Who would have imagined, 21 years after the initial release of Star Wars, that the Force would still be with us? And box office receipts in the hundreds of millions of dollars generated by the 1997 rerelease of the SW trilogy prove that interest in the series hasn't waned. The beautifully illustrated DK duo cover characters, costumes, and weaponry in Visual Dictionary, while Cross Sections dissects vehicles and spacecraft. Want to know how a light saber really works or what the interior of an Imperial Stormtrooper's helmet looks like? It's all here. The most remarkable thing about the books is the amount of thought that's been expended on the workings of things that don't exist. The DK books are seriously cool and exceedingly browsable, making them solid items for libraries. Though they are aimed at kids, don't be surprised to see plenty of adults flipping through them as well.—Michael Rogers, Library Journal

The space ships, fighters, and Death Star were big in the movies and this BIG (10- by 14-inch) book lets kids and grownups examine these crafts in great detail. The Death Star section folds out into a four-page spread that includes scenes from the movie as well as a look at the interior. Fourteen vehicles are portrayed, including the Sandcrawler, AT-AT (Imperial All Terrain Armed Transport), Snowspeeder, At-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport), and Jabba's Sail Barge. The minutiae are amazing. West has a companion title-Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary. —Marilyn Courtot, Children's Literature