PICK UP YOUR VISUAL
SCANNING!
Review by R. Lee Brown
Star Wars: The
Visual Dictionary
Written by Dr. David West Reynolds
Published by DK Publishing, Inc.
Publication Date: October 1, 1998
This book is going to suffer the same fan reluctance as Star Wars Incredible Cross-Sections. The material has been pretty heavily mined before. From The Essential Guide to Characters, The Guide to the Star Wars Universe, and The Star Wars Encyclopedia to Star Wars: The Magic of Myth and The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives we've seen extensive information, biographies and photographs of the main characters in the Star Wars trilogy.
Still, Star Wars The
Visual Dictionary manages to do it a little
different.
NOT EXACTLY FROM A TO Z
The name is a bit of a misonomer: this book doesn't try
to be a dictionary of Star Wars characters in the
truest sense of the word. It's not in alphabetical
order, for one thing. And it doesn't try to be all
inclusive, like the Star Wars Encyclopedia: here,
minor characters like Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru get short
shrift with only a small pictorial mention on one of Luke
Skywalker's three page.
But Luke does have three pages, showing his growth from Farmboy to Jedi Knight, and they are stocked full of pictures and information. Author David West Reynolds doesn't try to blur your vision with oodles of information minutiae - this is a "visual dictionary" after all, and what you'll find here are pictures galore, many never before seen, or freshly taken at the Lucasfilm Archives. These pictures share something in common with Reynolds' other new DK book, Incredible Cross-Sections - they are captioned and annotated with the names of the various devices, items, and mechanics pictured.
You'll find photos and info on all the major characters (note Lando's "winning smile") as well as entries on your favorite villains, the Imperial Leaders (although the military officer shots are largely washed out), Bounty Hunters, Jabba's Entourage, The Cantina Crowd, as well as almost every other major denizen, race, or droid seen in the trilogy. The Visual Dictionary is a pictures only book - no drawings - and so doesn't begin to touch anything from the Expanded Universe.
There are a few minor errors contained herein: Han Solo is described as having been raised by "space gypsies," which is in contrast to the pirates shown in Ann Crispin's The Paradise Snare. Also, the display screen from Death Star I that illustrated the potential orbits it could make around Yavin is falsely described as the "Superlaser Targeting Display." But you won't find many such niggling mistakes - West has covered this territory very thoroughly. And such minor points are easily overshadowed by such nice, brand new presentations as a cut-away photo of a stormtrooper helmet revealing the mechanics inside. This was obviously created exclusively for The Visual Dictionary, as actual stormtrooper helmets had no actual fancy gimmickery - they were made only to be worn by extras.
In the final analysis, Star Wars The Visual Dictionary isn't going to amaze you with new revelations. However, there are some new pictures to be found, and the book's 10" x 12" large format offers up many photos that will give clear, definitive, detailed looks at old friends. The $20 price tag may be a bit much for some fans, but it's cheaper than the average coffee table book and offers more bang for the buck.
Author: Dr. David West Reynolds
Reynolds is actually another case of a Star Wars fan becoming professionally involved with the franchise. A Ph.D in Classical Archaeology (shades of Indiana Jones!) at the University of Michigan, he undertook a project in 1995 to re-locate the Tunisian filming sites from the Star Wars: A New Hope. Using his archaeolgical skills, he tracked down the sites and wrote an article about it in the Star Wars Insider.
The article generated a call from Lucasfilm asking him to guide them back to those sites (their records had been lost) so they could scout locations for the upcoming Prequels. Reynolds did so, and was eventually hired full-time by Lucasfilm. Since then he's used his Star Wars knowledge to write four books, with two more on the way that will cover the new Star Wars prequel Episode 1.