Video Books

The photos here are lovingly chosen by her son, and the entire book is an absolute joy.

This book was pleasant and thoughtful, as is its subject. Though admittedly the writing was far less enchanting than I would have expected; I like to think it was kept simple to further emphasize the simplicity and sincerity of Audrey herself. This book did not add any revelation for the reader about her life; but instead, allowed for a glance at Audrey Hepburn's everyday existence. I was constantly amazed at how strong and genuine her character when faced with life's sometimes complicated decisions. This book shows Audrey as a person who effortlessly put others before herself, and seemed to never question her sense of what is right.

Even the idea of such simplicity has become a fairytale in our lives, and it is so refreshing to read about someone who was capable of remaining so solidly pure, that I cannot help but read a little more. One need only look to her work with UNICEF to know how first-rate she truly was.

She has allways been one of my favorite stars.The book has a beautifull
lay-out and is a pleasure to read.Lots of photographs never seen before
and beautifull passages about her work for Unicef and what a wonderful mother she was.I can highly recommend this book.

Bought this as a gift for my daughter as she is a fan and thought that the personal insights were revealing and poignant.

I love everything about this book. I like the photos. I like the interesting story. And how Mr. Sean Hepburn Ferrer includes a reproduction of Audrey's birth certificate. Obviously, this is a
well-documented book. Authentic and sincere. I wish Mr. Ferrer had chosen a more stunning photo for the cover. The cover is kind of blurry and not very focussed I love black and white photos Colored ones are nice too but not blurry, indistinct ones.

I highly recommend this book. It has helped write the Different Flags screenplay. Eugenia RenskoffDifferent Flags

So far the best and complete guide for screenplay that I've read. Very useful for those who wants to start writing a screenplay. I recommend it.

This books is very well written and has loads of information for the beginning screen writer such as myself. The author takes a chronological step by step approach as to how to get started and the proper format for a screenplay. The only thing I'm sort of ad odds with is that the author doesn't say much as to how in the world you get an agent to just read your script, let alone representing you. He sort of glosses over that problem and a real problem it is. I personally have been sending out query letters since February of this year and have received only "polite" rejection form letters or no responses at all. I've even sent out "follow up" queries and still no responses. I assume that agents need postage stamps, they've obviously kept the ones that I've included for return postage, or that in order to get ANYTHING read and actually produced, you have to know someone personally in the business. Don't quit your day jobs and think that you're going to sell a story. It's next impossible, as I've unfortunately realized. You would assume that it's not really that difficult given all the "schlock" that IS produced. Case in point: an independent film maker made a film this last year about zombies attacking a small town and it cost him about $30,000 to make. He released it and it made over $35,000,000 in one weekend! Out grossing the three main stream releases put together! Go figure. Never the less, this book is a good fundamental but just don't depend on it too much as gospel. Keep writing, keep looking for an agent but also keep/find a regular job in the meantime.

Unless you enjoy battering your head against the wall, read Keane's book before embarking on your project. Soup to nuts and three desserts - he gives the reader everything.

As Chance the Gardener says in BEING THERE, "I like to watch." As one who also likes to watch, this 'blockbuster release' time of year always makes me wonder....Could I do 'that'? Just how hard is it to do 'that.? 'That' being writing a screenplay and whatever comes after. A mystery to most of us watchers. This time I decided to seek answers to these questions. I naturally sought a book, which, for this quest, is Christopher Keane's HOW TO WRITE A SELLING SCREENPLAY.
CASABLANCA screenwriter Julius Epstein's foreword to this book closes with, 'Good luck and welcome to the terrible, wonderful world of screenwriting.' Why terrible/wonderful? By the time I finished this book, that was crystal clear. I learned that this pursuit isn't for the faint of heart or the thin-skinned. Screenwriting is demanding. It's daunting. It requires utter focus. It's frustrating. It's exciting. It's lonely. It's rewarding. There are lots of rules....There are no rules...
In this informative, engaging primer one can learn these rules and gain valuable insights into the wild and crazy film business itself. You might learn from this book that your idea is better suited for a play. Or a novel. Or a TV series. It's just as important to know what isn't a good screenplay idea as what is. Saves time! Throughout, I found that this book teaches about writing in the larger sense as well as screenwriting in particular. Chris Keane walks us through the many facets of this discipline that comprise the whole; the all-important story, character, plot, structure, dialogue, format, collaboration and re-write among them. He illuminates all of these aspects with references to specific films. And the book is peppered with personal anecdotes from the author's career. I found these to be invaluable insights. And one learns that once the screenplay is finished, the real work begins. This book will be helpful in the vital hunt for an agent, a key piece of the process puzzle.
I particularly like that this isn't an 'Ivory Tower Theory' book. Though Mr. Keane teaches this art, he also does it. And he has written novels and written for TV. As it's said today, he's been there-done that. I trust and respect this experience above all.
Whether you want to be a Chance the Gardener and 'just watch,' or you want to try actually writing a screenplay, I suggest you have Christopher Keane's book by your side. It's a helpful tool, seems to me. The more we know about the film process the better the 'watching' or 'doing' will be. This book will enhance the watching experience and make the 'doing' more manageable.
I've been trying to come up with a logline for this book....So far? 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the make believe.' Logline? Very important. See HOW TO WRITE A SELLING SCREENPLAY, Chapter 5.....

