Robert Foster (b. 1949 in Brooklyn, New York) is the author of the Guide to Middle-earth (1971), originally covering The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. After the publication of Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the guide was expanded to cover the latter work and republished as The Complete Guide to Middle-earth (1978). The thoroughness and accuracy of the book has earned it high praise. Foster earned a Ph.D. in English and Medieval Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and taught subsequently in the English Department at Rutgers University.