Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - The Hobbit

The Hobbit
The Hobbit
Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
THE RELUCTANT HOBBIT — Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who wanted to be left alone in quiet comfort. But the wizard Gandalf came along with a band of homeless dwarves. Soon Bilbo was drawn into their quest, facing evil orcs, savage wolves, giant spiders, and worse unknown dangers. Finally, it was Bilbo--alone and unaided--who had to confront the great...  more »
ISBN: 292267
Publication Date: 2/1974
Pages: 287
Rating:
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 1

4.5 stars, based on 1 rating
Publisher: ballantine
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Hobbit on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
This is the book that arguably started the fantasy genre. It's easy enough for kids to understand, but with a breadth and depth that will entertain the most jaded reader. This is one of the most influential books I've ever read!
reviewed The Hobbit on + 30 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Nice edition of the book. It has interesting illustrations, and as always draws the reader into a magical world.
cmtdrt avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 46 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
I read this for the first time as an adult and will forever lament that I did not grow up with this story. I had seen the animated movie but thought I should start reading Tolkien at the beginning, so I picked up my dad's copy of The Silmarillion. Not a great choice for me at ~10 years old, as I was used to reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary at that time. I didn't try Tolkien again until I was an adult and looked over my husband's illustrated copy of The Hobbit, gifted by his school-teacher aunt and uncle when he was a child. I have devoured JRRT's works since then. That's how good The Hobbit is.
marauder34 avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 63 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" is perhaps one of the best-written books about the advantages of having parties. Written relatively early in his days as an Oxford don, "The Hobbit" is a strongly autobiographical novel about Tolkien and his status as a party man. His reputation as a party enthusiast was so secure, in fact, that Tolkien regularly was the host to impromptu parties as other Oxford and even Cambridge professors would appear uninvited at his home with the expectation of a good meal, some beer or wine, and rousing party games.

It is such experiences that form the basis for "The Hobbit." A sedentary fellow, much like Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins finds himself the unassuming host of a party of dwarves (more established professors) and the wizard Gandalf (the president of the university).

Wooed by promises of great wealth, and strongly encouraged by Gandalf, Bilbo joins the dwarves on a quest to regain their lost ancestral gold, an action that represents Tolkien's own quest for tenure, a position that, once secured, would guarantee him employment, a place to live, social status, and ultimately a healthy retirement package.

The story follows Tolkien-as-Bilbo's journey to the heart of the Lonely Mountain, where he must confront the dragon Smaug (the experience of teaching undergraduate and graduate students) and be swept up in the dramatic Battle of Five Armies, a situation not unlike peer review.

And in the course of the story, Bilbo acquires a magical Ring that secures his reputation with the dwarves, much as Tolkien's literary and liguistic prowess, developed through education, secured his position in academia.

A thoroughly fascinating and enchanting book, "The Hobbit" will have you wishing again and again for the opportunity to attend more parties and, even more, to host them yourself.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
this is a classic. i remember reading it as a child and loving it, then picking it up fifteen or twenty years later, reading it again, and still loving it. in my personal opinion, it's the best of the whole series.
Read All 58 Book Reviews of "The Hobbit"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed The Hobbit on + 10 more book reviews
It's The Hobbit. Need I say more?
reviewed The Hobbit on + 11 more book reviews
Bilbo Baggins leaves the comfort of the peaceful Shire for adventures in lands unknown. His traveling companions are a troup of dwarves and a wise and good wizard. A very entertaining read, you will want to continue the story with other Tolkein books.
buzzby avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 6062 more book reviews
I read it again after seeing the (1st Peter Jackson) movie (and having last read it 40+ years ago). It's definitely a young person's book, it loses some of its geographical realism for me, and it's obvious that Tolkien was not a tactical warrior. I liked the book much better than the movie, the book is light-hearted (if you ignore the constant killings), the movie takes itself way too seriously.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 5 more book reviews
Excellent.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 52 more book reviews
Fantastic!!! Fantasy classic!!!
reviewed The Hobbit on + 36 more book reviews
While The Hobbit isn't my favorite Tolkien story, this is the one I recommended to everyone. Of his work, it seems to have the broadest appeal or, at the very least, does not take a lifetime to finish. This is the litmus test for the rest of Tolkien's work. If you finished and enjoyed The Hobbit, then venture further into Middle Earth with "The Lord of the Rings" and other stories where the text becomes much more dense and detailed.
cmtdrt avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 46 more book reviews
I read this for the first time as an adult and will forever lament that I did not grow up with this story. I had seen the animated movie but thought I should start reading Tolkien at the beginning, so I picked up my dad's copy of The Silmarillion. Not a great choice for me at ~10 years old, as I was used to reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary at that time. I didn't try Tolkien again until I was an adult and looked over my husband's illustrated copy of The Hobbit, gifted by his school-teacher aunt and uncle when he was a child. I have devoured JRRT's works since then. That's how good The Hobbit is.
cmtdrt avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 46 more book reviews
I read this for the first time as an adult and will forever lament that I did not grow up with this story. I had seen the animated movie but thought I should start reading Tolkien at the beginning, so I picked up my dad's copy of The Silmarillion. Not a great choice for me at ~10 years old, as I was used to reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary at that time. I didn't try Tolkien again until I was an adult and looked over my husband's illustrated copy of The Hobbit, gifted by his school-teacher aunt and uncle when he was a child. I have devoured JRRT's works since then. That's how good The Hobbit is.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 58 more book reviews
One of my all time favorites, J R R Tolkien is a master!
reviewed The Hobbit on + 3 more book reviews
This is the illustrated edition. It's interesting, but paraphrased; a lot like a comic book.
reviewed The Hobbit on
Whatever the edition, I have to say that I found The Hobbit a very good story, but nowhere near as interesting as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Since I first read both as a college student, it is possible that my lesser enjoyment of The Hobbit was due to my age.

