This volume presents papers by Tom Shippey, Verlyn Flieger, Colin Duriez, Patrick Curry, John Garth, Martin Simonson, Dieter Bachmann, Devin Brown, Miryam Librn-Moreno, Eugenio Olivares-Merino, Margarita Carretero-Gonzlez, Fernando J. Soto & Marta Garca de la Puerta, Eduardo Segura and Thomas Honegger. The essays focus on the use of Myth, Magic, and Art in the works of the Inklings and explore the interconnectedness of these concepts in the thinking of the members of this group.

Root and Branch, which was first published in 1999, comprises articles by Patrick Curry, Thomas Honegger and Christina Ljungberg. The first paper, by Thomas Honegger, looks at a structural instance of 'depth' in Tolkien's work by means of discussing the various occurences of the Man in the Moon. Patrick's Curry extensive study addresses the question of why Tolkien's work is simultaneously so enduringly popular with readers and so abhorrent to literary critics. Christina Ljungberg's contribution discusses parallels between Tolkien's depiction of Nature and power and the one found in Margaret Atwood's works. This second edition is a revised reprint featuring four of the five items of the original edition.

The nine contributions to Reconsidering Tolkien approach Tolkien's work from a variety of theoretical viewpoints. Marion Gymnich, Eduardo Segura and Guillermo Peris discuss the importance of Language and languages for Tolkien's narrative work, while Thomas Honegger and Paul E. Kerry focus on the historical sources and the historicising framework respectively. The essays by Natasa Tucev and Jean-Christophe Dufau investigate the archetypal and mythic dimensions. Dirk Vanderbeke, then, takes a critical look at Tolkien's presentation of knowledge, and Martin Simonson discusses the influence of World War I and Tolkien's relationship with writers of 'high modernism'. Connie Veugen, finally, examines the adaptation of the figure of Aragorn in different media. The majority of the essays of this volume was presented at the ESSE (European Society for the Study of English) 7 session on 'Reconsidering Tolkien' held at Zaragoza in September 2004. The remaining contributions resulted from an additional call for papers and were selected for inclusion by the board of editors.

News from the Shire and Beyond - Studies on Tolkien comprises selected papers of the Swiss Tolkien Society's Cormar conference held at Seelisberg in 1996, and provides a cross-section of topics in the field of Tolkien studies. The spectrum ranges from Johannesson's linguistic study of the Shire-talk, Honegger's analysis of the narrative constitution of Middle-earth to Buchs' and Nf's contributions on the representation of Tolkien's world in the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game. It is a revised reprint featuring five of the six items of the original 1997 edition.