
The Secret History of Star Wars
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Narrated by:
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Josh Robert Thompson
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By:
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Michael Kaminski
About this listen
Star Wars is one of the most important cultural phenomena of the Western world. The tale of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker has become modern myth, an epic tragedy of the corruption of a young man in love into darkness, the rise of evil, and the power of good triumphing in the end. But it didn't start out that way. In this thorough account of one of cinema's most lasting works, Michael Kaminski presents the true history of how Star Wars was written, from its beginnings as a science fiction fairy tale to its development over three decades into the epic we now know, chronicling the methods, techniques, thought processes, and struggles of its creator. For this unauthorized account, he has pored through over 400 sources, from interviews to original scripts, to track how the most powerful modern epic in the world was created, expanded, and finalized into the tale an entire generation has grown up with.
©2008 Michael Kaminski (P)2014 Novel AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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The definitive history of Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth saga, Anything You Can Imagine takes us on a cinematic journey across all six films, featuring brand-new interviews with Peter, his cast and his crew. From the early days of daring to dream it could be done, through the highs and lows of making the films, to fan adoration and, finally, Oscar glory.
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A journey to Middle Earth and Back Again
- By John Bridges on 01-27-19
By: Ian Nathan, and others
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Oscar Wars
- A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears
- By: Michael Schulman
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs
- Unabridged
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In Oscar Wars, Michael Schulman chronicles the remarkable, sprawling history of the Academy Awards and the personal dramas—some iconic, others never-before-revealed—that have played out on the stage and off camera. Unlike other books on the subject, each chapter takes a deep dive into a particular year, conflict, or even category that tells a larger story of cultural change, from Louis B. Mayer to Moonlight. Schulman examines how the red carpet runs through contested turf, and the victors aren't always as clear as the names drawn from envelopes.
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Fascinating and FUN
- By Peter Riley on 06-11-23
By: Michael Schulman
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This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories
- Turner Classic Movies
- By: Carla Valderrama
- Narrated by: Carla Valderrama
- Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age. The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at 93, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.
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Hollywood Fun
- By Ernie D. Casciato on 01-06-21
By: Carla Valderrama
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The Future Was Now
- Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982
- By: Chris Nashawaty
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In the summer of 1982, eight science fiction films were released within six weeks of one another. E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior changed the careers of some of Hollywood's now biggest names―altering the art of movie-making to this day.
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Great story about an incredible year in sci fi film making.
- By Jesse Poole Van Swol on 10-04-24
By: Chris Nashawaty
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Star Wars: Convergence (The High Republic)
- By: Zoraida Córdova
- Narrated by: Marc Thompson
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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It is an age of exploration. Jedi travel the galaxy, expanding their understanding of the Force and all the worlds and beings connected by it. Meanwhile, the Republic, led by its two chancellors, works to unite worlds in an ever-growing community among near and distant stars. On the close-orbiting planets of Eiram and E’ronoh, the growing pains of a galaxy with limited resources but unlimited ambition are felt keenly. The two worlds’ hatred for each other has fueled half a decade of escalating conflict and now threatens to consume surrounding systems.
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Was Skeptical at first…boy was I wrong!
- By Justin Steele on 12-12-22
By: Zoraida Córdova
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Star Wars The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark
- By: Lou Anders, Tom Angleberger, Preeti Chhibber, and others
- Narrated by: Catherine Taber, James Arnold Taylor, Corey Burton, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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An epic clash between the forces of light and dark, between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists, between brave heroes and brilliant villains, the fate of the galaxy is at stake in the Emmy Award-winning animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In this exciting anthology, 11 authors who are also fans of the series bring stories from their favorite show to life. Gathered here are memorable moments and stunning adventures, from attempted assassinations to stolen bounties, from lessons learned to loves lost.