Much has already been said about the quality of the book. I personally find that the book is a due tribute. I also must say that I have not found something on Kubrick of comparable depth.

On the content side, I would have liked to see more info on the projects that were not realized, especially on "Napoleon". And I didn't find a lot of value on the CD, since it's a spoken track instead of some audiovisual material. Nevertheless, as I said before, I haven't been able to find anything comparable to this book on Kubrick. The written material is of excellent quality, as are the pictures and graphics.

I see that Taschen is issuing a new version for it's 25th anniversary. As I understand it, it will be out on Oct/2008.

In conclusion, I am the proud and happy owner of an excellent piece of work.

I have been a Kubrick fan since I was 7 and saw "Paths of Glory" - it was the only film I ever saw that I NEEDED to know who directed it, and, what other movies of his were out there. That was 30 years ago, and I still keep all his films seperate from anything else in my collection! This book is simply INCREDIBLE! Buy it if you can.....no true Kubrick fan should be without this......it is MIND BLOWING! A true work of art covering the work of a true artist. We will not see Stanley's talent and caliber in any other film maker, at least not in my lifetime. Bravo, Stanley!

If it wasn't for its hefty weight, the book is one of the items I'd take with me if my house was on fire - without hesitation. I can't even imagine how long it took for the Taschen team to assemble this incredible book; it tries to do justice to recollect Kubrick's body of work in the form of a portable archive. Seeing this book in person is an experience in itself. The conceptual design is simply impressive: details like the texture of the binding mimicking that of a real archive is a start.

A CD of a rare uncut interview with Stanley Kubrick included in the book is a real gem. The interview takes place during Kubrick's career in its earlier years, and it provides an insight of the director that no other text interview has been able to accomplish - precisely for the reason that you hear Kubrick's voice and his unfiltered opinions. Then, of course, you have a piece of 2001's film strip as an added bonus. It's just too much for a book! And I say that gratefully.

The first part of the book is filled with glossy stills of all the films made by Kubrick. It's nice, and glossy, but the real reason I purchased this book is for part two.

Part two, or "The Creative Process", is filled with a lot of archival materials for each of Kubrick's films - especially pre-production materials: production notes, correspondences, and etc. You learn a lot about how Kubrick prepares for his films by seeing just a tiny fraction (undoubtedly) of what he does before he actually goes into production - it is one of the reasons that explain the long intervals between the director's releases. In addition, the book has an extensive collection of interviews with the director from various sources. But it is little treasures like the former that make this book special.

If you are a serious fan of the master director that is Stanley Kubrick, this is the next thing to have in your possession after the DVDs. Taschen made a serious effort in paying homage to Kubrick's work as a book publisher, and they have succeeded. They could've made a lazy effort in disguise to simply profit off of Kubrick's name, but they didn't, and for that they have my respect.

Amazon now has this book available for pre-order for an October 1, 2008 release date, for $44.10 from a $70 retail cost. Look under 'The Stanley Kubrick Archives [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)'. I would like information on book dimensions as the first print run was on average 40 by 30cm.

Lucky me! I scored a copy of this and I have to say it is the best book on a film artist I've ever seen. The previous reviewers weren't kidding--this thing is huge! Too large and heavy to be read anywhere but on a large flat surface, but that's not a complaint, unless you're lugging it across an airport like I did.

