Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings is a book written in 1969 by fantasy author Lin Carter. This book is scholastic in style - although Lin was not a professor or per se a scholar - and it tells of J.R.R. Tolkien's story as a writer, and of the invention of The Hobbit and Middle-earth, then functioning as a survey of things underlying the story of The Lord of the Rings - discussing Tolkien's sources and inspirations, and examining the fantasy genre through history. The book can serve as an introduction to readers who are new to Tolkien's books but not new to Western thought.