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All stories are episodes of animanted clone wars
- By Daniel on 08-26-20
By: Lou Anders, and others
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The Princess Diarist
- By: Carrie Fisher
- Narrated by: Carrie Fisher, Billie Lourd
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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When Carrie Fisher recently discovered the journals she kept during the filming of the first Star Wars movie, she was astonished to see what they had preserved—plaintive love poems, unbridled musings with youthful naiveté, and a vulnerability that she barely recognized. Today, her fame as an author, actress, and pop-culture icon is indisputable, but in 1977, Carrie Fisher was just a teenager with an all-consuming crush on her costar, Harrison Ford.
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Come for the headlines, stay for the whole story
- By JOSEPH on 12-06-16
By: Carrie Fisher
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Star Wars: Outbound Flight
- By: Timothy Zahn
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Abridged
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Six Jedi Masters, 12 Jedi Knights, and 50,000 men, women, and children, will embark - aboard a gargantuan vessel, equipped for years of travel - on a mission to contact intelligent life and colonize undiscovered worlds beyond the known galaxy. The government bureaucracy threatens to scuttle the expedition before it can even start - until Master C’baoth foils a murderous conspiracy plot, winning him the political capital he needs to set in motion the dream of Outbound Flight.
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Great story, enlightening for fans.HATE ABRIDGED
- By Preston on 09-05-12
By: Timothy Zahn
What listeners say about The Secret History of Star Wars
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- Acustomer
- 01-06-17
Truly in depth and exhaustive research
A truly in depth analysis on the history and evolution of Star Wars that over the years has gone through some incorrect revisionist history.
Narration was awesome and exciting to listen too with voice caricatures spot on. I felt like I was listening to a documentary.
Highly recommended.
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3 people found this helpful
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- ccrasor
- 04-06-22
Very Informative if wordy.
This book is super informative. I like how is breaks down the writing process if the whole saga (Ep. 1-6 at time of writing) and completely debunks the legend of the saga being planned out from the very beginning. Thoroughly researched with sources from all the way back in the early 1970s, the book clearly outlines how each movie was developed, how they changed, and what was set aside or added draft by draft.
My only negative is that it can be a little repetitive. quotes are used multiple times throughout the book. Each time they are used different parts of the quotes are pointed out to emphasize the point being made at the time. But it can get a little repetitive when listening. I'm sure it works better when looking at a page of the book. But when listening I often through, "Yeah, I remember when you said X three chapters ago. I get the point you are making you don't need to use the quote to prove." I think, because the author is breaking down the myth George Lucas has built up around himself that he's some sort of creative genius that had this entire saga planned out, he's trying to be really careful when making his points. He always backs up his claims with quotes and other research.
I think having the mystique around the writing of the saga taken away actually adds to the story. Lucas is not a genius with a mind no one else can fathom, but he is a very hard-working filmmaker who worked collaboratively with a lot of other people to help create something that is amazing. That story is inspiring. Anyone could potentially do it. This book ultimately makes me want to go out and collaborate with other artists and make art. It probably won't be the next Star Wars......but it could be.
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- Michael Jeffrey
- 12-13-17
Star Wars history
This book is a 5 out of 5 but I️ had to give I️t a 4 due to its repetitiveness .
You need to not only love star wars but want to know about The creative process behind movie making the history of film. I️ really enjoyed hear how the characters came to be and where many of the ideas for the story came from but it was repeated time and again throughout the book at 611 pages it’s just way too long really glad I️t was an audio book or I️ would not have got through I️t .
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- kristy a. palmer
- 09-26-22
learned so much about Lucas, as well as Star Wars
I truly enjoyed listening to this. yes, there was some repetition in some of the facts/stories, so there I gave the story 4 stars. but in most aspects, I could understand why, as you were often being transported back and forth at times; and other times, having to refer back to statements n whether or not they were congruent with later statements.
