Star Wars: Episode I - The Visual Dictionary

Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary #2

by D.K. Publishing

Amazing annotated photography gives an unrivaled insight into the characters, costumes,droids and gadgetry of Star I.

Genres: Star Wars, Reference, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Film, Childrens

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Dorling Kindersley (DK) is a British multinational publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 62 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a consumer publishing company jointly owned by Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA and Pearson PLC. Bertelsmann owns 53% of the company and Pearson owns 47%.

Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including Eyewitness Travel Guides), arts and crafts, business, history, cooking, gaming, gardening, health and fitness, natural history, parenting, science and reference. They also publish books for children, toddlers and babies, covering such topics as history, the human body, animals and activities, as well as licensed properties such as LEGO, Disney and DeLiSo, licensor of the toy Sophie la Girafe. DK has offices in New York, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto and Melbourne.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! Apparently I will be reading every.single.word in every.single.visual.dictionary in this series. When I grabbed these at the library I expected my son to flip through these books, check out the pictures, maybe read a bit out loud to me but instead he is dissecting every piece of information, asking me to sit with him while we theorize, discuss, and extrapolate. He is just seven and now wants to write a prequel to Episode One. What could be better?! And all because of these visual dictionaries and the wealth of information within them.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book was as good as it could possibly be, it would still be about The Phantom Menace, and there's no recovery from that. On the positive side, some of the costumes are amazing (though some others are really not), and it's fun to get a closer look at some of the detailing. I also liked the hints about the recent past of Naboo just before Amidala's reign (the unusual demise of King Veruna); I don't know if any of that is still canon, but it's intriguing.

But too much of the information is either bland, obvious, or just silly. A photo of a Jedi, for example, with an arrow pointing to "Jedi robe" or "Plain trousers" or "Lightsaber." Come on, now.

Thinking about Episode 1 is always just pondering what might have been. Even this movie could have become okay if the next two in the trilogy had been great. Ah well.

[Jesi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a Star Wars book. I loved the little details that are left out in the movies because ideas and thoughts are hard to convey. It did a very good job at transferring the characters from screen to book without lose of who they were by over explaining things.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice visuals and detailed descriptions, this one offers a delightful exploration of Episode I. From the landscapes to the characters, this book provides insights for any Star Wars fan. Its stylish presentation makes it a charming addition to any collection.

Fun coffee table material but other than that...not much else to offer.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first word that comes to mind with this book is, neat. The factoids are interesting and the images are high quality. You get a look at items barely seen in the series up close and can analyze them.

That said, the book does have flaws. The information is presented haphazardly on pages. The photo descriptions are bland. And the information has sometimes been retconned by newer entries in the series.

Overall, something fun and interesting but nothing truly special. A nice coffee table book for a Star Wars Enthusiast.

[Trevor Meissner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the descriptions of the characters and the dialogue of the story

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Review from 2024)

To a young Star Wars fans in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Visual Dictionaries and Incredible Cross section books were fantastic. The former gave you all the cool in-universe details about the main characters and their costumes/props and made background characters feel all the more real now that you were getting more details about them. The later just made those wonderful vehicles feel all the more real and you imagine them being real and pilotable because of the fantastical engineering inside.

It didn't matter if it was in-universe details that most audiences would care about, they were just fun books to expand on the movies.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was a young child, I was convinced that worlds were better the more fleshed out they were, and the more detail that could be added to every single piece of technology, clothing, magic, etc. That would explain why I loved this book back when I was five or six years old. It felt like an encyclopedia, or part of one anyway, that would explain the universe I held so dear.

But now (with an appreciation for how rubbish both The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones - with AotC being a few hairs worse in my opinion - actually are), this Visual Dictionary comes off as utterly needless. Information put in here is just so thin on the ground in some places - why make arrows that indicate "Jedi boots" or "Cerean cuffs". These utterly meaningless details are why Star Wars fans are, by and large, so utterly bogged down in ideas of canon and semantics. To an absurd degree. I will concede that canon and semantics are important - the rules of a universe should cohere. But I think this level of intricacy is just too much for any one story, especially such a mediocre film as The Phantom Menace.

Boy, that came out a lot harsher than I intended, I think. I don't want to claim you can't get any enjoyment out of this, especially if you're a Star Wars megafan (like I am), but I think there are much better encyclopedic tomes, and much better areas of the Star Wars universe to focus on than this.

In short; light on actual interesting information. Nice pictures. Some weird and oddly wonderful background characters.

[Sally Edsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not one of those people who knows all the intricate details of the Star Wars saga. Now there is a younger person (my son) in my life, who saw Episode One, I find myself answering questions about characters and events.

This book is fabulous. It is the usual beautifully crafter Dorling Kindersley book with superb photo illustrations. Anyone familiar with the "Eyewitness" travel guides will appreciate the style.
The book details in archaelogical type detail (the author is an archaeologist - he says he approaches Star Wars as if it is an ancient civilization - looking for all the evidence of how it works) all the artefacts, and the people / characters, giving background details and physical details. It also explains some history and motivations which help you know the people and events easier.

[Lauren Vogt · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's always something so satisfying in expanding the universe of a fandom. Seeing the creators make backstories to characters we only glimpse, of what all the Star Wars gadgets are and "how they work," and the culture of Star Wars makes the galaxy a richer and deeper place.

