptions used in the book are splendid and the small songs included add allot to the story (something I did not appreciate or understand as a child). I love the narration and I would recommend this splendid tale to not just fantasy fans but to anyone that fancies a good book.

Review: Great quality and reasonable quick in delivery.
It was in great condition (new) with great price and came in a reasonable amount of time. Thank you so much for your services.

Review: Annie's Review
"The Hobbit" is one of my favorite books ever.
I think it is almost more enjoyable then LOTR because it is a little more light-hearted and such.

I really like Bilbo, even if all he wants to do is be a coach potatoe. It's part of his charm. buy the book. It's awesome.

The Lord of the Rings (Collector's Edition) (Hardcover)

Reviews

Amazon.com
A Christian can almost be forgiven for not reading the Bible, but there's no salvation for a fantasy fan who hasn't read the gospel of the genre, J.R.R. Tolkien's definitive three-book epic, the Lord of the Rings (encompassing The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King), and its charming precursor, The Hobbit. That many (if not most) fantasy works are in some way derivative of Tolkien is understood, but the influence of the Lord of the Rings is so universal that everybody from George Lucas to Led Zeppelin has appropriated it for one purpose or another.
Not just revolutionary because it was groundbreaking, the Lord of the Rings is timeless because it's the product of a truly top-shelf mind. Tolkien was a distinguished linguist and Oxford scholar of dead languages, with strong ideas about the importance of myth and story and a deep appreciation of nature. His epic, 10 years in the making, recounts the Great War of the Ring and the closing of Middle-Earth's Third Age, a time when magic begins to fade from the world and men rise to dominance. Tolkien carefully details this transition with tremendous skill and love, creating in the Lord of the Rings a universal and all-embracing tale, a justly celebrated classic. --Paul Hughes --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal
The official movie tie-in volume with cover art of a Nazg?l perched upon its black steed offers the complete story in a single volume, as the author intended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

The New York Times
"A unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining..." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." --- Sunday Telegraph

Review
"A unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning."

Book Description
A one-volume collector's edition boxed and bound in handsome red leatherette with gold, green, and blue foil stamping, two-color text setting, and large format fold-out maps containing the complete texts of The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, and six appendices. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, The Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. From his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest -- to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Trilogy of fantasy novels by J.R.R. Tolkien comprising The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1955), and The Return of the King (1956). The novels, set in the Third Age of Middle Earth, formed a sequel to Tolkien's THE HOBBIT and were succeeded by his posthumous The Silmarillion (1977). The trilogy is the saga of a group of sometimes reluctant heroes who set forth to save their world from consummate evil. Its many worlds and creatures draw their life from Tolkien's extensive knowledge of philology and folklore. At 33, the age of adulthood among hobbits, Frodo Baggins receives a magic Ring of Invisibility from his uncle Bilbo. A Christlike figure, Frodo learns that the ring has the power to control the entire world and, he discovers, to corrupt its owner. A fellowship of hobbits, elves, dwarfs, and men is formed to destroy the Ring by casting it into the volcanic fires of the Crack of Doom where it was forged. They are opposed on their harrowing mission by the evil Sauron and his Black Riders.

About the Author
J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished career as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He is the renowned creator of Middle-earth and author of the great modern classic, The Hobbit, the prelude to his epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Other works by J.R.R. Tolkien include The Silmarillion. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 at the age of 81.

The Lord of the Ring's (Collector's Edition), November 28, 2001
Reviewer: William (Buena Park, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
What can be better than reading the three greatest books--"The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers," and "The Return of the King"--ever written? Having a leather-bound volume with all three together is better. If you are a fan of the books or you have a loved one that is, this is the best edition to own. It has a big fold-out map in the back for reference, all the references you can think of, and a really neat red leather cover. I have had this edition for 20 years and it's still in excellent condition. Well worth the cost.

Review: My absolute favorite book
This is not a review of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". Its having been voted "The Greatest Book of the Millenium" here on Amazon.com says more than enough about the worth of Tolkien's work. Rather, it is a review of the several hardcover editions of this fantastic story.
There are for major hardcover editions of LOTR, all published by Houghton Mifflin Co. They are essentially the same price, so I will not take that into consideration.

The best of the editions (5 stars) is the blue Alan Lee illustrated version printed in Nov 1991. I have owned this book for several years, and read it three times. It is durable, beautiful, and has no flaws that I have found. The illustrations are wonderful, though most Tolkien fans will have seen these pictures before.

The red edition printed in Nov 1974 is also a solid edition of the book (4 stars). It is every bit as good as the blue version, but does not have the illustrations. If you are the type of reader that prefers to leave everything to your imagination, this is the version for you.

Both the blue and red versions have matching editions of "The Hobbit" (Houghton Mifflin, Sep 1997 or Oct 1973, respectively). I found both of these editions to be satisfactory.

The other two major editions of LOTR - the white three-volume edition from Oct 1988 and the black seven-volume edition from Jan 2000 - are not recommended (2 stars). The print quality in both is poor, and the durability is less than that of the red and blue versions. The only advantage of these editions is portability, as the red and blue versions are single-volume and quite hefty.

Ramble on....

Review: The Lord of the Rings
For those of you who are fans of the movies, be aware that Peter Jackson's vision of "The Lord of the Rings" is not J.R.R. Tolkien's vision. Although the movies are remarkable, necessarily due to time constraints, they are nowhere near as complex in plotline and characters as the book.

This book deserves to be an all-time classic, not only in the fantasy genre, but in the general literature genre. It is the one book I would want if I were to be confined to a desert island.

"The Lord of the Rings" in all its brilliance provides me not only with one of the most remarkable sagas ever created, but gives me an entire world devoted to the pursuit of good for the sake of others as well as self.

Who can forget the sacrifices Frodo and Sam made in order to destroy Sauron? Who can forget the bonds created in the fellowship, leading even a dwarf and elf to become true friends?

Even the more minor characters are well-drawn, not the "cardboard characters" so prevalent in other fantasy books.

This book almost demands multiple readings, as it is too immense to digest in only one. I have owned the beautiful red edition for about twenty to twenty-five years, but read it only once a year. I have read and re-read,until they fell apart,at least three paperback editions of the book.

I highly recommend this book to all serious readers who wish to immerse themselves in the book of a lifetime.

Review: Amazing
The Lord Of The Rings came to me just a few years ago, but it marked me like no other. It's the best book I've ever readed. This edition, illustrated by Alan Lee, just came to crown my collection. If you want emotion, beauty and speak like an Elf... this is your book. Amazing.

Review: Movie 1st - Books 2nd
Unlike most, I should imagine, I read the books after I saw the film. At first I found it a little hard going, as I had a pre-engraved picture of everything that happened in the LOTR from the movie. It was a little hard casting that aside and accepting that the movie was in fact a portrayal of these wonderful books. So if you're struggling to get into the first installment - The Fellowship of the Ring - have no fear, you're not alone, but once you accept that things in the movie weren't exactly how the book was written, you discover a whole world in which you never knew existed in the movies.

Don't get me wrong, the movies were amazing (the Oscars show that) but these books are in a league of their own. Everything you thought you knew from the movies is explained, and indeed extended, in this paper form. Tolkien was a magnificent man with one hell of an ability to create a world and make you believe in it.

I think the movie some what miss-portrayed some characters, especially Faramir; in the book I got the impression he was a wise heir to the stewardship of Gondor with knowledge beyond his years which I don't think the movie did justice.

I never anticipated these books being as good as the films......boy was I wrong! Tolkein is a genius, a thoroughly enjoyable read, so much so that I was disappointed to rejoin the 21st Century from the depths of middle earth when I had to put down the book and go to Uni! 100/10!!!

PS - this has to be mentioned, the Appendix is really worth a read as it explains things that were perhaps only touched upon in the books and it gives you a brief account of the rest of the third age until all members of the fellowship have passed on!

Review: Beautiful
A beautiful beautiful beautiful book. This review is not only about this edition per se although I do have it, just Lord of the Rings in general. It is a shame in a way that it was one of the first fantasy novels that I read, nothing else has ever been able to compare. The movies were great but the book will touch you in ways nothing else can. If you have not read it, you are missing out.

