J. R. R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as years about which "not much information has been preserved." Therefore, for the time being, readers had to be content with the fascinating passages found on the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the creation of the Rings of Power, the construction of Barad-dur and the rise of Sauron. A more complete story could only be told after Christopher Tolkien published The Silmarillion. Although most of the book dealt with the First Age of Middle-earth, there were two stories at the end that revealed the tumultuous events surrounding the rise and fall of the island of Numenor. Raised from the Great Sea and given to the people of Middle-earth as a reward for helping the Valar and elves defeat the Dark Lord Morgoth and capture him, the kingdom became an influential and wealthy center of Middle-earth; but as the power of the Numenorians grew, the seed of their downfall was inevitably sown, culminating in the Last Alliance of elves and men. The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth and the twelve-volume History have provided readers with new information, and editor Brian Sibley has compiled into this volume a new chronicle of the Second Age, based on various texts by J. R. R. Tolkien. . From the creator of the famous books "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". — For the first time in Russian — and for the first time under one cover — a complete, understandable and consistent history of the main events of the Second Epoch — the rise and fall of the proud island of Numenor, the creation of the Rings of Power and the formation of the Last alliance of humans and elves, which ended the reign of Sauron. — The materials included in this publication have been selected and commented by Brian Sibley, a researcher of Tolkien's work, based on various texts by the Professor. — With illustrations by the famous artist Alan Lee.