Tolkien Turns 114.

Well, since today is the birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien, I got to thinking about this biography I read a few years ago now. It’s by Humphrey Carpenter and simply entitled J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography.
(1) Tremendous skill as a biographer.
(2) Almost unlimited access to primary source material.
(3) Actually meeting the man, J.R.R. Tolkien.
These three points combine to make Humphrey Carpenter's work a benchmark in the ever growing sea of books about Tolkien. The third point, (meeting Tolkien) actually makes for a very amusing first four pages... Carpenter describing exactly what it was like to find himself standing before this Ent-like genius of a man... "Again I struggle to think of an intelligent remark, and again he resumes before I can find one."
I picked up Carpenter's book directly after my second reading of The Lord Of The Rings (reading Tolkien is definitely hobbit-forming), and I was not disappointed. It spans a timeframe of around 82 years, and we learn all about Tolkien's ancestry, early years, his life-long love of languages, his lengthy courtship and marriage to Edith Bratt (both were lengthy), his service as a soldier in WWI, his devoted fathering of four children,the development of his mythology and struggles with procrastination, the creation and publication of his stories and subsequent fame, the accolades, and the quiet return to Oxford after the death of his wife. Never does this book falter, and never will the thought "oh, get on with it already" enter the mind of the reader.
After reading the book, I am convinced that Tolkien is a hobbit.
At one point he confesses, "I am in fact a hobbit in all but size. I like gardens, trees, and unmechanized farmlands; I smoke a pipe, and like good plain food (unrefrigerated), but detest French cooking; I like, and even dare to wear in these dull days, ornamental waistcoats. I am fond of mushrooms (out of a field); have a very simple sense of humour (which even my appreciative critics find tiresome); I go to bed late and get up late (when possible). I do not travel much."
It’s really an excellent, well-written book and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about this great man.