A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars [Paperback]

Glenn Kenny (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805070745 | ISBN-13: 978-0805070743 | Publication Date: September 6, 2002 | Edition: 1st

A dazzling collection of original essays by some of America's most notable young writers on the cultural impact of the Star Wars films

A Galaxy Not So Far Away is the first ever exploration of the innumerable ways the Star Wars films have forever altered our cultural and artistic landscape. Edited by Glenn Kenny, a senior editor and critic at Premiere magazine, this singular collection allows some of the nation's most acclaimed writers to anatomize, criticize, celebrate, and sometimes simply riff on the prismatic aftereffects of an unparalleled American phenomenon. Jonathan Lethem writes of the summer he saw Star Wars twenty-one times as his mother lay dying of cancer. Neal Pollack chips in with the putative memoir of a certain young man having problems with his father, written in the voice of Holden Caulfield. Erika Krouse ponders the code of the Jedi Knight and its relation to her own pursuit of the martial arts. New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell meditates upon the mysterious figure Lando Calrissian.

A classic assemblage of pop writing at its best, A Galaxy Not So Far Away is a book for everyone who loves Star Wars films and seeks to understand just what it is about these films that has so enchanted an entire generation of filmgoers.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A Galaxy Not So Far Away is a collection of essays that set out to seriously explore the vast landscape of the Star Wars cultural phenomenon. Premiere magazine editor Glenn Kenny has complied 18 well-crafted pieces from a wide array of pop culture aficionados, including ribald filmmaker Kevin Smith and Onion satirist Todd Hanson.

The pieces range from serious scholarship to self-deprecating geek confessionals. Some--such as "Pale Starship, Pale Rider: The Ambiguous Appeal of Boba Fett" by Tom Bissell--tend toward the esoteric minutiae of fandom, and are sure to please the rabid devotee. But most are kindly universal and range far beyond the spacey subject matter into more human territory. Thankfully, most of the writers don't take themselves too seriously as they make the jump to hyperspace. Thus, the collection is a pleasure to read and an interesting foray into the passionate media culture surrounding the Star Wars universe. Overall, an excellent intellectual exercise for anyone who has ever found escape in a galaxy far, far away. --Jeremy Pugh

From Publishers Weekly

The mention of Star Wars inspires fervor among many writers. For some, their viewing of the films was life-changing. Premiere magazine senior editor Kenny gathers essays that explore various takes on Star Wars from hip-hop activists, novelists, critics and others. Director Kevin Smith writes, "A brother just can't escape being a Star Wars dork sometimes"; writer Neal Pollack offers a parody that involves Osama bin Kenobi and Puke Skybarfer; Jonathan Lethem (Motherless Brooklyn) admits to seeing the original Star Wars 21 times in the summer of 1977; and book editor Webster Younce confesses that watching the Star Wars Holiday Special is "an agonizing experience."
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1st edition (September 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805070745
• ISBN-13: 978-0805070743
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,384,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Star Wars Realpolitik, September 11, 2002

By 

"roguestool" (from Astoria, Queens) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars (Paperback)

Don't listen to disgruntled Star Wars fans on this book. There are only a few out and out negative pieces here (one, "Jedi Uber Alles" by Tom Carson, is actually pretty good); most are fond, respectful, but above all they're *interesting.* No, this isn't a licensed love fest. Nor does it claim to be. It's about how the movies have affected our culture and our minds, and it's done so in good and bad ways. Star Wars, as this book's editor Glenn Kenny points out, did not at all kill movies. But it seems pretty inarguable that it made them louder and dumber, which (again as Kenny points out) is weird because George Lucas is the world's biggest independent filmmaker who controls with an auteur's pickiness his own product. But anyway: The really good essays here are Jonathan Lethem's (about seeing Star Wars 21 times in one summer), Tom Bissell's (about Boba Fett), Todd Hanson's (about The Phantom Menance), Lydia Millet's (about Darth Vader), Elvis Mitchell's (about Lando), and the above-mentioned Carson essay which I hate as a fan but admit makes some good points. There are also some really quite dreadful essays (say nothing but good of the dead) which I won't stoop to name. All Star Wars fans should get this book; it's important, and it's funny, and it has smart, tough things to say.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not So Long Ago, Pretty Close to Home., February 16, 2003

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tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars (Paperback)

A GALAXY NOT SO FAR AWAY is a collection of essays that attempt to illustrate just how far reaching STAR WARS has impacted and influenced our society and culture. Most of the essays are positive, many are humorous, and several are nostaligiac in their reflections. Some, however are negative and a few are quite thought provoking. I especially enjoyed reading Kevin Smith's "Married to the Force" and Todd Hansen's "A Big Dumb Movie About Space Wizards". The two essays that paint the STAR WARS phenomenon in the most negative light "Jedi Uber Alles" and "Anakin, Get Your Gun" are also the two essays that made me pause and think the most. I also enjoyed the essay that illustrated just how STAR WARS has influenced hip-hop music, suggesting that hip-hop wouldn't exist (at least not in it's current form) without STAR WARS.

This book is not a collection of essays about "What STAR WARS means to me" (though there are a few of those in here). Instead, it is a book illustrating just how huge and powerful the little space opera that could has influenced our society. This is a great book for most STAR WAR fans or for anyone interested in popular culture.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, August 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: A Galaxy Not So Far Away: Writers and Artists on Twenty-five Years of Star Wars (Paperback)

One of the funniest books I have ever read. You think the pieces are cute, and they are, but then they're serious, and you're stunned. What a weird, wonderful project and what a perfect gift for movie-lovers. Lydia Millet's piece on Darth Vader is a must-read whether you like Star Wars or not. This book should sell for a long, long time.