The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." It's been 30 years since those immortal words were first seen on movie screens nationwide and it was the start of a worldwide phenomenon and the beginning of the most successful movie franchise of all time.

The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, With Removable Memorabilia and Two Audio CDs by Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur (HarperEntertainment; on-sale October 30, 2007; $85.00) is the official illustrated book celebrating this year's 30th anniversary of George Lucas' first Star Wars movie, and includes removable reproductions of memorabilia, along with two CDs containing vintage radio ads, original cast interviews, George Lucas' commentary, and even Carrie Fisher singing in the Star Wars Holiday Special.

The Star Wars Vault is the insider's look at the development and making of all six movies, and the huge cultural impact they've had. In addition to hundreds of photos and pieces of artwork, the book includes fifty interactive, rare, and some never-before-seen pieces of memorabilia.

Among the book's features are:

• The special questionnaire for the first and only test screening of the original Star Wars — and the invitation to attend it
• George Lucas' hand-written treatment for The Empire Strikes Back
• Lucasfilm Christmas cards
• Iron-on T-shirt transfer
• The very first concept sketch drawn for Star Wars
• Blueprints of Star Wars vehicles and sets
• Original hand-written directions for ground-breaking special effects

The Star Wars Vault is the ultimate, one-of-a-kind insider's look into the sensation that launched a phenomenon that includes six feature films; two spin-off films; three television series with more to come; and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games, action figures, trading cards, and many other products worldwide.

Steve Sansweet joined Lucasfilm Ltd in 1996 after a 26-year career as a journalist at The Wall Street Journal; his last position there was as Los Angeles Bureau Chief. He is currently Director of Content Management and head of fan relations in Lucasfilm's Marketing Division. Steve started collecting robots and space toys in the mid-1970s and now owns the largest private collection of Star Wars memorabilia in the world.

Pete Vilmur has worked at Lucasfilm for three years as content developer for starwars.com and indianajones.com, and has authored dozens of articles for the company's fan club magazine, Star Wars Insider. A life-long Star Wars collector, this is Vilmur's second book with Sansweet, the first being 2005's Star Wars Poster Book.