Michael Ende has achieved international acclaim as an author of fantasy literature. His success came in 1960 with his first novel, Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (translated as Jim Button and Luke the Engine-Driver, 1963), and reached its climax with the publication in 1979 of Die unendliche Geschichte: Von A bis Z (translated as The Neverending Story , 1983). Although he is considered an author of children's books, Ende insists that his works are intended for readers of all ages; and his major fantasy novels have had a broad reception which has been compared to that of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-1956). As a writer of utopian fantasy who idealizes the child in all human beings, Ende carries on the tradition of German romanticism. Like the romantics he explores the conflict between utilitarian reason and playful fantasy, celebrates the power of the imagination, and considers...