Title: Anticipation: The Real Life Story of Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace
Author: Jonathan L. Bowen
ISBN: 0-595-34732-0
Publisher: iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright: 2005
Reviewed by lazypadawan.
This is a fan-written book about the phenomenon that was The Phantom Menace, probably the most anticipated film ever released. The author began collecting information on the film in the late 1990s and six years later, compiled it all in a volume covering everything from casting to filming to the pre-release build-up to box office performance to Episode I's DVD release.
The most interesting part of the book is its extensive chronicle of the film's incredible run at the box office and its successes in the home video market. There is of course a lot about the unprecedented pre-release hype and a chapter about merchandising. Mentions are made of the critical and media backlash against the film, but the book overall is really more about the film's accomplishments than anything else. It's obvious the author spent a great deal of time tracking down even the most obscure information on the film from a variety of sources. There's some exposition but for the most part, it's a collection of data and news reports.
The only significant caveat is that the book could have used better editing. Sometimes there's too much trivial information and the sources are cited in a way that's not easy to match up with the text.
Still, it's the only book to date that serves as a time capsule of one of the more interesting eras in Star Wars fandom history.