Whatever...for me, LOTR is absolutely wonderful, while The Hobbit is just very good, and even a trifle boring in a few places.
loveangel avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 148 more book reviews
this was a very diff. kinda book than I'm use to but it ended up being a very good read to me
bran-flakes14 avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 72 more book reviews
"The Hobbit" is a wonderful book that fans of fantasy should absolutely read. The prelude to what is considered J.R.R. Tolkein's masterpiece "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Hobbit" tells a somewhat simpler tale but is in no way worse than the books which come after it. This story contains many of the established scenes and ideas from which authors draw today, and the clever languages, songs, poems, and riddles sprinkled throughout the text are delightful. Action and suspense scenes are handled wonderfully, too. This is really a book that has a bit of everything thrown in! Recommended greatly, especially this illustrated version which has a lot of great, high-quality paintings of the magical plot interspersed with the text.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 54 more book reviews
This edition has beautiful illustrations by Alan Lee: some are drawings and some are paintings. If you want more than just the story of The Hobbit, this is a good version to pick up.
keweenawkim avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 9 more book reviews
So much has been written about The Lord of the Rings yet so little about its prequel The Hobbit. I fortunately came to Tolkien via The Hobbit first. Not as ambitious as the trilogy yet just as engrossing. In this one volume you meet many variety of races, go on a journey with the reluctant Bibo Baggins, battle trolls, orcs, spiders, evil elves and of course Smaug the dragon!I was lucky enough to have this be the first book that transported me from our world to a realm vivid with colorful characters, landscape and adventures.There isn't as many all out battles or the darkness of the trilogy but there is plenty of adventure to be had. If you liked the Trilogy and haven't experianced The Hobbit, you owe it to yourself to go back a generation and find out who Bilbo was and what he had to do with the One Ring!!!!
becca63 avatar reviewed The Hobbit on
The Hobbit is a wonderful work of literature. Although it is officially a children's classic, the fantastical storyline and creative writing make it truly a great story for adults and children alike. Audiences will be thrilled with the characters Bilbo the hobbit, Gandalf the wizard, and the likeable company of Dwarves. A wonderful story!
reviewed The Hobbit on
Great book!
reviewed The Hobbit on
Excellent listen, excellent narrator
reviewed The Hobbit on
Superlative rendering by narrator Rob Inglis.
cmtdrt avatar reviewed The Hobbit on + 46 more book reviews
I read this for the first time as an adult and will forever lament that I did not grow up with this story. I had seen the animated movie but thought I should start reading Tolkien at the beginning, so I picked up my dad's copy of The Silmarillion. Not a great choice for me at ~10 years old, as I was used to reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary at that time. I didn't try Tolkien again until I was an adult and looked over my husband's illustrated copy of The Hobbit, gifted by his school-teacher aunt and uncle when he was a child. I have devoured JRRT's works since then. That's how good The Hobbit is.
reviewed The Hobbit on + 190 more book reviews
A very good classic.

Book Wiki

People/Characters
Bilbo Baggins (Primary Character)
Gandalf (Primary Character)
Smaug (Major Character)
Fictional Places

Genres: