The World According to Star Wars
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- Create Date：2022-02-25 14:17:45
- Update Date：2025-09-23
- Status：finish
- Author：Cass R. Sunstein
- ISBN：0062484230
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Summary
NEW YORK TIMES
BESTSELLER
FULLY REVISED & UPDATED， WITH A NEW EPILOGUE
"Delightful。"— The Economist
There’s Santa Claus， Shakespeare， Mickey Mouse， the Bible， and then there’s Star Wars。 Nothing quite compares to sitting down with a young child and hearing the sound of John Williams’s score as those beloved golden letters fill the screen。 In this fun， erudite， and often moving book， Cass R。 Sunstein explores the lessons of Star Wars as they relate to childhood， fathers， the Dark Side， rebellion， and redemption。 As it turns out， Star Wars also has a lot to teach us about constitutional law， economics， and political uprisings。
In rich detail， Sunstein tells the story of the films’ wildly unanticipated success and explores why some things succeed while others fail。 Ultimately， Sunstein argues， Star Wars is about freedom of choice and our never-ending ability to make the right decision when the chips are down。 Written with buoyant prose and considerable heart， The World According to Star Wars shines a bright new light on the most beloved story of our time。
FULLY REVISED & UPDATED， WITH A NEW EPILOGUE
"Delightful。"— The Economist
There’s Santa Claus， Shakespeare， Mickey Mouse， the Bible， and then there’s Star Wars。 Nothing quite compares to sitting down with a young child and hearing the sound of John Williams’s score as those beloved golden letters fill the screen。 In this fun， erudite， and often moving book， Cass R。 Sunstein explores the lessons of Star Wars as they relate to childhood， fathers， the Dark Side， rebellion， and redemption。 As it turns out， Star Wars also has a lot to teach us about constitutional law， economics， and political uprisings。
In rich detail， Sunstein tells the story of the films’ wildly unanticipated success and explores why some things succeed while others fail。 Ultimately， Sunstein argues， Star Wars is about freedom of choice and our never-ending ability to make the right decision when the chips are down。 Written with buoyant prose and considerable heart， The World According to Star Wars shines a bright new light on the most beloved story of our time。
Reviews
Adam Jarvis
，
First of all， this book was written before Episodes XIII and IX came out， so take that into account。 I had really high hopes for this book， myself being a huge Star Wars fan and a psychology fan as well。 It looked like it would be brilliant and interesting。 I was somewhat disappointed。 The first part of the book seemed to drag on。 I almost quit。 The last half was more interesting but I got a little tired of all the “what if this would have happened” speculations。 There were definitely some reall First of all， this book was written before Episodes XIII and IX came out， so take that into account。 I had really high hopes for this book， myself being a huge Star Wars fan and a psychology fan as well。 It looked like it would be brilliant and interesting。 I was somewhat disappointed。 The first part of the book seemed to drag on。 I almost quit。 The last half was more interesting but I got a little tired of all the “what if this would have happened” speculations。 There were definitely some really good and memorable moments to the book， especially near the end。 I guess I was just hoping for more “I am your father” moments。 。。。more
David
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An entertaining and informative read。 I have watched （and enjoyed） some Star Wars， and this book certainly inspired me to dive deeper into what has really become its own genre at this point。 Sunstein's tidbits about the Star Wars franchise were accompanied by fascinating bits of his research around human interactions。 Think of this book as a class that uses Star Wars to teach Nudge。 An entertaining and informative read。 I have watched （and enjoyed） some Star Wars， and this book certainly inspired me to dive deeper into what has really become its own genre at this point。 Sunstein's tidbits about the Star Wars franchise were accompanied by fascinating bits of his research around human interactions。 Think of this book as a class that uses Star Wars to teach Nudge。 。。。more
Christopher
，
It was a good book and reinvigorated my interest in the Star Wars movies。 I am interested more in watching Ep 1-3 and 7 than in Ep 4-6。 Although I will always love the original three episodes。 The book does a good job of showing the relationships between the movies and everyday life challenges。 The dichotomy of good and evil is a central focus of the book。 I like the tie in to government philosophy， democracies and republics。 Also， enjoyed the in depth analysis of the Star Wars characters and th It was a good book and reinvigorated my interest in the Star Wars movies。 I am interested more in watching Ep 1-3 and 7 than in Ep 4-6。 Although I will always love the original three episodes。 The book does a good job of showing the relationships between the movies and everyday life challenges。 The dichotomy of good and evil is a central focus of the book。 I like the tie in to government philosophy， democracies and republics。 Also， enjoyed the in depth analysis of the Star Wars characters and their interpersonal relationships in the movies。 This is translated to relationships we have with one another in everyday life with friends， family co-workers or strangers。 。。。more
