Member Review

At nearly 600 pages, "Secrets of the Force: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Wars" is, it must be said, both exhaustive and exhausting in its comprehensive and thorough exploration of the history of Star Wars.

Co-written by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, authors of "The Fifty-Year Mission," "Secrets of the Force" journeys its way through the entire history of the franchise from the very beginning and including the most recent efforts.

It needs to be said that "Secrets of the Force" is truly most ideal for the true Star Wars nerd who has seen every single film, preferably more than once, along with all of the television incarnations including, yes, the godawful holiday special.

For those who aren't as familiar with "Star Wars," "Secrets of the Force" may be a struggling read as so in-depth is this journey that at times it can be downright dizzying. I've certainly seen all of the films, I'm a film critic, but I'm somewhat less familiar with the television incarnations and, quite honestly, I'm not nearly as obsessive as it helps to be to truly appreciate this film.

In some ways, "Secrets of the Force" has a bit of a weird framework. While the chapters are largely written in order, I think there's little denying that the farther we get into the Star Wars universe the more rapid the pace and the less precise the detail. The last trilogy, for example, almost seem to be glossed over when compared to George Lucas's first three films (that would come to be known as the second trilogy).

Gross and Altman utilize their familiar oral history format while incorporating commentaries from hundreds of actors, filmmakers, tech professionals, writers, and others in telling the story. The book is truly uncensored, both overwhelmingly flattering and often hyper-critical depending upon the voice at the time. Noted as unauthorized, the film still includes commentaries from Lucas himself and many others from throughout the history of the franchise.

It would be an injustice to go in-depth into the book itself. Of course, it would also be nearly impossible to do so with the oral history format giving the book a feeling of an on-stage dialogue rather than an actual book much of the time.

At times, these commentaries are engaging and insightful and revealing. Other times, they are almost stunningly mundane.

Truthfully, I struggled at times with "Secrets of the Force." It's a long book and it FEELS like a long book. While I'm ordinarily a rather quick reader, I struggled to immerse myself in this book and struggled to commit to it for any length of time. It was, quite honestly, a book I could easily put down yet still enjoyed when I returned.

For those who truly love the Star Wars universe, however, it's hard to imagine a more enjoyable reading experience from faces familiar and unfamiliar. This is the first and only truly comprehensive oral history of the entire Star Wars franchise and it requires a remarkable level of commitment and surrender just as that offered by those who've followed the franchise for over 40 years and yet eagerly anticipate more.

"Secrets of the Force" will most certainly not resonate with everyone, however, for the full-on and completely engaged Star Wars fan this will definitely be a book you'll want to add to your collection.