The standard hardcover edition of the second volume of The Lord of the Rings includes a large format fold-out map. Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force....

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 still it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell, by chance, into the hands of the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. On his eleventy-first birthday, Bilbo disappeared, bequeathing to his young...

Frodo makes his way through the darkness to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn learns of his destiny as the true King and the others prepare for a massive battle that will determine the fate of Middle-Earth.

Join Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, and the brave members of the Fellowship as they continue their quest to destroy the Ring of Power. As darkness descends on Middle-earth, a strange creature named Gollum leads the heroes to the Black Gates of Mordor. The rest of Middle Earth prepares for a battle that will decide the fate of all.

This is the story of how a Baggins had an adventure and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. Bilbo Baggins enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard Gandalf and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep to whisk him away on a journey to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificient, a large...