Josh Robert Thompson did an excellent job in his narration, making me feel as though I were listening to interview clips, rather than just words on a page. I know he wasn't able to accurately capture *everyone's* voice, but he did a great job, overall.
the only thing I was surprised not to hear in the book, was more about the Clone Wars series that aired between Episodes 2 and 3. I know Lucas had a hand in that. granted, there was a brief mention, in regards to 1 character, but that's about it. I'm also curious to see if there will ever be a re-release, with the addition of Lucas selling off SW to Disney, the sequel trilogy, n subsequent TV series that eventually expanded the story.
if you're a big enough Star Wars fan, or even curious about Lucas n how he came to make em, definitely listen to this book!
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- J. Mayfield
- 04-16-16
Great listen!
If you are looking for more information than you'll ever want to know about Star Wars, this book is for you. Pretty good over all, though! The reader's impersonation of George Lucas 's voice was dead on! Recommended.
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- SG
- 07-27-16
More academic, and that's not a bad thing.
I listened to this immediately after listening to How Star Wars Conquered The Universe. While it was full of analysis, critique and of course all manner of trivia and apocrypha, it was handled in a more literary and academic way than I expected. These two audiobooks make wonderful companions to each other.
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- A. Parham
- 06-16-22
Fascinating and well-performed!
The book is very scholarly and well-sourced. The narrator was perfect, and even did some pretty amusing (and convincing) impressions of Lucas and many of the other players involved when quoting them!
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- Matthew L. Jones
- 10-03-22
Masterful Performance of Entertaining Research
The George Lucas impression was so good, I just thought it was him the first several times. (chuckles in George Lucas).
This is a subject I know rather well, but I still leaned a lot and was captivated the entire time.
Star Wars is simultaneously my favorite and most hated body of fiction. I have similar feelings about its creator, Mr Lucas. This exploration of the process, from start to finish, of his development of The Saga did create more sympathy for him than I have felt previously. While at the same time confronting him with all of the contradictory versions (not to mention blatant lies) of the origin story he's told along the way.
At times, I felt I could have written this book, given my own study of the subject matter. But the depth of research (with sources!) purely astounds and is convincing in its thoroughness.
The reader does a fantastic job- he has a clear enough "documentary" voice for the majority of the text, but uses very convincing impressions of the "cast" that you get the feeling you're listening to the actual people. As mentioned upfront, the Lucas impression is amazing!
Excellent book. Excellent narration. Will be recommending broadly.
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- Rob G.
- 12-11-15
Not much of a secret, honestly.
As many people have noted, this is a book for the diehards. It is long. It is detail packed. It is repetitious, It is exhaustive in every sense of the word. And, to be blunt, it's an awful lot of words to say what anyone who has followed the Star Wars franchise since the early days already knows: George Lucas never really had a master plan and has been making it up or modifying the past (retcon, as the author helpfully defines multiple times) as he sees fit since the beginning.
That said, the research here is very impressive. Kaminiski has really done his homework, a chore which can't have been too easy given the contradictions of the mountains of Star Wars info available and the way Lucas plays things close the the vest, letting out only what hewants you to know at that time. It's fascinating to hear the script changes or Lucas's own words changing over time. And its fun, and a bit frustrating, to see how Lucas twisted the franchise into a pretzel to fit whatever his vision was that week.
But, I have to admit, this book wore me out. Maybe I'm not an uber fan, just a fanatic? There were only so many times I could hear essentially similar information about this change or that. The minutia is impressive, but overwhelming at times.
Still, if you want to know exactly how we got from the original 1977 movie to the whole universe it is today, I doubt you'll find a better resource.
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22 people found this helpful
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- Heidi
- 03-25-18
A lot of good info...Repetitive
A must "read" for the full on fan. A lot of George Lucas quotes anyone listening would swear it was done by George himself! That, plus some darn good Scorsese, Coppola, and others thrown in. I learned alot about 70's Lucas, THX 1138, American Graffiti, and Raiders to boot. This does go extensively IMHO into each draft of the first 3 movies' scripts and even into the prequels. It does tend to theorize alot about why or when the Father/Son story was developed, based on research; causing the author to double back a lot. It was very thorough, and Josh Robert Thompson made it enjoyable with his impersonations.
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