The World According to Star Wars
Written by Cass R Sunstein
Narrated by Kaleo Griffith
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
"Star Wars is the ultimate mythological tale of our age, a hero's journey that is a tribute to the beauty of human freedom as well as an exploration of its dark complexities. In this gem of a book, the brilliant Cass Sunstein uses the series to explore profound questions about being a parent, a child, and a human. It will change the way you think about your own journey, and it might even make you pick up the phone and call your dad." – Walter Isaacson
A deeply original celebration of George Lucas’s masterpiece as it relates to history, presidential politics, law, economics, fatherhood, and culture by Harvard legal scholar and former White House advisor.
There’s Santa Claus, Shakespeare, Mickey Mouse, The Bible, and then there’s Star Wars. Nothing quite compares to sitting with down with a young child and hearing the sound of John Williams’ score as those beloved golden letters fill the screen. In this fun, erudite and often moving book, Cass R. Sunstein explores the lessons of Star Wars as they relate to childhood, fathers, the Dark Side, rebellion, and redemption. As it turns out, Star Wars also has a lot to teach us about constitutional law, economics, and political uprisings.
In rich detail, Sunstein tells story of the films’ wildly unanticipated success and what it has to say about why some things succeed while others fail. Ultimately, Sunstein argues, Star Wars is about the freedom of choice and our never-ending ability to make the right decision when the chips are down. Written with buoyant prose and considerable heart, The World According to Star Wars shines new light on the most beloved story of our time.
Cass R Sunstein
Cass R. Sunstein is the Robert Walmsley University Professor at Harvard, where he is founder and director of the Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy. He is the most cited law professor in the United States and probably the world. He has served as Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs and as a member of the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies. He is the winner of the 2018 Holberg Prize. His many books include the bestseller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness (with Richard H. Thaler), Simpler: The Future of Government, and Republic.com. A frequent adviser to governments all over the world and a columnist for Bloomberg View, he is married to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power.
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Reviews for The World According to Star Wars
56 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To me it was a heartfelt read but it might come of slightly condescending to others
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5There is some interesting essays in this collection. Nothing spectacularly noteworthy, but nothing really cringe-worthy / horribly written / "stupid".
I will say the author's voice comes through pretty heavily (which can be either a good thing or a bad thing), in this case its mostly good but he does come off as a bit pretentious and "always right". His attempts at humor often fall flat, and his constant attempts to push the prequel trilogy as "good" or "better" than the Original trilogy is borderline blasphemy. None of the essays were boring, which is definitely a plus, but not all of them seemed 'fantastically intelligent' or 'brilliant genius' or anything akin to that, but they all at least have some kind of depth and are at least interesting enough. The relationship to Star Wars is tenuous at best in some of the essays, but is there (albeit just like "oh hey this real world connection is like character X or event X from the movies).
An interesting collection of essays that big fans of Star Wars might enjoy, but overall pretty forgettable and easily skipp-able.