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Star Wars Disney Canon Reference Books
Star Wars En primera línea
OFFICIAL STAR WARS IN-UNIVERSE BOOK FEATURING NOTES ON TACTICS, ARMOR, AND VALOR FROM GALACTIC CONFLICTS IN THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE
From the Clone Wars and the Rebellion to the clashes with the First Order, the galaxy is defined by war. Star Wars: On the Front Lines chronicles the tactics, weapons, and armor used in pivotal battles along with acts of valor achieved during the campaign. By focusing on elements of the battles that occurred "off screen," this collection brings the struggles faced by ground soldiers and starfighter pilots to life like never before, placing the reader on the battlelines.
With full-spread, classic illustrations that capture the sweeping scale of these historical battles, On the Front Lines brings a fresh look at the forces who fought on the front lines.
From the Clone Wars and the Rebellion to the clashes with the First Order, the galaxy is defined by war. Star Wars: On the Front Lines chronicles the tactics, weapons, and armor used in pivotal battles along with acts of valor achieved during the campaign. By focusing on elements of the battles that occurred "off screen," this collection brings the struggles faced by ground soldiers and starfighter pilots to life like never before, placing the reader on the battlelines.
With full-spread, classic illustrations that capture the sweeping scale of these historical battles, On the Front Lines brings a fresh look at the forces who fought on the front lines.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published July 18, 2017
2 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Wallace
91 books452 followersDaniel Wallace is author of five novels, including Big Fish (1998), Ray in Reverse (2000), The Watermelon King (2003), Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician (2007), and most recently The Kings and Queens of Roam (2013).
He has written one book for children, Elynora, and in 2008 it was published in Italy, with illustrations by Daniela Tordi. O Great Rosenfeld!, the only book both written and illustrated by the author, has been released in France and Korea and is forthcoming in Italy, but there are not, at this writing, any plans for an American edition.
His work has been published in over two dozen languages, and his stories, novels and non-fiction essays are taught in high schools and colleges throughout this country. His illustrations have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Italian Vanity Fair, and many other magazines and books, including Pep Talks, Warnings, and Screeds: Indispensible Wisdom and Cautionary Advice for Writers, by George Singleton, and Adventures in Pen Land: One Writer's Journey from Inklings to Ink, by Marianne Gingher. Big Fish was made into a motion picture of the same name by Tim Burton in 2003, a film in which the author plays the part of a professor at Auburn University.
He is in fact the J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English, and director of the Creative Writing Program, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater (Class of '08). He lives with his wife, Laura Kellison Wallace, in Chapel Hill. More information about him, his writing, and his illustrations can be found at www.danielwallace.org and www.ogreatrosenfeld.org.
He has written one book for children, Elynora, and in 2008 it was published in Italy, with illustrations by Daniela Tordi. O Great Rosenfeld!, the only book both written and illustrated by the author, has been released in France and Korea and is forthcoming in Italy, but there are not, at this writing, any plans for an American edition.
His work has been published in over two dozen languages, and his stories, novels and non-fiction essays are taught in high schools and colleges throughout this country. His illustrations have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Italian Vanity Fair, and many other magazines and books, including Pep Talks, Warnings, and Screeds: Indispensible Wisdom and Cautionary Advice for Writers, by George Singleton, and Adventures in Pen Land: One Writer's Journey from Inklings to Ink, by Marianne Gingher. Big Fish was made into a motion picture of the same name by Tim Burton in 2003, a film in which the author plays the part of a professor at Auburn University.
He is in fact the J. Ross MacDonald Distinguished Professor of English, and director of the Creative Writing Program, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, his alma mater (Class of '08). He lives with his wife, Laura Kellison Wallace, in Chapel Hill. More information about him, his writing, and his illustrations can be found at www.danielwallace.org and www.ogreatrosenfeld.org.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 21, 2024
Oma Prumba, militiagung conscript
Set in 32BBY
This little short story was horrible and it needs to get shot.
I'm only putting 2 stars here, because I'm going all chronological about it, so even though that's the only story I read, I skimmed through the book and I think the artwork and the job done here is pretty solid, but until I can get my hands on the rest chronologically, I'm just putting it on hold
Senator Bail Organa: I Was There
Set in 21BBY
Bail Organa describes the Battle of Christophsis before and right when the Republic arrived and the war on the planet begun.
Set in 32BBY
This little short story was horrible and it needs to get shot.
I'm only putting 2 stars here, because I'm going all chronological about it, so even though that's the only story I read, I skimmed through the book and I think the artwork and the job done here is pretty solid, but until I can get my hands on the rest chronologically, I'm just putting it on hold
Senator Bail Organa: I Was There
Set in 21BBY
Bail Organa describes the Battle of Christophsis before and right when the Republic arrived and the war on the planet begun.
July 21, 2017
I've read many Star Wars reference books over the years, and the ones that stick out the most to me focus on the military history aspects of the saga. The Essential Guide to Warfare and the Essential Atlas being two examples. On the Front Lines highlights every military battle from each of the the live action films as well as a few from The Clone Wars series. Each battle is broken down into categories including background, tactical analysis, units involved, and aftermath. Stunning images accompany each battle's description as well. Each conflict is connected by an overall narrative that summarizes the story of Star Wars from a military perspective. As a military history buff, I absolutely love this book. Fun and interesting little details are added to the on-screen battles I'm already familiar with, and in the case of the Battle of Jakku, the background of a major off-screen event is filled out.
