Book Review: Ready, William. The Tolkien Relation: A Personal Inquiry. 192 p. Hegnery. 1968. 68-8276. BIOG]

[page 11] Of interest to Tolkien fans should be the following review of a book written about Tolkien, and very recently published: READY, William. _The Tolkien Relation_: _a Personal Inquiry_. 192 p. Regnery. 1968. $3.95. 68-18276 BIOG Criticisms, studies, and examinations are harbingers of the passing of a literary fad and diminishing popularity of an author's work. This book, among the early arrivals on J.R.R. Tolkien, unlike some biographies, is not a chronological account of the subject. It is widely known that Tolkien dislikes revelations of his private life and looks askance at criticisms of his work; for these reasons Mr. Ready, who was responsible for Marquette University's acquisition of Tolkien's manuscripts while he was librarian there, has chosen to probe--with some results-- the climate in which Tolkien has lived and worked, giving much astention @attention@ to the "Inklings," the Oxford literary group among whom C. S. Lewis, Hugo Dyson, Nevil Coghill, Charles Williams, and others are numbered. But behind everything, there is the magnum opus: _The Lord of the Rings_. Most readers will find the book stimulating. --Frederick Michael Lauritisen, University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City (from Library Journal, May 1, 1968) PASSING FAD? DIMISHING POPULARITY? TOLKIEN FANS, UNITE!!!!!!