THE LORD OF THE RINGS - Weapons and warfare

A detailed tour through all of the major and minor conflicts that occur during the three parts of "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy is provided in this volume. Battles, armour, weaponry, cultures and creatures are all covered and explained, together with photographs and illustrations and battle plans. The furious pace of the films means that the viewer barely has time to enjoy the visual spectacle of one particular action scene before they are hurtled headlong into another conflict. This volume provides all the background that is absent from the films, taking the reader on a detailed tour through all of the major and minor conflicts that occur during the three parts of "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. It explains the history behind each battle and examines the strategy used by both forces. Each of the major conflicts - The Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the Mines of Moria, Helm's Deep and the climactic battle of the Pelennor Fields at Minas Tirith - are illustrated by a battle plan that reveals exactly how the battle was fought. The book also describes in detail each of the many different races and armies that appear in the trilogy: Men, Elves, Dwarves, all the different races of Orcs, and the various allies of both the Fellowship and Mordor. Each are discussed at length - how they fight, why they are fighting, what armour they wear and what weapons they use. These enable the reader to get as close to a marauding Orc as they could ever wish, without suffering the consequences. All of the above is illustrated with scenes from all three films together with close-up photography of all the swords, axes and other weapons and armour, plus digital and conceptual imagery.

Chris Smith has worked in bookselling and publishing, specialising in the fantasy genre, and has worked with authors as diverse as Robin Hobb and Stephen King. He has been the Tolkien editor at HarperCollins for five years, and he brings together his knowledge of Tolkien's works and the relationships he has developed with the Lord of the Rings filmmakers to write this new book.