The definitive, unofficial oral history of the making of the iconic and beloved Lord of the Rings film trilogy—featuring interviews with the cast and crew, who give the inside story of the landmark series twenty-five years after its original release.

Celebrate the beloved, influential, and truly epic Lord of the Rings films with this essential read following the making of the trilogy, as told by the cast and crew. Journalist Sam Moore weaves together interviews with stars like Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, and Andy Serkis, to the writers and brilliant crew who revolutionized filmmaking special effects and brought to vivid life what was thought of as a project as impossible to adapt as the hobbits scaling Mount Doom.

Twenty-five years after the first film’s premiere, There and Back Again takes readers behind the scenes into director Peter Jackson’s battles to get the trilogy made, the groundbreaking motion capture special effects that helped bring Gollum to life, and how the cast became a true fellowship that remains bonded to this day, complete with matching tattoos.

Through Sam Moore’s insightful and entertaining interviews with almost a hundred cast and crew members, There and Back Again is the definitive account of the making of these modern movie classics, which was almost as thrilling as the films themselves.