August 20, 2017
Written almost as an in-universe history book, it outlines the major battles of the Star Wars saga starting with the Battle of Naboo in Episode I, and ending with Starkiller Base in TFA. From an interview with the author: "For each battle, the book takes readers through a stage-by-stage analysis including the pre-battle setup, the tactics used, and the aftermath. Sidebars include commander profiles and overviews of the equipment and soldier classes used in that particular conflict. Finally, “Tales of Valor” is an in-memorium look at a soldier who sacrificed their life, and “I Was There” is a first-person recollection written by a survivor."
It was neat to read through. I really enjoyed how the book placed each battle within the larger story of the history of the Star Wars galaxy, drawing a through line between lots of disparate SW content; all eight movies and the Clone Wars cartoon are represented. The first-person prose sections were my favorite. The book keeps its emphasis on the front lines of the battles, which means many of the main movie characters only make brief appearances. If you're expecting to see the battles framed from Obi-Wan's perspective, or Luke's, or Ahsoka's, or Leia's, you'll be disappointed. I enjoyed the more high-level, textbook approach.
It's a very pretty book. Lovely artwork, lovely design. I really liked the cross-hatched overlay on the images of the soldiers and ships/weapons. Several of them were stock photos as old as the franchise and adding that detail made them seem fresh and new. (Unfortunately, most of the soldiers were male, even when they didn't have to be. Arg.) The book is oversized so it's not going to fit on a shelf easily (which is annoying) but it's a nice display piece.
Author interview: http://www.starwars.com/news/author-d...
It was neat to read through. I really enjoyed how the book placed each battle within the larger story of the history of the Star Wars galaxy, drawing a through line between lots of disparate SW content; all eight movies and the Clone Wars cartoon are represented. The first-person prose sections were my favorite. The book keeps its emphasis on the front lines of the battles, which means many of the main movie characters only make brief appearances. If you're expecting to see the battles framed from Obi-Wan's perspective, or Luke's, or Ahsoka's, or Leia's, you'll be disappointed. I enjoyed the more high-level, textbook approach.
It's a very pretty book. Lovely artwork, lovely design. I really liked the cross-hatched overlay on the images of the soldiers and ships/weapons. Several of them were stock photos as old as the franchise and adding that detail made them seem fresh and new. (Unfortunately, most of the soldiers were male, even when they didn't have to be. Arg.) The book is oversized so it's not going to fit on a shelf easily (which is annoying) but it's a nice display piece.
Author interview: http://www.starwars.com/news/author-d...
April 9, 2021
Basically just text versions of some of the most popular battles seen in various SW movies and tv series. Nothing really new if you've seen them all before. I only really liked the blurbs about all the different weaponry and vehicles/ships. Artwork was good though.
July 28, 2017
I am at a bit of a loss about how to rate this one so allow me to ramble a bit. First of all, it is a Daniel Wallace book, so you know right off the bat that you are going to get an in-depth dive into the universe. You know that it will be a nearly encyclopedic take on canon. And that is what leaves me just a tiny little bit disappointed. As with the other new canon attempts at this kind of book (because there is just less history in this new canon at this point, not because of any evil agenda…), there just isn’t as much to it as there were in this type of book in the past. It is quite a bit more bare bones than earlier attempts. I have to admit that I am not entirely sure of why in this case. There have been many major battles in new canon that aren’t referenced at all. (Think of all of the battles seen in the Clone Wars cartoon, early rebel sorties in the Rebels cartoon, tons of information on Rebel missions in the first Battlefront novel, etcetera) Honestly, I am at a bit of a loss as to exactly why this volume is so small in scope. For a fifty dollar book, I finished it in one sitting and I’m honestly not sure that it would be something that I would really return to. Ordinarily, I would have said that they should have just waited until new canon had enough information to fill a volume like this but in this case, there is a ton of information that could have been included. I’m just at a loss as to why they decided to release something at this price point that has so little to it.
What is here is good, though. Quite well written at points (Wallace doesn’t disappoint as a master of the trivial). The art definitely leaves something to be desired. Some of the images of the battles are not terrible if squashed a bit to make them fit on one or two pages, but some of the images have a terrible sense of perspective. Ships are drawn facing the reader but the cockpit is sideways in order to show the pilot. Forced perspective is one thing but the perspective here is so off… Text-wise, I can’t complain too much about what there is here. It’s just that there is so little “meat” to this sandwich that I can’t really recommend buying this when there are so many other in-universe guides that offer so much more than this one does.
What is here is good, though. Quite well written at points (Wallace doesn’t disappoint as a master of the trivial). The art definitely leaves something to be desired. Some of the images of the battles are not terrible if squashed a bit to make them fit on one or two pages, but some of the images have a terrible sense of perspective. Ships are drawn facing the reader but the cockpit is sideways in order to show the pilot. Forced perspective is one thing but the perspective here is so off… Text-wise, I can’t complain too much about what there is here. It’s just that there is so little “meat” to this sandwich that I can’t really recommend buying this when there are so many other in-universe guides that offer so much more than this one does.
December 23, 2017
A wonderful book exploring the battle tactics in the Star Wars canon. However, while what was presented was chock full of Star Wars trivia, I felt that it was limited in scope. Should have waited until Episode 9 in 2019. Or perhaps there will be a second volume?
July 30, 2018
Star Wars on the front lines is a wonderful book on all the major battles from the battle of the blockade on Nabo the first spark of the clone wars to the beginning of the new conflict. It's AMAZING!!!!!
October 1, 2017
Amazing reference book!
October 31, 2017
I may have teared up a little when I got to the Battle of Scarif . . .
November 22, 2017
Decent background on the key battles of the Clone Wars and Galactic Civil War, but nothing really new in the way of information.
March 5, 2023
no review on Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker? No C3-PO?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews