The fourth volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

In this fourth volume of The History of Middle-earth, the shaping of the chronological and geographical structure of the legends of Middle-earth and Valinor is spread before us.
We are introduced to the hitherto unknown Ambarkanta or "Shape of the World", the only account ever given of the nature of the imagined Universe, ccompanied by map ...