What is a Hobbit anyway?

Hobbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Hobbit (disambiguation).

Hobbits are a race from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe which first appears in the book The Hobbit. They also play a major role in The Lord of the Rings.

Contents
1 Description
2 Origin
3 Etymology
4 Some well-known Hobbits
5 History
6 The theological nature of hobbits
7 Usage outside Tolkien
8 See also

Description
Hobbits are between two to four feet tall, the average height being 3 feet 6 inches, with slightly pointed ears and oversized furry feet with leathery soles, resulting in most never wearing shoes. They are fond of an unadventurous bucolic life of farming, eating, and socializing. Living rather longer than humans, Hobbits can sometimes live for up to 130 years (with 100 years average). The time at which a young Hobbit "comes of age" is 33, as compared to the human 21 years. Thus a 70 year old Hobbit would only be middle-aged. Hobbits also like to drink ale in inns, not unlike the English countryfolk, who were Tolkien's inspiration. We can also see that in the name Tolkien chose for the part of Middle-earth where the Hobbits live: "The Shire" is clearly reminiscent of the English county names (e.g., Lancashire, Shropshire — see English Shire).

(Mealtimes, at least according to the Peter Jackson script adaptation of the novel, consist at least of the seven meals known as breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. Tolkien did say that Hobbits eat "at least six meals a day when they can get it", but he didn't give their names.)

Origin
Hobbits are evidently related to Men, and are represented as a pygmy offshoot of that race. Their exact origin is unknown, but by the early Third Age they were living in the Vales of Anduin in Wilderland.

Etymology
Hobbits are also called Halflings (in Sindarin, perian singular and periannath collective) due to their small stature. However, the term is slightly offensive to Hobbits, as to themselves they are not 'half' of anything, and certainly do not use the term to refer to themselves. Tolkien's etymology for 'Hobbit' is interesting as well: obviously constructed without prior intent, it would have been natural for him to connect it to the German prefix hob meaning small (e.g. hobgoblin). However this prefix dates back "only" to the 13th century, too late by Tolkien's standards, and so he constructed an alternative etymology, from Old English hol-bytla, "hole-dweller". When later he began to work out the language relations further, Hobbit was to be derived from the Rohirric (actually Anglo-Saxon - which Rohirric parallels in Tolkien's universe) Holbytlan (hole builders). In the original Westron, the name was Kuduk (Hobbit), derived from the actual Rohirric kûd-dûkan (hole dweller).

According to Tolkien, the word hobbit was the first element of The Hobbit that he created. As a university lecturer, he was in the process of correcting reports when he started scribbling on a piece of paper and wrote, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit", and the multitude of stories sprang from that. The idea of a little hole dwelling creature was introduced to Tolkien by one of his students in a story he had written.

Some well-known Hobbits
Bilbo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck
Peregrin "Pippin" Took
Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger
Otho and Lotho Sackville-Baggins
Old Took
Bullroarer Took
Sméagol (who became the creature Gollum)
Déagol

Though in The Hobbit it is mentioned that Gandalf "was responsible for so many quiet lads and lasses going off into the Blue for mad adventures," no female Hobbits are depicted in Tolkien's stories doing so; however Hobbit women do appear in his works, such as the formidable Lobelia Sackville-Baggins.

History
Historically, the Hobbits are known to have originated in the Valley of Anduin, between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. According to The Lord of the Rings, they have lost the genealogical details of how they are related to the rest of humankind. At this time, there were three Hobbit-kinds, with different temperaments. The Harfoots, the most numerous, were almost identical to the Hobbits as they are described in The Lord of the Rings. The Stoors had an affinity for water, boats and swimming; the Fallohides were an adventurous people. (Both of these traits were much rarer in later days.) While situated in the Vallery of the Anduin River the Hobbits lived close by the Eotheod, the ancestors of the Rohirrim, and this led to some contact between the two. As a result many old words and names in "Hobbitish" are derivatives of words in Rohirric, so much so that even someone without linguistic training could make out the relation (Merry would later write an entire book devoted to the relationship, Old Place Names in the Shire).

