The Secret History of Star Wars

The Secret History of Star Wars

Has anyone checked this out? I'm reading it right now and can not put it down.

This book gives the full story of SW as told historically including GL's personal life, inspirational sources for SW and the backstory behind those (Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Kurasawa flicks etc.). It also shows the inconsistencies in GL's interviews and holds nothing back. It feels like I'm reading a transcript of a "Speaker For the Dead"-style wake or something.


For anyone who hasn't read Speaker - "Speakers research the dead person's life and give a speech that attempts to speak for them, describing the person's life as he or she tried to live it. This speech is not an apology, but rather a way to understand the person as a whole, including any flaws or misdeeds."


If you get the chance, read this book!

Only a couple chapters in, but I'll post any interesting tidbits I find in this thread.

#1 thing so far...Lucas couldn't write plot to save his life! Although I knew that he borrowed heavily from Hidden Fortress, I had no idea that his first summary, the one he took to United Artists as part of his "American Graffiti/Star Wars" double contract deal was copied almost verbatim from a summary of Hidden Fortress. The only thing that was changed was the time period! It still invloved the 2 peasants (GL's version - Bureaucrats)and a bearded General trying to protect a princess and her royal treasure (GL's version - Spice, instead of gold-we all know where he got that one *cough,Dune!,cough*) as they travelled through enemy territory. Wow.

Also, please don't misunderstand-I'm not bashing GL. I love SW and I'm forever thankful that things worked out the way they did. It's just refreshing to finally hear this story without the rose colored glasses that show Lucas as the creative genius that he sometimes isn't.

Any thoughts?