Hannah
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Self-important， random， boring， and hard to read。
Lauren Flores
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A really REALLY high 4！ A 4。8 maybe？！ Listen， I think to enjoy this book， you have to love Star Wars。 I know the author at the beginning of the book gives this spiel that “this book is for everyone，” but honestly， if you’re not a Star Wars nerd or if you don’t have the smallest inkling towards the universe， you’ll probably get bored。Part of the reason I liked this book is because I already intrinsically think about the principles mentioned in this book *while* I’m watching the Star Wars movies。 A really REALLY high 4！ A 4。8 maybe？！ Listen， I think to enjoy this book， you have to love Star Wars。 I know the author at the beginning of the book gives this spiel that “this book is for everyone，” but honestly， if you’re not a Star Wars nerd or if you don’t have the smallest inkling towards the universe， you’ll probably get bored。Part of the reason I liked this book is because I already intrinsically think about the principles mentioned in this book *while* I’m watching the Star Wars movies。 I have thought many of these same thoughts， or tried to interpret the films in the context of law， democracy， and spirituality， so reading this book was a bit like having a conversation with someone who thinks of Star Wars this way and loving it。 The end of the book lost me a few times simply because it started becoming more about real world principles and less about Star Wars。 Still， I enjoyed all of it！ Again though， recommended for Star Wars nerds， anyone else。。。you’ll probably just be rolling your eyes the whole time。 。。。more
vienne selland
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i liked how this book really dove deep into the morals and lessons taught by the star wars movies。 however， the language could be difficult to understand at times （maybe it's just me because i have a hard time focusing）， and it only really connected the movies to american history/politics。 i liked how this book really dove deep into the morals and lessons taught by the star wars movies。 however， the language could be difficult to understand at times （maybe it's just me because i have a hard time focusing）， and it only really connected the movies to american history/politics。 。。。more
Erin
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This books is an unusual mix of political and social analysis via Star Wars。 Not for everyone， but I enjoyed it。
Jeffrey Ross
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If you like Star Wars its interesting！ But， not the greatest book I have ever read
Krissie
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Really insightful！
Travis
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This is basically a Tedtalk that somebody managed to turn into a book deal。Fun and harmless， but padded and stretched to a shameless extent to reach book length。Enough interesting bits to make you say 'Oh， that was good。 I'll give it three more pages。' and even then it was a struggle to get through。 Lots of skimming by the 3/4 mark。Not a bad primer for someone wanting to get into Star Wars， but any dedicated geek is going to get bored and annoyed a couple chapters in。 This is basically a Tedtalk that somebody managed to turn into a book deal。Fun and harmless， but padded and stretched to a shameless extent to reach book length。Enough interesting bits to make you say 'Oh， that was good。 I'll give it three more pages。' and even then it was a struggle to get through。 Lots of skimming by the 3/4 mark。Not a bad primer for someone wanting to get into Star Wars， but any dedicated geek is going to get bored and annoyed a couple chapters in。 。。。more
Amparo López
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Una lectura muy interesante tanto si te gusta Star Wars como si no ya que reflexiona mucho sobre la sociedad actual y sobre los motivos reales por los que algo se convierte en un mito。
Jeff
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This a a very fun， charming book that manages to say quite a bit while simultaneously not saying very much at all。 Pick it up if you want a fun， quick， read （and you like Star Wars， obviously） but don't expect anything life-altering。 This a a very fun， charming book that manages to say quite a bit while simultaneously not saying very much at all。 Pick it up if you want a fun， quick， read （and you like Star Wars， obviously） but don't expect anything life-altering。 。。。more