Some time near the beginning of the Third Age, they undertook, for reasons unknown, but possibly having to do with Mordor's power, the arduous task of crossing the Misty Mountains. Some of the Stoors, however, stayed behind, and it is from these people that Gollum would come many years later. The Hobbits took different routes in their journey westward, but eventually came to a land between the River Baranduin (which they renamed Brandywine) and the Weather Hills. There they founded many settlements, and the divisions between the Hobbit-kinds began to blur.

Around the year 1600 of the Third Age, two Fallohide brothers decided, again for reasons unknown, to cross the River Brandywine and settle on the other side. Large numbers of Hobbits followed them, and most of their former territory was depopulated. Only Bree and a few surrounding villages lasted to the end of the Third Age. The new land that they found on the west bank of the Brandywine is called the Shire.

A map of the Shire and surrounding regions may be found at Eriador.

Originally the Hobbits of the Shire swore nominal allegiance to the last Kings of Arnor, being required only to acknowledge their lordship, speed their messengers, and keep the bridges and roads in repair. During the final fight against Angmar at the Battle of Fornost, the Hobbits maintain that they sent a company of archers to help but this is nowhere else recorded. After the battle the kingdom of Arnor was destroyed, and in absence of the king the Hobbits elected a Thain of the Shire from among their own chieftans.

The first Thain of the Shire was Bucca of the Marrish, who founded the Oldbuck family. However, later on the Oldbuck family crossed the Brandywine River to create the separate land of Buckland and the family name changed to the familiar "Brandybuck". Their patriach then became Master of Buckland. With the departure of the Oldbucks/Brandybucks, a new family was selected to have its chieftans be Thain, the Took family (Indeed, Pippin Took was son of the Thain and would later become Thain himself). The Thain was in charge of Shire Moot and Muster and the Hobbitry-in-Arms, but as the Hobbits of the Shire led entirely peaceful, uneventful lives the office of Thain was seen as something more of a formality.

The theological nature of hobbits
Hobbits are not considered Men in Tolkien's works. However, nearly all Tolkien scholars agree that Hobbits are closely related to Men, far more closely related than they are to either Elves or Dwarves. It is thus commonly assumed that Hobbits are among the Younger Children of Iluvatar and are the result of the same act of creation as Men. This would imply that Hobbits have the Gift of Men to pass entirely beyond Arda, which also means that the avoidance of the Gift of Men in Hobbits, like in Men, can be physically and morally destructive. Smeagol, who had originally been a Hobbit, was transformed into the monster Gollum by a combination of the evil of the One Ring and the resulting avoidance of the Gift of Men. Bilbo Baggins became "thin and stretched" from the immortality that the One Ring granted to him, since neither Men nor Hobbits are intended for immortality in this world. Men and Hobbits appear to have the same theological nature, which is that they are the result of the act of creation that resulted in the Younger Children of Iluvatar.

Usage outside Tolkien
"Hobbit" is a trademark owned by the Tolkien estate, as are most of the names, places and artifacts included in books by J. R. R. Tolkien. For this reason Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy tend to refer to Hobbits and Hobbit-like races rather as Halflings (hin in the Mystara universe, hurthlings in ADOM).

The name hobbit had previously appeared in an obscure "list of spirits" by Michael Denham, which includes several repetitions. There is no evidence to suggest Tolkien used this as a source — indeed he spent many years trying to find out whether he really did coin the word. Denham's "hobbit spirits" (which are never referenced anywhere except in the long list) have no obvious relation to Tolkien's Hobbits, other than the name (which may possibly imply hob- "small", see below): Tolkien's Hobbits are small humans, not spirits. Nonetheless, some few people have suggested that the reference in the Denham list should invalidate the trademark. See Hobbit (Denham) for more discussion.

The lexeme hob, meaning small, is a root word for hobbledehoy, hobgoblin, and hobyah. This may have influenced Tolkien's name; see Origin above.

Homo floresiensis, an extinct species of humans discovered in 2004, has been informally dubbed a "hobbit" by its discoverers.

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