Over the past 40 years, the Star Wars franchise has received many books and compendiums that collect a wealth of knowledge and insight into the franchise. Fans who love immersing themselves in a galaxy far, far away are constantly seeking books they can reference or peer into different parts of the series. But which books, specifically coffee table books, are the best ones to add to one’s growing collection in 2024? Let’s deep dive into the coffee table Star Wars books that you need to own right now if you consider yourself a big fan and the ones you’ll want to explore if you’re new to everything.
As a means to set some ground rules, the books included in this list are all focused on the Star Wars franchise. While some of them can include details about other aspects of Star Wars or similar series, the main focus should be on Star Wars. So don’t expect any of the books listed to have a ton of crossovers or just references to Star Wars-related things. Most coffee table books act as reference material for fans to look through when they’re curious about something or need to get details about a specific subject. However, coffee table books can just be something good to browse through. So without further delay, let’s make the jump to light speed with these Star Wars coffee table books that everyone should look into getting for their collection.
5: Star Wars Battles That Changed the Galaxy
There are many battles throughout the Star Wars movies, most of which we see first-hand. All of which influence the story between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. But other aspects of these skirmishes between the Rebellion and The Empire aren’t highlighted as much in the films, such as how either side moved their forces against the other. That’s what this book goes into heavy detail about, covering all the battles before and after the Battle of Yavin from Episode IV: A New Hope.
What’s interesting is the inclusion of detailed maps that pinpoint the placement of Rebel or Imperial forces during some of the series’ greatest battles. Also highlighted is how the outcome of these conflicts affected different systems within the galaxy and what it meant to the history of those within the Star Wars universe. But this book is not just limited to space battles, aspects of these conflicts that took place on planets like Hoth and Endor are included too. While you won’t become a great tactician like Grand Admiral Thrawn by reading through this, the book is a great overview of how our favorite Star Wars battles took place from an in-universe historical perspective.
4: Star Wars Art: Ralph McQuarrie
There is simply no Star Wars without Ralph McQuarrie. He was the artist who came up with the concept and the definitive style of what a galaxy far, far away might look like. Everything from Darth Vader’s armor and the droids we meet, to the design of the X-Wing and TIE Fighters battling in space, was by his artwork. This is why the art of Ralph McQuarrie is something that every fan should look over whenever possible, which is collected in this book for all to see.
This coffee table book compiles all the artwork that was related to Star Wars but also gathers various perspectives and insights from Ralph’s peers. Various accounts and reactions to his artwork give a good overview of the reaction of everyone when Star Wars first burst onto the scene and became one of the biggest pop-culture series of all time. The book also touches on the inspiration that his artwork had on many others beyond Star Wars, which is still felt in various parts of cinema to this day.
There have been many different books highlighting the artwork and visuals of Star Wars over the years, but none are as insightful or intriguing as this one. It is considered to be one of the most definitive compilations of Star Wars artwork made by Ralph McQuarrie but is even more appealing to die-hard fans who can look at never-before-seen artwork that wasn’t readily available beforehand.
3: Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection
There are very few sci-fi weapons as elegant and deadly as the lightsaber. It’s a defining attribute of Star Wars that has been emulated and parodied over the years, but none have ever been able to replicate its massive impact on pop-culture for generations. What once started as a piece of camera equipment became one of the most legendary cinematic weapons of all time. Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection is a compilation book of every canon lightsaber that has made an appearance in different Star Wars media. This includes the movies, the animated series, the video games, and even some of the comic books as well.
The book is split into sections that divide the light or dark side alignment of characters, essentially every lightsaber from a good or bad character. But this book also includes detailed blueprints and a brief history of the lightsaber from within the Star Wars galaxy, giving insight into the components of a lightsaber and its origins as a weapon of the Jedi. However, this book doesn’t include every lightsaber created from all Star Wars media, with a lot of popular Star Wars Legends material being left out, such as lightsabers from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
At the same time, a second volume of The Lightsaber Collection is being released that focuses on the new Disney-created era of the franchise, The High Republic. But if you like seeing lightsabers from every current canonical appearance of this elegant weapon from a more civilized age, then this is a must-own book.
2: Star Wars Timelines
For those fans who deeply care about and follow the Star Wars canon, Star Wars Timelines is an essential reference book. Released well after Disney was in control of the franchise, Timelines includes key dates and events for every major occurrence within the Star Wars galaxy. This includes everything before and during the High Republic, through the time of the First Order after the fall of the Empire. Characters and major battles, as well as cornerstone events within the galaxy, are marked off and noted with details about their place in galactic history. This book is also notable for pinpointing key births and deaths of important characters we see in the Star Wars movies and shows.
One thing that Timelines does a little differently from other Star Wars coffee table books is acknowledging the timeline of The Old Republic. While it never goes into detail about it, it does make a point to reference a time before The High Republic and how important it was in shaping the galaxy. Yet the book keeps things vague, so there’s no deep dive into events from things like Knights of the Old Republic or the rise of the first Jedi.
This might be further explored at a future date for a new volume of Timelines, but the book does still note that part of the series’ history. Beyond that, the charts and notes throughout the book try hard to paint the most complete look at the full Star Wars canon as we know it (starting from the book’s release in 2023, not including shows like The Acolyte or Skeleton Crew).
1: The Star Wars Archives (1977-1983 and 1999-2005)
Two of the best Star Wars coffee table books you can own come in the form of The Star Wars Archives. These are two volumes that deep dive into the creation, production, and reception of all the George Lucas films. The first volume highlights everything from the original Star Wars trilogy, episodes IV to VI, while the second volume is all about the prequel trilogy, episodes I to III. The books are written by Paul Duncan, who gives an unparalleled look at the movies that ushered in a new wave of sci-fi adventure and blockbuster movie releases. These books are absolute must-own books for any fan of the Star Wars movies.
There are multiple formats of these books, which come in large-release formats and smaller print formats. The larger version has everything about the films, including behind-the-scenes photos and scripts for each release. There are even theatrical posters and marketing material from around the world that are compiled together, as well as other photos from throughout the years related to premieres and merchandising. The smaller formats have most of the same material, with a few omissions to compensate for the smaller size of the books.
As far as the information is concerned, both formats give the most complete look at the series but are different in the amount of visual material and extras they provide. Is the larger format of the Star Wars Archives the definitive version to get for one’s collection? Absolutely, provided you have the budget to purchase them. But if you find yourself limited to getting the smaller format versions, you’ll still have some of the best Star Wars coffee table books one can own.
