The World According to Star Wars

Star Wars is not just a franchise, an empire, or a phenomenon, it’s pretty much a way of life these days. Even those rare few who have never seen the films know plenty about them simply by being part of society. You’d think that everything there is or was to say about Star Wars would’ve been said by now, but Cass R. Sunstein proves you wrong in The World According to Star Wars plumbing the depths of what Star Wars is, could be, and what it all means.

This book is all about spinning certainty on its head. Sunstein asks whether it was destined to become the center of a pop culture phenomenon or just benefited from timing, considering that it was widely expected to be a flop. He ponders if it’s a political statement, a commentary on free speech, a Christian allegory, a treatise on how technology dehumanizes us, or all of those at once. Hell, he even ponders which is better, Star Trek or Star Wars?

This is less a book about Star Wars itself and more about what it means to us. And that makes for an intriguing, enjoyable, unexpected read.