A spectacular book that you'll refer to repeatedly. I pored over it for hours. The first half is devoted to an incredible array of pristine stills from each film. The second half is focused on every film with a plethora of on-set photos and interviews with cast & crew. The book is helpfully tabbed by film.

A stunning look into one of the greatest of all filmmakers. So well designed that my friends were awed by its beauty. And that 70MM film strip--holy cow! IMHO, it's worth the price for just for that.

This is an excellent book. It was recommended to me by a friend and worth every penny. Extremely motivating. I have two other books in the series that I enjoy just as much.

If you're looking for more of a closeness and intimacy with the Lord, this is a good book to read. I also recommend the power of a praying wife.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I have had it for two years and I'm STILL reading it and praying the prayers almost every week! Stormie's story is so inspiring and will bring hope to anyone in any situation. I have so much respect for her and her writing because of the suffering she went through in the first part of her life (before she knew God). This book has been life-changing for me and I whole-heartedly encourage you to read it!

Good study to help get you praying. Great for fans of the Power of the Praying... books.

This book has helped me grow as a praying woman. It does a great job explaining things like true repentence, sin, letting go of your past, etc. I have enjoyed reading this book and I refer back to it in my times of need.

A good film comes at you slowly, like a work of art, creeping into your soul through metaphors and meditation. That is how Suber's THE POWER OF FILM comes at you. Start anywhere and read a little or as much as you want, in small bites. Then stop and meditate on what you just read. Better yet, think of the film you're working on or just watched, and note in the wide margins what you now understand anew. A good scene in a good film should be watched time and again. Each page of this book is like a good scene. Underline it, mark it up -- and then, later, read it again, and add to your discovery of why film is so powerful.

Howard Suber is a legendary film educator at UCLA, and has taught dozens of courses on every aspect of filmmaking (except for animation). In The Power of Film, he commits his wisdom to paper, gathered over many decades of teaching.
The Power of Film is not a how-to book or theoretical treatise, however. Rather, it is a lexicon of movie storytelling concepts. The topics range from Accidents to Writing What You Know, and cover such things as the most important word in storytelling (it's `but'), the `real' American religion (individualism), the characteristics of the Hero (someone outside of society who sacrifices personal happiness and contentment for the greater good or goal) and whether happy endings are really mandatory. Suber also talks about genres (the essential characteristics of each), dramatic structure (some), and specific narrative tools such as the Macguffin. Throughout the book the emphasis is squarely on the mainstream American film, so you will be able to find many exceptions to the `rules' Suber mentions here, though `rules' isn't the right word. Rather, they are `insights' or concepts which work and have done so for ages, but which are just some of the possible narrative solutions to the problems cinematic storytelling poses.
This is a book to dip into, and which is intended to spark the imagination of the reader. Not all of the topics are equally enlightening, and I disagreed with the definition of the Crisis Point, but as an encyclopaedia of Hollywood storytelling it is currently without equal.

I found The Power of Film truly refreshing and unusually spiritual. Suber compiles years of teaching experience into a few hundred pages loaded with wisdom and wit. While not a believing man himself, his reverence for world scriptures and figures of faith who have changed the world, from Moses to Jesus to Gandhi, is rare in books on film.

Also, Suber's coinage of "Aristolatry" sure could have come in handy in film school (I went to USC, grad level), along with many of his paradigm-shattering concepts. I only had one professor who dared say that some films may have four acts -- I think he got fired!

The Power of Film is a great book that will take a prized place at the top of my list of books about filmmaking.

Howard Suber delivered a lecture to a large gathering in a theater in Kansas City this spring. What was striking about the experience was how Professor Suber turned this theater into a classroom and, by asking questions, made us active participants in a search for answers to the question: "What makes a film great?".

Suber's book, "The Power of Film", uses this same Socratic Method but the technique is necessarily different. Instead of asking questions, a writer can only pose riddles, and to this end Suber employees wit and irony to provoke careful and thoughtful reading of his concise dictionary like definitions.

The films Suber examines are American films. Without being jingoistic, he says that over the decades American films have been the most popular not only in the U.S. but all over the world. The American films he focuses on are those that have maintained their appeal ten years after they were released those, in other words, which have stood the test of time and remain perennial favorites.

