[HarryT]

"The History of Middle Earth" is the name given to the set of 3 hardbacks or 12 paperbacks which Christopher Tolkien published to chart the progress and development of his father's writing. I have them in hardback - it's a fascinating read for the Tolkien fan.

Not available as a legal eBook, but well worth buying as paper books.

The 12 books are:

1. The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983)
2. The Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984)
3. The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
4. The Shaping of Middle-earth (1986)
5. The Lost Road and Other Writings (1987)
6. The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.1) (1988)
7. The Treason of Isengard (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.2) (1989)
8. The War of the Ring (The History of The Lord of the Rings v.3) (1990)
9. Sauron Defeated (includes The History of The Lord of the Rings v.4) (1992)
10. Morgoth's Ring (The Later Silmarillion v.1) (1993)
11. The War of the Jewels (The Later Silmarillion v.2) (1994)
12. The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)

The first five books track the early history of The Silmarillion and related texts. Books six to nine discuss the development of The Lord of the Rings; book nine also discusses the Númenor story in the form of The Notion Club Papers. Books ten and eleven return to The Silmarillion material, including the Annals of Beleriand and Annals of Aman. Book twelve discusses the development of the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings and assorted writings from the last years of Tolkien's life.

The hardback volumes contain books 1-4, 5-8, and 9-12 respectively.