Talk:The Complete Guide to Middle-earth

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"it is generally recognised as excellent reference book on the subject."

Is this true? (I don't know; I find it about as useful as, say, pulling the information from my memory, but of course those of us who go around writing Wikipedia articles on these things off the tops of our heads are a special case.) My 1978 version is full of such delightful anachronisms as Celeborn-the-Sindarin-Elf, which of course was perfectly reasonable when it was written (and indeed, to say that he came from Valinor with Galadriel would at that time have been absurd). Therefore, its usefulness is extremely questionable, since the only way to know if it is correct or not is if one has prior knowledge of the subject. (It was, and remains, an excellent reference for things that have not changed since the publication of The Silmarillion, but of course one has to know which things those are.)

I don't know about the new version, as I do not own it. But the statement is generally recognized implies that everybody more or less agrees on this, which certainly wasn't the case with the '78 version. --Aranel 18:17, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

At the time, before the publication of the Unfinished Tales (let alone the History of Middle-earth series) it certainly was thé reference book. Even today, as many people ignore, reject, or are simply unaware of, these "late" publications, TCGtMe remains a valuable reference book: I certainly do not know of any serious competition. For those of us who do know and care about the UT and HoMe, it still is a good reference wherever not contradicted (barring a few real errors like the Star of the Dúnadan). I don’t own the new version either, but I doubt much has changed between the two. [[User:Anárion|Image:Anarion.png]] 21:42, 30 Aug 2004 (UTC)

This is an old discussion, but as Drout acknowledges the usefulness of this book in the Introduction to the JRRT Encyclopedia I have left the statement and footnoted it with that reference (although he cites it by the name of 1971 pre-Silmarillion edition, which is probably not the one he meant). I am also digging for the place where Christopher Tolkien acknowledges Foster's definition of the "Star of the North" as correct. - PKM 21:28, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Idiot's guide

why does The Complete Idiot's Guide to Middle-earth link here? If this book were in the "idiot's guide" series, it seems logical that it would represent itself in the title. Shaggorama 23:32, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

A vandal moved this page to 'Idiot's guide'. The redirect was created when it was moved back. No need for it though. --CBDunkerson 23:48, 23 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reassess

I am reassessing as "start" class. No longer a stub. (Hmm, is reassessing based on one;s own edits Bad Form? - PKM 21:30, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

For stub and start, assessing your own stuff is fine. For the higher grades, not really. Let others judge whether it has reached B or GA class. By the time it gets to B-class or so (needs to be well-referenced and organised and nearing completion), submit it for review, either informally at the WikiProject, or formally go for a Wikipedia:Peer review. On that basis, it might be possible to upgrade to A-class. Then it will be time to consider going for Wikipedia:Featured article status, though this sort of article is not likely to ever be suitable for that - too narrow a scope. It will do fine as a supporting article to the other Tolkien articles though. GA-class is a sort of in-between thing. Some people skip it and go straight for A-class. Nice work here though. I like the references to the J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia (I have that book as well) - could you do an article on that? It is probably also worth mentioning that Foster's book (not sure which edition) is mentioned by Christopher Tolkien in some of his commentary in the History of Middle-earth series. Carcharoth 22:02, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Oh, and some of the things it got 'wrong' could usefully be mentioned as well. Carcharoth 22:04, 30 January 2007 (UTC)