The question he asks is: "What makes these films classics?"

Some of the answers are surprising. The notion, for example, that Hollywood films, to be popular, have to have a happy ending, Suber demonstrates is not true. Think of the Godfather films, Lawrence of Arabia, Chinatown. Even "It's a Wonderful Life" journeys through some very dark regions before emerging with a comic ending.

So why do people go to see these films? Suber suggests that going to the movies is akin to going to church, that what people need and want is to experience time honored rituals that put us in touch with our humanity.

As a practicing filmmaker, I have spent many hours over the years thinking about how to use the power of film to move an audience and I am always looking for help. Of the many available, I have culled a few "essential" books on film theory and aesthetics. Eisenstein's "Film Sense" and "Film Form" are two, Pudovkin's 'Film Technique and Film Acting", Mascelli's "Five C's of Cinematography" and a few others. Suber's "The Power of Film" has already taken its place with these.

Why? Because first of all, the book is packed with information and insight covering every subject about American film, literally from A to Z. Second, the insights are uncannily precise. A brief example: I don't like using flashbacks because I feel they are too easy but I find I must at times because they are sometimes necessary and I haven't been able to think of anything better. This is in Suber's definition of "Flasbacks":

"The reason flashbacks came back is that they are not merely
stylistic flourishes, like iris shots; they are necessary tools
that, so far, cannot be replaced by others."

The authority of this statement is reassuring, but notice the two words: "so far"; this tiny insertion leaves open the possibility and, indeed, ecourages the search for other ways.

How to transition to a flashback?

"The camera moves to a tight close up of a character's eyes, they
glaze over and we hear an echo chamber voice..."

I fear that every time I use this device that someone in the audience is going to yell out: "Visual cliche!". It never happens and I continue to use it because, as Professor Suber says: "no one has come up with anything substantially better.".

This is a sampling of some of what can be considered Suber's practical advise; but this book is very rich and has a broad range and covers everything from the technical to the philosophical.

The entry for "Tragedy" is three pages long but delivers a store of wisdom. One paragraph in this concise definition is about "impulsivity", and the final line reads:

"Impulsivity we see over and over again leads to tragedy."

The philosopher Martin Buber in his book "Good and Evil" devotes pages of discussion to the tendancy to impulsivity and how it is an aspect of evil. Suber's book is obviously a distillation of years of thinking and study not only about film but also about human nature.

The entries that make up this book are cross referenced. This cross referencing, like the use of wit and irony, is not only an practical aid, but also an encouragement to explore the connection of ideas.

Suber has carefully culled the essential ideas of what makes a film "great" and this selection reveals that the subject in Suber's mind has a unity, that it constitutes an aesthetic, an interlocking system of ideas. It is an indication of Howard Suber's wisdom as a teacher that he does not expound this system but only indicates it; and because this system must be discovered and recreated by every reader, it will always be new.

Getting the book and reading all of the blurbs on the cover written by film experts like Coppola and several successful Hollywood screenwriters, I was a bit concerned that perhaps I had purchased an insiders handbook, which might prove too esoteric for the casual reader. The 'power of the book' Prof. Suber has written, is his ability to take substantive information and make it enjoyable reading. The book is written in bite size stories, alphabetized by topic, each insightful and entertaining. I often sat down with the intent of a quick read of one or two articles and discovered I had read seven or eight. The topics are easy to digest, yet informative enough to go back and read several times.
Certainly as Bill Cosby used to say, "Be careful or you just might learn something". Film students and pros, no doubt already know about(and swear by)this book, this review is for the rest of us, those who just like films. The Power of Film would make a terrific gift for lovers of films of all ages and is certainly a must read for anyone with film career aspirations.

Just one read of Peter Miller's book, "Author! Screenwriter!" will broaden your horizen of writing possibilities. Don't just think screenplay, but consider formating that same story idea into a novel as well. And when you consider the odds, 100,000 to 200,000 books published per year, as compared to only some 1,000 stories produced for all of the Network Television, Motion Picture, Cable and DVD industries, Mr. Miller argues an interesting point. With over 30 years experience managing and producing writers, he gives insights into the industry that few others have even touched upon.