Matt Cannon
，
This was an interesting book on The World According to Star Wars。 It covers both the history of Star Wars including several nuggets of Clark Howard styled "The rest of the story" fun facts。 Some of these facts show that the movie could of easily been a flop and the nuances of success and failure。 Lucas thought optimistically that it could make 16 million。 The first movie on ticket sales adjusted for inflation is 1。8 billion， even more than Avatar， the highest grossing movie。They talk about theme This was an interesting book on The World According to Star Wars。 It covers both the history of Star Wars including several nuggets of Clark Howard styled "The rest of the story" fun facts。 Some of these facts show that the movie could of easily been a flop and the nuances of success and failure。 Lucas thought optimistically that it could make 16 million。 The first movie on ticket sales adjusted for inflation is 1。8 billion， even more than Avatar， the highest grossing movie。They talk about themes that run through the story。 Redemption is a key。 There are threads of Christianity， Buddhism and stoicism throughout。 The book explores concepts such as attachment and how it's necessary to become dark。 Anakin actually unravels into the dark side as a result of attachment to his mom and Padme。 They talk about Carl Jung and embracing your shadow， which is interesting。 They talked about George Lucas’s estranged relationship with his own father。 His dad was a hard， right leaning business man。 He wanted George to go into the family business。 George decided not to and to go into film instead。 Some think that this was the basis for some of the father son conflict and storyline of the movies。 Of course the book covers Joseph Campbell's Hero of a Thousand Faces， The Hero's Journey elements that made the story。 My favorite quote from the book: "Nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you’re thinking about it。" by Daniel KahnemanThey get into the Jedi mind tricks and how it relates to attention。 They mention the invisible gorilla and the exercise of attention blindness。 They talked about the Super Forecasters from Tetlock and how it aligns with lessons learned in Star Wars。 They also got into nudges and using these Jedi mind tricks for good。 They talked about memories people have had with Star Wars and how it bonds people。 Star Wars is about families and generations。 It’s about new hope。 It’s about finding passion， wisdom and inspiration of those who came before。 The underlying theme of the book is that we all feel the force。 。。。more
Michael Champagne
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It's fascinating to see the parallels between the Star Wars movies and real life， especially pertaining to religion， politics， and culture。 It's fascinating to see the parallels between the Star Wars movies and real life， especially pertaining to religion， politics， and culture。 。。。more
Crïs November
，
Nunca he sido muy del mundo de Star Wars pero he acabado con ganas de ver todas las películas y descubriendo mucha más historia de la que pensaba que tenían las trilogías。 Sin duda， salir de tu zona de confort y aprender sobre aquello que desconoces te hace abrir la mente y descubrir un mundo fabuloso。 Además， la forma en que está escrito no se hace en ningún momento aburrida y tiene puntos hasta de humor。 Muy recordable para toda persona que ame Star Wars y aquellos que como yo han querido apre Nunca he sido muy del mundo de Star Wars pero he acabado con ganas de ver todas las películas y descubriendo mucha más historia de la que pensaba que tenían las trilogías。 Sin duda， salir de tu zona de confort y aprender sobre aquello que desconoces te hace abrir la mente y descubrir un mundo fabuloso。 Además， la forma en que está escrito no se hace en ningún momento aburrida y tiene puntos hasta de humor。 Muy recordable para toda persona que ame Star Wars y aquellos que como yo han querido aprender a través de sus páginas。 。。。more
Chris
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Made it one and a half chapters in。 This is the kind of person I’d block on Twitter。
Latoya
