Empire Building -
The Remarkable Real Life Story of Star Wars
by Garry Jenkins

Published by Citadel Press

Scott's Rating:   4 out of 4

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This novels gives an extremely detailed description on the making of Star Wars. From Lucas' childhood to opening day, it talks about the major victories and the major defeats in bringing it to the big screen. This book has everything that Lucasfilm hasn't published.... or hasn't allowed published.

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Scott:

    This is an incredible book. It tells about the how Lucas came up with some of his ideas for character names like 'wookiee'. It also talks about the fight Lucas and Gary Kurtz had to go through with the studios to get the film made. It talks about how Lippencot (sp?) basically was laughed out of a toy show, even thrown out of one booth, when he tried to pitch the idea of Star Wars toys. It talks about how those same people came crawling back to his feet when the movie began making millions. Truly, it is a miracle that this movie was even made. This novel acknowledges that and gives a tip of the hat to all those people behind the scenes that never get credit for making it possible. This book is also up to date. It ends right before the prequel casting was announced. The adventure continues!

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Scott:

    This novel shows that there was definitely a dark side behind this film. It definitely shatters any fairy tale illusions you may have had about Lucas, the cast, and crew. You find that Lucas is a very shy, withdrawn individual. He's definitely not a people person. You also find that Star Wars broke up Harrison Ford's marriage, caused Fisher to get into drugs, and Hamill to live wildly (until reality struck him). You also find out a lot about fights on the set, broken friendships, and a lot of greed. It's not always a happy story, but it is definitely a must read for any Star Wars fan.

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Scott:

    Just try finding a copy of this book. It's nearly impossible!

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