Criticisms and kudos:
The Lord of The Rings Book Reviews
Edmund Wilson famously called Tolkien's trilogy "juvenile trash" deeming it a "children's book which as somehow gotten out of hand". Another reviewer in The New Yorker said the story had "the air of having been written as a hobby by a man with a ferreting imagination and a capacity for industry that will not allow him to stop inventing long after all the facts are down and the picture is clear." (Overbey, 2012 )
References:
Auden, W.H. (1954, October 31). The Hero Is a Hobbit. New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/31/books/tolkien-fellowship.html?_r=0
Auden, W.H. (1956, January 22). At the End of the Quest, Victory. New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/22/books/tolkien-king.html?_r=0
Barr, D. (1955, May 1). Shadowy World of Men and Hobbits. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1955/05/01/books/tolkien-towers.html
Overbey, E. (2012, December 14). Auden and Elvish - The New Yorker. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/auden-and-elvish
Book Images:
"FellowshipOfTheRing" by http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/reference_library/title/1016113. Via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FellowshipOfTheRing.JPG#/media/File:FellowshipOfTheRing.JPG
"The Two Towers (novel) -1st edition cover" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Two_Towers_(novel)_-1st_edition_cover.JPG#/media/File:The_Two_Towers_(novel)_-1st_edition_cover.JPG
"ReturnOfTheKing" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ReturnOfTheKing.JPG#/media/File:ReturnOfTheKing.JPG
Auden, W.H. (1954, October 31). The Hero Is a Hobbit. New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1954/10/31/books/tolkien-fellowship.html?_r=0
Auden, W.H. (1956, January 22). At the End of the Quest, Victory. New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1956/01/22/books/tolkien-king.html?_r=0
Barr, D. (1955, May 1). Shadowy World of Men and Hobbits. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/1955/05/01/books/tolkien-towers.html
Overbey, E. (2012, December 14). Auden and Elvish - The New Yorker. Retrieved April 16, 2015, from http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/auden-and-elvish
Book Images:
"FellowshipOfTheRing" by http://www.betweenthecovers.com/btc/reference_library/title/1016113. Via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FellowshipOfTheRing.JPG#/media/File:FellowshipOfTheRing.JPG
"The Two Towers (novel) -1st edition cover" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Two_Towers_(novel)_-1st_edition_cover.JPG#/media/File:The_Two_Towers_(novel)_-1st_edition_cover.JPG
"ReturnOfTheKing" by Source. Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ReturnOfTheKing.JPG#/media/File:ReturnOfTheKing.JPG