The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels (Star Wars)
EveryStar Warsfan knows thatSlave Iis Boba Fett's tricked-out bounty-hunting ride. But how many know about its short-lived successor,Slave II? And what average fan has ever laid eyes on an Imperial MT-AT walker? (Imagine a huge, arachnid AT-AT.) Heck, mostSWbuffs will even try to tell you that Vader's Super Star Destroyer is the biggest bad-boy this side of the Battle of Endor. Not likely: Emperor Palpatine's probably got bigger shuttlecraft on his 17.5-kilometer-longEclipse-class ship.Bill Smith's illustratedEssential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels--a veritable blue book for theStar Warsuniverse--lets you kick the tires on all these ships and more. Researching not just the movies, but alsoStar Warsnovels, comics, computer games, et al., Smith tirelessly details 100 different ways to get around--and dish out destruction--in the land of sandcrawlers and speeders. Descriptions of familiar vehicles ("That's no moon... it's a space station!") blend seamlessly with the more obscure (canyouname six kinds of TIE fighters?). This is one showroom-floor tour you won't want to miss out on.--Paul Hughes