Does anyone know of any biographies of Sauron?
He certainly gets demonised by Tolkien - to the point where most readers can't see any good in him. History is written by the victor, and this is no different in fantasy literature. Most of you readers will be all too aware of what media spin-doctoring can do to current affairs. You'll no doubt already understand how wartime propaganda is generated and how ordinary people can be indoctrinated.
Some people look upon hobbits as quaint and cute. See how easily Tolkien has fooled you into adopting this in-bred, fanatically xenophobic race? He tells a tale about a handful of exceptions who are prepared to defy their traditional culture of intolerance and creates a misleading image of hobbits as an open and peace-loving people. The one good thing you can say about hobbit-kind is that they don't try to impose their insular Luddite ways on the rest of the world.
Should we look at the elves in any better light? - grace, charm, music, literature and an arrow shaft through your eye if you step into "their" woods without an elvish ambassador. What about dwarves? - the ultimate in ugly, gold-grubbing, expansionist cave infestations. Even the finest examples of dwarves head off in raiding parties to steal treasure from dragons who've stolen from men.
Then we come to humans. Petty, power-lusting, pontificating humans. Tolkien does give us a reasonably balanced view. We see Bill Ferny, Denethor, Boromir, Faramir, Butterbur, Éomer, Éowyn etc. We see the good and the bad, but we cling to the heroic humility of Aragorn. He epitomises the self-sacrificing, wise, fair human. He gives the appearance of shunning power, but is he really? He knows that if he takes The Ring (the Middle Earth WoMD) he could end up as a chewed up wraith like Sauron. He's politically savvy and decides to help destroy The Ring, knowing that the power of the other races will then fade and he can claim kingship of the humans. Look at how LotR finishes for Aragorn. If he'd gone back to being a ranger, living off the land, then I'd have believed the spin about his altruistic motives.
When you've seen these manipulative devices employed, you have to admit that it's hard for us to get a fair picture of Sauron. Sauron was an angelic spirit (or a maia) and was a servant of Aulë the Smith (creator of the dwarves). He fell in with bad company (Morgoth) before and during the first age, but he repented of that. He tried to re-establish himself in a legitimate business making rings, but the sleazy elves he gave them to just wanted the power from them and not the responsibility. It's hard to believe that these elves thought they could get something for nothing, but that's the scam they tried. Fortunately Sauron had enough loyal support to put them back in their place.
At the end of the second age Sauron named himself "King of Men". This seems to have been a bad political move because it got right up the noses of the Númenóreans who, quite naturally, considered they held a divine prerogative on that title. The Númenóreans kicked his arse but Sauron, with heroic determination, worked with his conquerors and advanced through their ranks to a senior position. When the king of Númenor rebelled against the Valar, it's no surprise that the press scapegoated Sauron. He was an outsider, so they just prodded a few racist fears and pointed at him.
Well, the rest of Sauron's history is probably known to you. He pursued his dreams to unite Middle Earth, to promote the use of new technology, and to raise understanding and acceptance of the orcs. In the end he was defeated by the guerrilla actions of insular, orc-hating fanatics.
