In the 1960s he was taken up by many members of the nascent “counter-culture” largely because of his concern with environmental issues. In 1997 he came top of three British polls, organised respectively by Channel 4 / Waterstone’s, the Folio Society, and SFX, the UK’s leading science fiction media magazine, amongst discerning readers asked to vote for the greatest book of the 20th century. Please note also that his name is spelt Tolkien (there is no “Tolkein”).

As a young boy, Card often went to the Santa Clara library to read the books in both the children's section and the adults' section, where he discovered the fairly new genre of science fiction. Card's childhood was fairly normal, but he chose to read unusual books for a young boy, including ThePrince and the Pauper at the age of eight, which first interested him in English history. Card also read other novels that drew him into American history, including the non-fiction The Army of the Potomac by Bruce Catton (which he was given at the age of ten).