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A Long Time Ago: Growing Up With And Out Of Star Wars by [Gib van Ert]

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A Long Time Ago: Growing Up With And Out Of Star Wars Kindle Edition

by Gib van Ert (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Some time in the summer of 1977, sitting in the back seat of a borrowed station wagon at the only drive-in in town, Gib van Ert saw the first ninety minutes of a film that changed his world--and the world in general--forever. Then he fell asleep. So began a torrid thirty-five-year love affair with Star Wars, complete with infatuation, lust, devotion, jealousy, betrayal, despair, separation and reconciliation.

In A Long Time Ago: Growing Up With And Out Of Star Wars, van Ert describes how Star Wars captivated his imagination as a boy, broke his heart as a young man, and is foisting itself upon him again today through fatherhood. At once a personal memoir and a reflection on the shared experience of a generation, A Long Time Ago explores Star Wars fandom with equal parts humour and thoughtfulness, nostalgia and regret.

Print length

158 pages
Language

English
Publication date

August 14, 2012
File size

493 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A Long Time Ago is a wonderful look back on growing up with Star Wars...Van Ert [has] written a great little memoir about life as a boy with Star Wars and his trials as an adult with his boyhood fascination." - Wired.com

About the Author

Gib van Ert is a lawyer and father in Vancouver, British Columbia. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B008XRNRJ8
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soi-disant press (August 14, 2012)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 14, 2012
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 493 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 158 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0988118009
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #3,448,127 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #36,819 in Humor (Kindle Store)
- #49,363 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)
- #137,079 in Humor (Books)

Customer Reviews:
21 ratings

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Gib van Ert
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Gib van Ert is a lawyer and occasional author. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with his wife and two children.
Gib's writings on the reception of public international law in Canada are frequently cited in law journal articles and other legal publications. He has taught courses on international law and its domestic reception at the University of Ottawa and the University of Victoria. He is a frequent speaker at both academic and professional legal conferences.
Gib's most recent book is A Long Time Ago: Growing up with and out of Star Wars. From Cory Doctorow's review on Boing Boing: "...pure pleasure...a thoughtful, funny, and beautifully written story...scathingly hilarious and bang on".
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Customer reviews

5 star		48%
4 star		29%
3 star		7%
2 star		7%
1 star		9%

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Top reviews from the United States

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christopher smith

A fun journey that mirrored my own

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013

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This is not a substantive book by any means, but that is in no way a put down. Being a graduate student means that I can read very little outside of my field of study, yet I found the perfect escape in Gib's descriptive journey of "growing up and out of Star Wars". While not a true history of the films, their marketing campaigns, or the licensing that came with them, this short book follows all of these aspects simultaneously and chronologically, always in context of the author's relationship to these phenomenon at the time. His experience largely matched my own, and following his childhood was a way to revisit mine. It didn't matter to me that he didn't provide all of the details about the Kenner toys he so much enjoyed, he recalled enough to make me remember the feelings I had opening the toys, and what their packaging was like (though no descriptions of that newly-opened action figure smell!) for me to be completely satisfied. As I have distanced myself from Star Wars over the last ten years or so, I thought my interest had waned out of existence. But I lurked this book on Amazon for many months before pulling the trigger, and I eagerly read it before every night until finished.

One person found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2013

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A Long Time Ago mirrors my interest in Star Wars nearly exactly. From the Kenner action figures of my youth, to my disappointment in the prequels - to this day I've never seen Attack of the Clones, to my re-interest in the Original Trilogy when my now 4 year-old daughter discovered A New Hope a couple years ago. I even started collecting the figures again when I saw them in the store a couple years ago.

I really enjoyed the book. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

And, I've never found a Rebel Fleet Trooper either.

Decent Personal Account

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2013

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As the Author of Confessions of a Fanboy I know Star Wars fan memoirs can be tricky. Gib does a good job. As another reviewer points out, this is a bit more autobiography than a "Star Wars" book, but that's fine. My only qualm is a personal one - I disagree with his negative perspective on the Prequels.
All in all, a decent and enjoyable read for any Star Wars fan.

