For the first time ever, a beautiful deluxe stamped clothbound hardcover edition of the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings housed in a custom-built clothbound slipcase, and illustrated throughout in color by J.R.R. Tolkien himself, with the complete text printed in two colors and with many bonus features unique to this edition. The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels, fashioned by F�anor, most gifted of the Elves, and within them was imprisoned the last Light of the Two Trees of Valinor. But the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, stole the jewels and set them within his iron crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of F�anor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroism, against the great Enemy. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The book also includes several shorter works: the Ainulindal�, a myth of the Creation, and the Valaquenta, in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallab�th recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of N�menor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings. Exclusive features to this deluxe edition include: A color reproduction of Christopher Tolkien's "A Brief Account of the Silmarillion and it's Making" A printed art card reproduction of "Taniquetil" A blue ribbon marker Silver gilt page edges A die-cut slipcase Blue leather and black cloth binding with raised spine ribs Plus: Two poster-size, fold-out maps of the Silmarillion, the Beleriand and the Lands to the North by J. R. R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien Fifty illustrations, paintings, and designs