Defending Middle-Earth: Tolkien, Myth and Modernity

Although highly popular "The Lord of the Rings" has also been widely labelled as reactionary and escapist by hostile critics. This text shows just how mistaken they are. He reveals Tolkien's profound and subtle advocacy of community, ecology and spiritual values against the destructive forces of runaway modernity. Tolkien's remedy, and the project implicit in his literary mythology, is a re-enchantment of the world. In helping us to realize that living nature, including humanity, is sacred, his writings draw on ancient magical mythology, but at the same time resonate closely with the ideas of contemprary radical ecology. Quoting extensively from Tolkien's works, the author argues that Tolkien addresses hard global realities and widely justified fears.