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 *There are movie spoilers in this review。 If you intend to watch the original trilogy and would like to be surprised by the movie plot and outcome， please wait to read this review。*I recently watched a C-SPAN video of Cass Sunstein talking about his book The World According to Star Wars and checked out the e-book from one of my digital libraries before the discussion’s end。 Granted， the only Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen was 2015’s Episode VII， The Force Awakens， only because the trailer and Re *There are movie spoilers in this review。 If you intend to watch the original trilogy and would like to be surprised by the movie plot and outcome， please wait to read this review。*I recently watched a C-SPAN video of Cass Sunstein talking about his book The World According to Star Wars and checked out the e-book from one of my digital libraries before the discussion’s end。 Granted， the only Star Wars movie I’ve ever seen was 2015’s Episode VII， The Force Awakens， only because the trailer and Rey and Finn character were enticing to my pop culture-devouring eye。 It wasn’t until Sunstein’s talk that I watched the original trilogy in two days。 In no way am I as observant and devout of a Star Wars fan as Sunstein， but there are a few aspects of the original trilogy I feel is missing from his narrative。 The title insinuates a comparison between Star Wars and global affairs， but the thesis focuses primarily on American leaders， politics， socioeconomics， and law。 One of the more accurate and closely relative global topics he should have mentioned but doesn’t is the xenophobia prevalent among powerful nations。 He could have conducted a comparison between how nations treat those they consider “other” and the ways characters like the Ewoks and the droids are often mistreated， overlooked， and utilized only for what they can produce for both the Rebel Alliance and the Empire。 Another opportunity Sunstein misses is Luke’s relationships with the other humans in the movie。 He focuses primarily on Luke and Darth Vader to express religious and Oedipal analysis， which seems the most obvious。 Even those of us who never saw The Empire Strikes Back are aware of the relationship between these two characters。 In A New Hope， Luke isn’t initially interested in battling Darth Vader or the Empire。 Sunstein doesn’t mention a significant piece of the narrative—Luke’s family is murdered by the Empire。 Only then does his anger about that noteworthy event propel him to Jedi attainment。 This comparison is also significant to global extremist organizations who feel they have lost vital people and property to powerful global nations with little to no justification。 Anger and frustration of the underprivileged are huge catalysts in world conflict。 Han Solo and Princess Leia become replacements for his slain uncle and aunt， and Luke learns they are in the same danger。 When Luke leaves Dagobah against Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s counsel in The Empire Strikes Back， his intent is to fight Vader ONLY to save his new family。 The dark side of the Force within Luke is driven primarily by his love for his new family and wanting to save them from danger。 Luke’s love and devotion for the other humans is so clear， Emperor Palpatine uses it to taunt him in Return of the Jedi。 Again， this is a universal concept Sunstein fails to mention this in his work。 My overall rating is due to relevant universal themes Star Wars touches on that are missing from Sunstein’s work。 However， my time reading The World According to Star Wars was not wasted。 I feel his work has propelled me to actually watch the prequel and sequel trilogies。 Additionally， as a non-fan， I like that I can use his book to analyze the work with a different perspective。 。。。more
Louis
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I really enjoyed this。 seemed almost like a Malcolm Gladwell book with a lot of the social ideas about why star-wars had the cascading effect it did。 like dhow the continuity fans devoutly defend doesn't lay out in real life where he talks about how laws change and the "i am your father moments that pop out of no ware and make previous movies need to be seen in a whole new light。 would be interesting to see a Chinese lawyer or south American lawyers take on it as well。 what justifies a rebellion I really enjoyed this。 seemed almost like a Malcolm Gladwell book with a lot of the social ideas about why star-wars had the cascading effect it did。 like dhow the continuity fans devoutly defend doesn't lay out in real life where he talks about how laws change and the "i am your father moments that pop out of no ware and make previous movies need to be seen in a whole new light。 would be interesting to see a Chinese lawyer or south American lawyers take on it as well。 what justifies a rebellion and how star-wars can be contorted to fit any religious view。 IE:Christian， buddist。 I didn't know it was such a harsh relationship between Lucas and his father。 。。。more
Stephanie
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Interesting read。
E Rachelle
，
I wanted more Star Wars and less politics， but it was an okay read。
Omar Ahmad
，
An interesting look at the socio-political-cultural-economic facets of a global phenomenon。
Katie
