Michael Saler
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Michael Saler teaches history at the University of California, Davis. He is the author of "As If: Modern Enchantment and the Literary Prehistory of Virtual Reality," and "The Avant-Garde in Interwar England: 'Medieval Modernism' and the London Underground."

Blog Entries by Michael Saler

Explaining Imaginary Worlds: Why 'Lord Of The Rings' Is Addictive

Posted January 24, 2012 | 01/24/12 02:34 PM ET

As a history teacher, I encounter bright students who know nothing about World War I but everything about the Battle of Pelennor Fields and other details of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. I feign outrage at their ignorance, taking advantage of a teachable moment. Deep down, however, I empathize. Historians, after all,...

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