Definitely worth any writer's time and money. But regardless of one's writing goals, this book gives that big push every writer needs to encourage perfection and perseverance.

If you're serious about realizing your potential as a writer, this is the book you buy. Having successfully managed hundreds of books, Peter Miller truly is "The Literary Lion", and Author! Screenwriter! has left a huge impact on me as a professional writer.

Need an inside guide on how to write the perfect proposal or understand the delicacies of contracts? He's got you covered. Or maybe you really would like to take a look at some sample inquiries, be inspired by some success stories, have a better understanding of the do's and don'ts in a profession where millions of writers compete for the interest of professionals in the industry. Trust me, if you read this book it will never be far from your hands. Buy Author! Screenwriter! and you'll go back again and again to Mr. Miller's wellspring of experience and insight.

If you're like me, you want to be armed with the truth as a writer, and Peter Miller delivers. Read it, cloak your talent in its wisdom, and move forward. You'll agree that it's more than a book.

It may well be the key to your future.

The book is a must-have for a writer's bookshelf. But a companion DVD is also available with practical and pointed interviews that is well-worth seeking out.

Peter Miller's Author!Screenwriter! is direct and to the point, so I shall be also. This beautifully organized exposition provided me with more insight into the Book and Film industry than I have found in any other source. I could write much more, applauding the great chapters on the mysteries of film deals and the most helpful examples of project proposals in many genres -- but the bottom line is simple Author!Screenwriter! is definitive, the most helpful book on the subject.

I purchased Peter Miller's book at the recommendation of a colleague who knew I was in the process of writing a book proposal. Peter's book and DVD provide the reader/viewer with such clarity and direction. Peter provides wisdom and insights for the experienced and the novice writer in how to maneuver their way through the challenges, obstacles, politics and subtelties of the publishing industry. By the time you are finished reading his book and viewing his DVD you have a very clear picture of what lies ahead - no rose colored glasses, advice for the dedicated writer; you are clearer than you ever imagined you could be about what lies ahead. Buy this book if you are serious about our writing career.

I just completed a feature length screenplay that will soon become a feature length film. To prepare for production I decided to purchase two books: Creative Producing A to Z, and, A Film Director Prepares, both by Myrl Schreibman. Having just finished reading them, I now know I could not have made two better choices. Buy them both, read them both, then read them both again! I promise, your film career will be well served.

This book is the producer's version of Gray's "Anatomy of the Human Body." Without a doubt, Schreibman's text is the blueprint for any successful indie film and should be read and thoroughly consulted by every creative producer - experienced or otherwise. Furthermore, this book that can be extremely useful to directors and screenwriters because it provides a real understanding of what the producer does and how the other creative entities can best collaborate with the producer for creative and practical synergy. In short, this book is a must for anyone who wants to make movies.

I bought this book for my cousin who wants to start out in the film business. This book helped me break down the who's who in the industry and the breakdown and samples are easy to understand.

I recently finished producing my own independent film and found this book right at the beginning of my post-production period.

I wish I had found it earlier. It is full of no-nonsense advice and information that is practically bullet-proof, and I ended up agreeing with about all of it. Schreibman, who apparently has a long history of producing films for t.v. and theatrical market, has paid his dues, done his homework, and knows another "feel-good" you-can-do-it book isn't necessary.

He tells you like it is, doesn't pull any punches, and helps you avoid the most common mistakes, both legally and aesthetically. Writing and directing are generally the more "arty" positions in film production - the Producer is supposed to keep the ship moving forward and avoiding any fatal mistakes. This book directs you in the right direction.

My film was a "micro-budget" film, and this book may ultimately be more useful for "larger" independent features, including ones with SAG deals, distribution in place, and budgets closer to 7 figures. While all the advice here applies to everyone making a movie, it's the attitude Myrl conveys that I really appreciated and believed in, more than some of his nuts-and-bolts info. The contract samples at the end were also very helpful when I went out and began looking for more help finding money to finish my film (which I eventually did).

Now I'm dreaming of using the rest of the info here for my next film!

If you are looking for a practical, REALISTIC book on how to begin and finish the production process, this is the book for you. I began my very extensive hunt for a book that would spell out the production process from A-Z. This book delivered on what it said. Very often in this industry it can be smoke and mirrors...not here my friend. Myrl speaks from experience and gives it to you straight. You WILL understand the production process from start to finish after reading this book.

