Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual History
This book, from DK Publishing, is a true work of art. It’s written by a handful of writers: Ryder Windham, Daniel Wallace, and the canon/legends lore keeper, Pablo Hidalgo.
This book dives deep into the past. Way back to when the creator of Star Wars was born. George Lucas Jr. was born in 1944. He was like many of us, a nerd who loved comics, tv, sci-fi and radio dramas. We learn a lot of about Mr. Lucas and what it was that inspired and influenced him to create his legacy, Star Wars. This book contains a lot of interesting material, a unique look at historical events that took place during or share some correlation to the creation of Star Wars. What we learn about the beginning of Lucas’s career is amazing, from the projects he was working on to the supreme talent he was surrounding himself with.
A little knowledge nugget: After the huge success of the original film, we learn a lot about what took place behind the scenes. For example, someone else wrote the first draft to the sequel of Star Wars, and George wasn’t pleased with it at all!
Parts of the book I couldn’t wait to get to were mentioned in the Author’s Note by Ryder Windham: “We would also include occasional inconsistencies between the movies, novels, comics, and merchandise.” I found that to be extremely interesting and exciting!
Many Star Wars fans love the EU. 
I’ve learned that the birth of the EU was Sept 1977, Star Wars Marvel comic issue #7. Although the legends canon and new canon don’t mix well, each stand on their own and are both fun to read. Before the EU most of know today, the first sequel to the hit film Star Wars, was Splinter of the Minds Eye and comics that had stories going beyond the film. Some fans argue about all canon having contradictions… true or not, fans noticed the obvious one in the early EU when a character trait was switched!
This history book is loaded with historical content, the ultimate coffee table book! From front to back, every page has several images with descriptions and the facts of the times. At the end of the book we’re reminded of how fast time sneaks past us. There is so much more history to be written already. New material is published every month, new shows, new movies… history is always in the making.
GO GET THIS BOOK!