Humanity is divided into two halves: those who read Tolkien’s books and can no longer imagine life without them, and those who indifferently closed the first volume without even getting through hundreds of pages. This biography of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is intended for the first half of humanity. The author of the world famous "The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy has become the ruler of thoughts for several generations. He was always very skeptical about writing an autobiography, believing that “only a guardian angel or the Lord himself could show us the true connection between the facts of his personal life and the works of the writer.” But in this case, Michael White became Tolkien’s second guardian angel: he wrote this biography of the great master, which will satisfy the most ardent admirers of his talent.