[Drew]

You're probably talking about the Silmarillion. It has been "out" for several decades, considering Tolkien has been dead for decades and his family won't whore out the license to the franchise a la George Lucas.

Anyway, the ending is pretty much what's in the book, albeit condensed. The Scouring of the Shire was left out.. Peter Jackson didn't like it, so he says. I think it was more of a budget issue. What the movie doesn't let on is that after Saruman and Wormtongue are left for dead in the tower, they go to the Shire with some orcs and enslave the hobbits. When Frodo and the other hobbits return, they lead the hobbits against the Saruman & Co. It could've been a really awesome scene. They began filming it originally and never completed it. If you want a snapshot of the actual taking of the Shire, watch The Fellowship and pay close attention to what Frodo sees in the water with Galadriel.

Oh, and Frodo goes to the same place the Elves go "in the West." I can't remember the name of it off the top of my head.. the Undying Lands maybe. All the ringbearers have to go there. Sam also eventually joins Frodo there as Frodo comes back for him. Anyone who once bore a ring has to go because the magic of the lands diminish, etc.

The sad part is I've never read the books.. got a friend who knows it all...