tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post3759256959564015771..comments2024-03-28T14:05:25.134-07:00Comments on Sacnoth's Scriptorium: Private Eye piece on TolkienJohn D. Rateliffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12324926298336489295noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2239062544101975016.post-84268720872522284432009-07-08T22:41:55.186-07:002009-07-08T22:41:55.186-07:00"while filled with inaccuracies Grotta-Kurska..."while filled with inaccuracies Grotta-Kurska's is much better known than White's"<br /><br />I'm not sure if, at this stage, it's still true that Grotta (he later dropped the -Kurska) is a better-known book than White's. What is certain, though, is that - while, as you say, filled with inaccuracies - it is a much better book than White's. The inaccuracies, at least of the revised edition, are largely sloppinesses, not phantoms of the author's imagination as White's are; and Grotta actually did a little original research in minor corners of Tolkien's life that Carpenter did not cover.<br /><br />And the new biography? We have it; it's Garth's. It doesn't cover all of Tolkien's life, to be sure, but in some ways what it covers is the most important part, and it's a very different book from Carpenter and wholly original. Carpenter suggests that Tolkien's later life was rather dull. And for the details of it we have the Scull-Hammond Companion & Guide, and the "History of Middle-earth" and other books, including your own, amply covering his inner creative life.David Bratmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08090662884600828582noreply@blogger.com