I'm all for worldbuilding, however flawed the prequels may or may not be!

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The nostalgia hit hard with this, and it was so good. Getting to read it with my son, who received it as a gift (you know who you are) and asked to read it with me, made it perfect. And aside from all that, I live for the minutiae this book deals in, and DK is the best at it. Lots of terrific details and backstory, even if none of it's technically canon anymore.

[Elon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's always nice with background information for such a big franchise, but some of the descriptions make little sense, and others just show that the Star Wars world just might just have been made to look interesting but with little thought put behind it.

[Joseph Benitez]

This visual dictionary by David West Reynolds has stunning high-quality photographs detailing all the important features of the characters, creatures, weapons,, places, droids and technology about Episode 1. It is a great book to read and own.

[J.B. Mathias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to love these visual dictionaries as a kid. There is some great photography, lots of information on items and characters, stuff you wondered about or didn't even think of that just added a depth to the movie and is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much more than most.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to go through. Getting information about the tiny little details was so fun.
Star Wars needs to put together a book on Padmé's wardrobe alone. That was probably my favourite part of the book.

[Malkhaz Shonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very detailed book on "SW: Ep1" it's characters and weapons.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook - A good book, some extras added from the film

[Kristina Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite Star Wars reference books, so much to see and learn.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to read this over and over as a child. Recently found it again in a thrift shop and I just had to buy it. A must have for any Star Wars fan!

[Lucas Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good non-fictional book with lots of information about Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace.
The Watto page was the best.

[Melissa Namba · Rating 3 out of 5]

for being a book about something I 100% don't care about it was good. I feel like based on the information presented, I could write a short report on the movie if I needed to, without actually seeing it. the book is well written and presented as other "fact" based books in the series.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved every single page. - 5 out of 5 star rating.

These books are rated towards young readers, age range 11 I believe. I am assuming this is because they are primarily composed of images and short 1-2 sentence descriptions, if not just a few words. At the very most, you'll get a paragraph or two describing a character, starship, alien, piece of gear, etc.

Even though the target audience being advertised is kids, these books are amazing for Star Wars fans. True fans will love all the added depth down to each tool attached to a Jedi's belt, to minor characters who only get a few minutes, if not mere seconds in the film - being greatly expanded upon.

So not only is this great for adults, it is certainly amazing for kids. At the time of this review, I have a 4-year and and a 2-year old, and we went through a large portion of this book together and they loved it. Every night, they get super excited for "Star Wars!" and I would get some quality Dad time with my girls, reading about Tusken Raiders, Pod Racers, Jar Jar Binks, and more.

I enjoyed this book so much, I bought the entire series.

Books for Episodes 1-9 are sitting on my shelf right now. Attack the Clones is next. Super excited. My kids are too.

[Marcelo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent book if you like to see what's behind the curtain of the movie magicians. Not only its glossy, large pages offer the opportunity to scrutinize every detail you might have missed watching the movie, it also allows you to appreciate the except to which Lucasfilm's moviemakers went to recreate the Star Wars Universe more than a score of years before the original Star Wars (now "Episode IV") feature film.

There some disturbing things, though. Episode I was right before George Lucas started to doing every single thing with CGI or motion capture, so this is that ring-point between creative solutions and "fuck it, let's throw a lot of money into this and do it in CG". So you get to discover that Qui-Gon's communicator is a women's leg shaver in disguise.

All in all, it's a good coffee table book to have, although it's a little too short for my tastes.

[jzmcdaisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd mentioned in my review of the Episode One scrapbook that I found it lacking in detail but it still had a lot of fun visuals for my young mind to soak in. This is the next step up from that, and I remember checking this one out from my grade school library as well. All of the information contained within is a hell of a lot more descriptive and interesting than the scrapbook, and even delves into physiologies of the background aliens from the film. I never would have considered that some have bumps of fat in their head or use lamprey holes as noses. Fans know Episode One's reputation of being fun but not good, so this provided a lot of supplemental worldbuilding that made the movie more interesting.

[J.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this because I was really enamored with Episode I. It came in handy when reading (and writing) Star Wars fiction centering around Episode I, the Naboo, and the Master/Padawan relationships in the Jedi.

This is a very good introduction to the Star Wars universe beyond what you see in the movies. It names the various equipment, vehicles, weapons, and uniforms of many characters in the first film. An excellent resource for fan fiction authors or readers/fans who wish to explore the universe in more detail.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike the Visual Dictionary for the original trilogy, I found the one for Episode I to be interesting and educational. The pictures are once again great and information covers all of the big players in the movie. If you're somebody who likes or at least doesn't mind Episode I, this book will be worth the quick read that it is.

[S. J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite of these visual dictionaries for Star Wars. The details are incredible, with close shots of people, costumes, props, and more. The details are interesting and delivered in short, easy to read paragraphs.
My favorite part was the detailed pictures of the Queen's costumes. A lot of detail went into them and I'm glad that all that hard work gets a bit of its due.

[Emma Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the costumes and how it shows the inside of see-threepio up close. My favorite costumes are Queen Amidala's.

[DC · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the really quirky and simple facts stated in this book. The illustrations and little anecdotes are cool, too :)

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a book that is a descriptive resource of information about the people, characters, cultures, and creatures of the worlds of Star Wars.