As the nerdiest of Star Wars fans know, the original full name of the Force—as written in the crucial penultimate drafts of the original movie—is The Force of Others. I am here to testify that the Force of Others is real. I was knocked over by its positive spirit repeatedly during the process of writing this book. I found it in the stars of the Star Wars firmament; in the highest echelons of fandom; in Lucasfilm, though Lucasfilm did not officially cooperate with this book; in friends old and new.
The Force of Others manifested itself in generosity, advice and various other kindnesses. It was to be found in Consetta Parker, Steve Sansweet, Anne Neuman, Jenna Busch, Dustin Sandoval, Aaron Muszalski, Michael Rubin, Hal Barwood, Rodney and Darlene Fong, Chris Argyropoulos, Lynne Hale, Lynda Benoit, Anita Li, Charlotte Hill, Chris James, Pablo Hidalgo, Edward Summer, Dale Pollock, Alan Dean Foster, Alain Bloch, Michael Heilemann, Chris Lewicki, Liz Lee, Don Glut, Kyle Newman, Dan Madsen, James Arnold Taylor, Ed daSilva, Peter Hartlaub, Charley Lippincott, Manuelito Wheeler, George James Sr., Christian Gossett, Derryl dePriest, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Jeremy Bulloch, Cole Horton, Bryan Young, Lou Aronica, Paul Bateman, Audrey Cooper, Albin Johnson, Mark Fordham, Christine Erickson, Todd Evans, Chris Giunta, John Jackson Miller, Shelly Shapiro, Timothy Zahn, Mark Boudreaux, Bobak Ferdowsi, Sasha and Nick Sagan, Howard Kazanjian, Fred Roos, Tracy Duncan, Terry McGovern, Bob & Zach Wookey, Jennifer Porter, Josh Quittner, Jessica Bruder, Dale Maharidge, David Picker, Patrick Read Johnson, Daniel Terdiman, Cherry Zonkowski, Seth Rosenblatt, Bonnie Burton, Michael Barryte, Michael Kaminski, Patti McCarthy, Alan Ladd Jr. and Amanda Ladd Jones, Jack Sullivan, Matt Martin, Andrey Summers, Phil Tippett, Shanti Seigel, Walter Isaacson, Simon Pegg, Ronald D Moore, Mike Stackpole, Steve Silberman and Gary Kurtz. Alongside that list, I would like to raise a lightsaber in silent salute to various Lucas employees past and present who asked that their names not be used.
I would also like to thank David Perry, spokesperson for George Walton Lucas Jr. Mr. Lucas is a brilliant and profoundly protective man whose strong feelings on the subjects of privacy and biography were bound to make his cooperation with a book like this impossible. But David was gracious in passing every request for an interview on to the Lucas desk itself. More than this: David and his husband Alfredo have become dear friends.
This book would not exist without the initial prodding, cheerleading and hustling of Kathryn Beaumont Murphy. Katherine Flynn, my agent, helped steer it to a safe landing. Tim Bartlett is the reason the book landed at Basic when it had an abundance of suitors, and he will always have MFNF (most-favored non fan) status. Alex Littlefield was a keen and capable editor whose modifications took this book to point five past light speed; my thanks also for the patience of project manager Rachel King and the corrections of copy editor Beth Wright. Of course, any mistakes that remain after their meticulous reads are mine and not theirs.
Writing a book of this scale in less than two years would not have been possible without the support and indulgence of all my friends and colleagues at Mashable, in particular Lance Ulanoff, Emily Banks, Kate Sommers-Dawes, and Jim Roberts. On the home front, family and friends too numerous to mention were supportive and tolerant when I vanished into my writing cave for weeks at a time. But the Yavin throne room gold medal for support and tolerance goes to Jessica Wolfe Taylor—a Star Trek fan for whom Star Wars was just alright.
Finally the author would like to acknowledge that Mowgli is a padawan wise beyond his years, and that his frequent attempts to push my laptop out of my lap during the writing of this book were simply his way of getting me to let go my conscious self and reach out with my feelings.
May the Force of Others be with you, always.
Chris Taylor
Berkeley
June 2014