As an added note, I was so impressed with the book that I contacted Myrl to consult with me on a recent project. He delivered on his promises and helped me guide my project to a successful finish. A five-star book and a five-star person.

In his wonderful and fascinating book Unspeakable ShaXXXspeares, Richard Burt, the leading scholar of Shakespeare and film studies, pioneers research into the manifold ways Shakespeare enters into American popular culture. Concentrating mostly on film but attending as well to television sit-coms, Burt offers penetrating insight into everything from mainstream adaptations of Shakespeare to "low" spin-offs in which Shakespeare's language almost entirely disappears. Burt explores both what film and mass media have done to Shakespeare and also what Shakespeare enables our culture to do trhough film and other electronic media. Readers intersted in this book will be happy to know that Burt has since edited a related collection entitled Shakespeare After Mass Media and has co-edited Shakespeare, the Movie II.

One doesn't usually expect to find oneself laughing when reading a book of criticism written by an academic, much less a book on Shakespeare. But Burt's book is frequently just that, funny to the point of making me laugh out loud. Burt has a refreshingly off-beat sense of humor, and the materials he has discovered--such as an adult movie version of Hamlet--aer themselves often hilarious as well, though not always intentionally so. But far from being just a laugh riot, the book is also a serious, critically sophisticated analysis of Shakespeare's fate incontemporary mass media, where much of hte lnagugae is cut or confined to well-known quotations. Burt's final chapter on films about teaching Shakespeare is quite moving, and Burt has the courage to raise difficult questions without pretending he is able to answer them. He is right to think that the questions are more important than the answers. Burt is to be congratulated for writing his book in a clear and engaging prose style without sacrificing the complexity of his thought.

One of the many strengths of Burt's truly excellent book is that it not only discusses Shakespeare adaptations but uses Shakespeare, or of ShaXXXspeares, to discuss post-war American popular culture. Burt's theory of the loser as critic has ramifications for all criticism, not just Shakespeare. This is a profound, original, and engaging book.

I happened to be doing research for my thesis on Shakespeare in the university library and, while looking for other books, I was intrigued by the three XXXs in the title of Burt's book on the shelf, so I pulled it off and looked through it. What a daring work of cultural criticism! When I saw the chapters on Shakespeare porn, I marvelled both at the courage of the man to write such a book and how at the publisher who took it on. Of course, I check it out and read it. I especially was drawn to the chapter on action films and Burt's point that while the films cannibalize others, no one in the films ever eats; the characters are anorexic. The book is full of similarly wonderful insights. I am a cinephile, and very much appreciated Burt's quite hip approach to ShaXXXspeare. Now, it's back to those other, rather staid books of Shakespeare criticism, I was orginally looking for.

Whatever you think about Shakespeare, it is impossible not to agree with the points Burt makes in this book. His analysis is right on the money and you will never be able to look at Shakespearean movies or literature in the same way. A fantastic book and a must read.

What a great book I recommend it for anyone. Another great book I would love to recommend is The Secret by Rhonda Burns. Very inspirational nd motivating for everyone.

this book helps you help yourself, the directions are clear and easy to
follow, you just have to make the time to do what is instructed to do.
and beleive in it

Loved the book - very informative with lots of direction to start communicating with the Angelic realm. Loved the step by step instructions as well as the personal stories of students who rec'd messages from the angels. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in this subject.

I could see and speak to angels before this book- my fortay. I loved them and still do. Everything happens for a reason. So, one day my best gf's mom was hosting a seminar on this book and invited me- several times. My parents too. I thought arragantly "naw, i can already speak to them, i don't need this class!" than my gaurdian and my other gf's gaurdian Caleb nugded me to read it. So i stopped being a little pest and read it. Very very wonderful. Understandable and opening. After reading this, its eaiser to sometimes speak with them and truly a help in my life even more than before.

I read this book almost a year ago and just recently took a class with one of the authors, Trudy Griswold. She is an incredible woman and helped me further to be able to talk with and write to my angels. It was one of the most amazing evenings, very emotional and helpful. I highly recommend this book to anyone and a class if they can find a facilitator or one of the authors nearby!

