Lord of the Geeks  J.R.R. Tolkien Still Feeds the Nerd Nation’s
Imagination  In 1961, five years after publication of the final
volume in John Ronald Reuel Tolkien's three-part fantasy epic,
The Lord of the Rings, the formidable English literary critic
Philip Toynbee announced with great relief that popular
enthusiasm for Tolkien was now thoroughly tapped out and his
works were finally on their way to "merciful oblivion." Nice
call, Phil: Four years later, the first American paperback
edition of The Lord of the Rings appeared, and the modestly
bestselling book—the tale of brave little hobbit Frodo Baggins's
quest to destroy the Ring of Power and save Middle Earth from
the Dark Lord Sauron—blew up to a youth-cultural legend. Three
million copies were sold between 1965 and 1968; the curly-haired
Frodo and his white-bearded wizardly protector Gandalf became
hippie icons; and merry pranksters decked the walls of college
campuses with such graffiti as "J.R.R. Tolkien is hobbit
forming" and "Frodo Lives."  He still