ISBN-13: 9780261103283, 978-0261103283. The Hobbit Classic Hardback Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien. Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as JRR Tolkiens classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad.