Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day -- including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien's novels.
Karen Wynn Fonstad, the author or The Atlas of Pern, The Forgotten Realms Atlas and other guides to fantasy worlds, is a noted cartographer. She lives in Wisconsin.