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I've come across this book several times while browsing in B&N， but could never bring myself to buy it。 I'm glad I didn't！ I borrowed the audiobook from my local library instead and was very disappointed。 Sunstein is obviously a super Star Wars fan and the moments that most resonated with me were when he described seeing the movies with his children and what they meant to his life。 Other than that the book fell short。 It tossed out a lot of interesting concepts and ideas but didn't follow up on I've come across this book several times while browsing in B&N， but could never bring myself to buy it。 I'm glad I didn't！ I borrowed the audiobook from my local library instead and was very disappointed。 Sunstein is obviously a super Star Wars fan and the moments that most resonated with me were when he described seeing the movies with his children and what they meant to his life。 Other than that the book fell short。 It tossed out a lot of interesting concepts and ideas but didn't follow up on them or fully explore them。 Sunstein is an academic and it shone in his use of source quotes and discussion of constitutional law。 But honestly， he tried to tackle too much in one book and just ended up sounding like a huge fanboy。 Which was compounded by the narrator who read the book like a frat boy， mispronouncing the Star Wars terms and always punctuating the "Awesome！" or "Cool story man" phrasing meant to connect with the reader。 I found this annoying and unfitting with the scholarly passages。 。。。more
Toni
，
Terrible。 Short， no original insight on the Star Wars universe or franchise。 The most interesting it got was a dip into constitutional interpretation， which may be the author's expertise， but had nothing to do with Star Wars。 Written before Episode IX came out so not even indicative of the Skywalker Saga as a whole。 I very nearly quit reading on the preachy section about how all fathers try their hardest and we should love them and so forth， which was clearly self-serving， along with a bizarre s Terrible。 Short， no original insight on the Star Wars universe or franchise。 The most interesting it got was a dip into constitutional interpretation， which may be the author's expertise， but had nothing to do with Star Wars。 Written before Episode IX came out so not even indicative of the Skywalker Saga as a whole。 I very nearly quit reading on the preachy section about how all fathers try their hardest and we should love them and so forth， which was clearly self-serving， along with a bizarre section about how he uses a misogynistic jingle to keep his two kids from being jealous of each other。 I'm sure he's a brilliant man at what he does， but he clearly knows nothing about media studies， and injected way too much of his own personal bias into this book。 I honestly cannot begin to guess why it was written， much less published。 。。。more
Anthony Messina
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Audiobook: Meh。。。started out good， but devolved into a political discussion and wasn't what I was expecting。 Audiobook: Meh。。。started out good， but devolved into a political discussion and wasn't what I was expecting。 。。。more
Mai Thomas
，
Expandable。
Paula Corker
，
Not as good as I was willing it to be。 What a shame。
Rebecca
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This book was a little slow for me but that comes from my own expectations。 I thought the book would include more facts about the movies but it really is just as the title states。 The book takes the themes of Star Wars and relates them to the world。 This would be a good book for people interested in philosophy， psychology， political science， and， of course， Star Wars。
Shannon King
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no rating bc ~research~
Jane
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A fascinating book on Star Wars and its tale out culture。 This book has been on my TBR for some time， and when I dove in， I had high hopes。 As a historian， I enjoyed learning more about the historical context and social dynamics surrounding the films' making。 The world-building in this books is just what Star Wars needed。 A new breath of fresh un-Skywalker related content。 The relationship between the Jedi and Republic was developed， and I enjoyed the different philosophical points of view。This A fascinating book on Star Wars and its tale out culture。 This book has been on my TBR for some time， and when I dove in， I had high hopes。 As a historian， I enjoyed learning more about the historical context and social dynamics surrounding the films' making。 The world-building in this books is just what Star Wars needed。 A new breath of fresh un-Skywalker related content。 The relationship between the Jedi and Republic was developed， and I enjoyed the different philosophical points of view。This book felt like a well written and compiled version of a history of Star Wars， addressing the most-asked philosophical question and comparing to the famed Star Trek。 All in all the book lots of interesting points in interpreting the films。 Given that I have read and seen the latest information this book stacks up。 。。。more
Andrew
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