One person found this helpful

Great trip down memory lane

Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2012

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To the Author-thanks for writing this memoir. It was a fun ride that anyone in their late 30s or 40s who grew up with the Star Wars experience should read. I found myself laughing out loud and connecting with so much of it... the response to seeing Biggs in the Star Wars Storybook, but having no memory of him in the movie, etc. The action figure rollout and wondering why Kenner made some figures and not others... the special weapons for certain figures... and what else was going on during the years in between and right after the original movies.
Recommended read for sure. I hope some of my friends will pick this up and read it so we can discuss and relive our own personal moments!

3 people found this helpful

Trip down memory lane

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012

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I really enjoyed this book. It is a nice light read that will bring back a bunch of old memories if you were a kid in the late 70's/early 80s (I'm about 1.5 years older then the author). With Star Wars so much in the news, it was fun to remember a time when Star Wars was when there was just the first two movies and you had to make up so much of the stories from your imagination and playing with friends. Since I have a 6 year old boy, I can relate to the author's attempts to try to pass on the Star Wars of his youth to his children and the realization that it is an impossible task. At least it does make it easier for the bed time stories.

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Sparked my own nostalgia

Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2013

Verified Purchase

This was a nice enjoyable read. Ripped through it in a few days.

I am about the same age as the author and his recollections of growing up with the Star Wars universe matched my own experiences, making this an enjoyable trip down memory lane.

Some of the chapters felt a bit forced and iterated what had been said previously. Book ends with a rewarding takedown of the prequels. Although this ending reignited my rage at these movies.

Would definitely recommend.

more an autobiography than about Star Wars

Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2013

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... and that's not necessarily a bad thing - he's pretty clear up front that it's the purpose of the book, but I didn't feel myself walking down memory lane too much while reading it since it was more about his childhood in general than Star Wars itself. He doesn't do a poor job of it, it's just not quite what I was expecting......

Star Wars-love it!

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book is about one young man's experience growing up with the Star Wars trilogy and how it influenced his life. I think anyone who grew up around the same time would enjoy reading this book. I know I did!

Top reviews from other countries

Bluearmy

Not such a long time ago anymore

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2013

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I thoroughly enjoyed this short little book.
Although we grew up thousands of miles apart in Canada and the UK, it seems that Gib and I are of a similar age and despite being separated by the vast Atlantic ocean (and never having met) Star Wars dominated both our childhoods, and I'd bet that if we ever were to meet up we'd find that we have a lot in common.
That in itself is a testimony to the friendly, open, conversational way in which the book is written, and how well Gib puts his passion and subsequent disappointments across. I thought he dealt with the dullness and let down of the prequels pretty well, but most of all he perfectly captured the excitement, the total mind blowingness of seeing the original trilogy on the big screen back in the 70's. He made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and my heart beat faster as suddenly I was once again that little boy, jaw hanging open, eyes wide, head still and not daring to blink as I sat in the darkened Odeon watching light sabers and star destroyers, hearing laser fire and Wookiee growls. And to achieve that kind of reaction with the printed word is no mean feat. Thanks Gib.

Colin C

Most Impressive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2013

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A thoroughly entertaining read that brought back many of my own childhood memories of the original Star Wars trilogy. It is an easy, enjoyable read, written in a nice flowing style. The book is mostly about the author's childhood and growing up with the original trilogy but does cover the prequel trilogy albeit too briefly in my opinion but I guess there was less to say. I did find myself agreeing with his sentiments on the prequels although I am more forgiving of their flaws. It will be interesting to see if Gib will update with the new films coming after the Disney takeover, I am sure if he does it will be well worth reading.

One person found this helpful

Joanna Mckay

A great read

Reviewed in Canada on July 16, 2019

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A great summer read!

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