Dr. Christopher A. Snyder is professor of European History and Dean of Shackouls Honors College at Mississippi State University in Starkville. He has written numerous books, including The World of King Arthur. His works have been featured in Book of the Month and the History Book Club, and have been translated into French, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese. Dr. Snyder has been a presenter on the History Channel, the BBC, TLC, and National Geographic. He also lectures at the Smithsonian Institution and teaches honors seminars on J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis at the University of Oxford. He lives in Starkville, MS.

This book, originally published in 2013 and richly illustrated with photographs and artwork, was the first to connect all the threads of influence on Tolkien that infused his creation of Middle-earth--from the languages, poetry, and mythology of medieval Europe and ancient Greece and Rome to the halls of Oxford and the battlefields of World War I. Snyder examines the impact of these works on our modern culture, from 1960s counterculture to fantasy publishing, gaming, music, and beyond. The reissue has a gorgeous, updated cover design with a custom illustration on foil-stamped faux cloth and additional pages of material covering new developments.