• ISBN 0 261 10252 4 ( BN A.uk) (UK)
• ISBN 0 345 44976 2 ( BN A.uk) (US)

Notwithstanding the fact that it pre-dates Unfinished Tales and the History of Middle-earth series, Tolkien neophytes may find Foster's Guide a more than useful companion volume to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion; but Wikipaedists will be better served by J. E. A. Tyler's more information-rich Complete Tolkien Companion. Foster's A to Z guide is meticulously researched, and he helpfully provides references for each entry (Tyler neglects this). He also attempts to provide etymological information for each "invented" name or term, and makes a point of indicating whether the term in question is in the "original" language or in a "translated" form. Included with the text is an "Appendix" section including Eldarin and Edainic lines of descent, plus a "Tale of Years" for the First Age.

Some of the entries (e.g. "Berúthiel") are obsolete, but Foster's book is worth picking up, nonetheless.