I stumbled upon the Tolkien Professor podcasts earlier this year and have been pretty hooked. If you have read any Tolkien works or are starting to read them, I encourage checking these out. You can follow along with his classes if that kind of thing is helpful while you're studying something. Having listened to the Hobbit lecture series on the Tolkien Professor, I had heard most of what he writes in the book. In fact, my five stars is influenced by the podcast lecture series. The podcast and the book have gotten me interested in rereading the Hobbit book--- maybe after all the movies come out though. Have never read Corey Olsen and loved his professorial introduction to Bilbo Baggins and the dwarfs. He uniquely analyzes the book as a stand alone work and does not place as much emphasis on LOTR or The Ring. Since I've read everything by Tolkien,including the dreaded Silmarillion, Olsen's viewpoint directed to the Tolkien first timer bothered me at first. But I learned a lot about Tolkien's inconsistencies, the riddles and songs and found it to be a fantastic study for beginners and Tolkien fanatics alike.
Excellent analysis, both of The Hobbit standing alone and as a part of The Lord of the Rings canon.
—PERCYJACKSON
I really enjoyed Dr. Olsen's close attention to the songs, and his close reading in general.
—Mully892
Lucid, accessible, insightful.
—Billy