If you've stayed up nights wondering about the inner workings of a Naboo N-1 Starfighter, or even occasionally contemplate the unconventional solid-fuel concentrate slugs that the strange society of the Neimoidian traders use to give their droid starfighters such powerful thrust, you'll want to read Star Wars Episode I Incredible Cross-Sections cover-to-cover. This handsome book - deservedly referring to its illustrations as incredible - shows us a vroom with a view; more than fourteen vrooms, in fact.

SW Episode I Incredible Cross-Sections is brought to us by the great people at Dorling Kindersly Publishing -- or DK for short - where just about any topic you might think of has already been turned into a beautifully illustrated right-brained adventure in learning. The illustrators for this masterpiece are Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore, arguably the two artists with the best job available in that field this side of Alpha Centauri.

Jenssen, who specializes in technical art, especially machines, lives in England but claims to spend his vacations on Tatooine (no accounting for taste in vacation spots) where he has been known to engage in "moderately disreputable pursuits (he goes all the way to Tatooine for that?)." Chasemore has worked as an illustrator in both the U.S. and Europe on a great variety of projects, one of which was another collaboration with Jenssen: DK's Star Wars: Incredible Cross Sections featuring intergalactic vroom-vrooms previously made famous by the vision makers at Lucasfilms. Chasemore says he enjoys "perilous sports involving boards and high velocities (now, maybe he's the one who should check-out Tatooine).

Rounding out the gifted team taking us on intricate tours of Gungan Subs, Podracers, Coruscant taxis and Republic Cruisers, is Dr. David West Reynolds who earned his PhD in archeology at the University of Michigan. His background as a lecturer, veteran of field expeditions on three continents and as an author of scientific archeological publications should make one thing perfectly clear: you don't have to be a dullard denizen of the local mall scene to be a StarWars fan. If his background doesn't make it perfectly clear, the intellectual acuity of his copy will.

This must-have addition to the shelf of any die-hard StarWars fan is equally enjoyable to tot and teen as to tottering sage. It's a picture-book nonpareil or a detailed account of mid-power repulsorlifts and hydrostatic bubble projector units (if you do more than look at the pictures). It's even a trivia-hunter's true treasure. For instance (be honest now), did you know any of the names of Anakin's co-contenders for the Boonta Eve Podrace? Sure, you say - Sebulba. But anybody knows that! True buffs will want this book so they can win rounds of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit with answers like Ark "Bumpy" Roose, Teemto Pagalies, and the ever-impressive Clegg Holdfast.

If you like schematics (or even the word schematics - it's such a great one, isn't it?) you're going to want to pour over this book like hot fudge on a sundae. Featured is a dual fold-out center page affording a panoramic view of the Trade Federation's Droid Control Ship. The resultant artistry of this and the other detailed drawings was generated when the DK team worked directly with the film production art department at Lucas's Skywalker Ranch, mapping out the anatomy of each craft as it was being created. This book comes from the source, folks: from the source ... of the Force.

My ten-year-old loves taking turns with me reading sections of this book aloud and I can almost see his gray matter expanding (hasn't hurt his imagination too much, either) while we huddle by the lamplight. Only problem I'm left with now is what to do with all these detailed schematics of his own left lying about the house - outlandishly labeled creations from foreign worlds contemplating an invasion of Earth, no doubt. Hmm. Maybe I should call George Lucas.

This edition is devoted to the Spaceships and Craft from The Phantom Menace.

As with Star Wars Cross Sections it is very well detailed and even better with todays print technology. Great for children and first generation Star Wars fans alike.

I wouldn't call this the greatest technical book of all times. I wouldn't be suprised if this book wasn't nominated for any kind of award. But Episode 1: Incredible Cross-sections is captivating enough to stand on its own. I enjoyed it because I got to look through the insides of some of the film's most enigmatic ships and vessels like Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator and the Gungan Bongo. It's good for those who were still puzzled about the ships after the end of the film.

One of the missing points is the Chancellor ship which appeared in the movie and it was not displayed in this book.

It is more complete than the former book, even considering it is only for one movie and the other is for all three.

Other missing point is the lack of a picture of the ship without the cross-section. It is important to compare.

I recommend.

I always wanted to see more and to be able to look inside of the vehicles more closely, and this book provides that information (and more more) in great detail. I really like the mini illustrations of where in the vehicles that events from the movies took place, it helps to "put a name to a face".