Mythmaker: The Life and Work of George Lucas

Rating:
Summary: Slaughter of a legend
Review: Fans of George Lucas or his work should not read this book. Baxter has nothing positive to say either about Lucas the man or any of his films. While the narrative is generally factual, he seems to take every opportunity to attack the subject as a misanthrope, a poor businessman, an exploiter of others, and generally a maker of worthless films. Furthermore, there is practically nothing in this volume that can't be found in a work that doesn't tear Lucas down.

I don't know why John Baxter decided to write this book. Why does a self-proclaimed world-class writer invest the years of research, then proceed to write 400 pages on a subject that clearly means nothing to him?

Rating:
Summary: Star Bores
Review: How well you like this book is probably going to depend a lot on your motivation for reading it in the first place. The recent *60-Minutes* segment did more in 40 minutes to show the personal side of George Lucas, than this book did in 400+ pages. Much of the personal information seems cursory and under-developed. However, the book does provide a fasinating look at the film industry. The chapters dealing with Star Wars are by far the most interesting and the strongest. They alone make the book worth reading.

I found the author's writing style detached, remote and unengaging, but readable. At points in the book I found myself asking "So what?", "Who care's" or "Why do I need to know this". If you aren't a Star Wars or Indiana Jones fan, the book may become tedious and boring.

At best this book pulls together a lot of scattered information about George Lucas, his life and his filmography into one readable volume. At worst it paints an unflattering picture of a reclusive, immature eccentric who is a victim of his own delusions and self-importance. Reality probably lies somewhere in between. If you are a fan of George Lucas and/or his movies, you will probably want to read this book, but it doesn't cover any ground that hasn't already been covered.

Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate But Still Good
Review: I am a big George Lucas fan and I found a few errors in this book. The one that really bothered me was that the author repeatedly stated that Jim Henson did the puppeteering and voice for Yoda. IT WAS FRANK OZ NOT JIM HENSON! That was soooo annoying! I kept wishing that the author was around so that I could just scream it in his face!

Other than these small details, the book was pretty good. But still, I can't help but wonder what else was inaccurate that I just took as new information.

Rating:
Summary: Revenge of the Nerd
Review: I finally finished this book - it took me weeks! I had to keep putting it down due to nausea. I should have quit while I was ahead. It was slow, boring and torturous. Shame on me for buying the book - shame on me for reading it. I equate it with a tabloid cover story, maybe worse. It lacked in content and was full of recounted heresay by " a friend of a friend". I was looking for to learn more about George Lucas whom I have admired since I was a teen ager watching Star Wars. George Lucas has brought UNTOLD happiness into the world with his visions and all John Baxter likes to point out is that he is a short nerd whose wife left him. Who cares. John Baxter's writing in this book is full of bias and overt envy. It rambles off on tangents that make you put the book down and say "what does that have to do with anything? " I kept reading because I had read a review that stated that Baxter was won over in the end. Well I missed something. I don't agree with John Baxter at all and his inference that George Lucas sort of stumbled through his life and kept getting breaks because he was surrounded by competent people. John Baxter was quick to point out every failure (Howard the Duck)- and lose focus on the successes (ILM, Skywalker sound). It seems to me that George Lucas earned his "incomprehensible wealth" through hard work and sacrifice. That's the one thing I gleened from the book throught the heavy envy. This book was ridiculous. If you are a fan of Star Wars or Raiders please don't bother reading it. You will just be annoyed by the heresay. If I sound negative then you are getting a small idea of how negative the content of this book is.

Rating:
Summary: myth versus translation
Review: I have just finished reading the italian version of this book. I can agree with some if the other reviws that some part are slow but overall the book is intriguing. I strongly advise that those in love with Lucas may be dissatisfied, in fact his image as a filmaker is fantastic, as a husband or friend less.

If possible I would recommend the original english version because in my opinion the italian translation is very bad (please advise the author)

Rating:
Summary: A Surprising Disappointment...
Review: I've always been a Lucasfilm/Star Wars fanatic, and have always gobbled up any shred of info, whether it be about the stories, or the behind-the-scenes realm. I'm one of those fans who knows the names of the modelmakers responsible for those great, worn ships in the original film.

And while I am a bit over the top in regards to what I know, this in no way absolves John Baxter for the mountainous errors in his work. Just because I'm sharp on a lot regarding Lucas doesn't mean that Baxter's innacurracies won't be such a sin if they fall on uninformed ears.I won't go through each and every flaw, but let me just warn you that this book drops the ball repeatedly regarding what Lucasfilm fans would call rudimentary data.

I t's best to bypass this mess and select David Pollock's "Skywalking" instead. It's the oldest and still the best bio on this great talent. Another book that proved to be immensely entertaining (though only covering the era of the first trilogy) was Garry Jenkin's "Empire Building." If it's behind the scenes Star Wars stuff you're after, then this is absolutely THE book to get.
In closing, I'm most disappointed with Mythmaker because it pales in comparison to Baxter's Steven Spielberg bio released a few years before. It makes me wonder how accurate (or innacurate) THAT bio was.....

Rating:
Summary: It's a little harsh on Lucas...
Review: This was the first real biography I read of George Lucas; since it I have read Dave Pollock's Skywalking, which is a far better and balanced look at the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas.

John Baxter's bio on Lucas is really mean toward its subject. In his narrative of the filmmaker's life he routinely slams Lucas, pointing out all the mistakes George made in his life and never really focusing on the happiness Lucas has brought to millions of moviegoers with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. In the end, it seems Lucas wins over Baxter with The Phantom Menace, but considering how much Baxter seems to hate George Lucas, I think I'm reaching a little bit.

Not only does Baxter hate Lucas, his book is littered with typos and errors. He never once gets the name of Steven Spielberg's college--Long Beach State--right (he calls it the University of California, Long Beach at one point and California State College, Long Beach in another). He mangles some of the details of The Phantom Menace as well (says that Valorum was played by Ian McDiarmid, when it was Terence Stamp who really played him). Some of the more gossipy parts in the book are backed up with shoddy references, too.

Another problem is that Baxter goes off on a lot of other tangents that are only vaguely related to Lucas. For instance, he discusses what Francis Coppola was doing while Star Wars was being produced, and the problems Star Wars' director of photography--Gil Taylor--had with Stanley Kubrick. Better editing would have eliminated these parts.

If you want a better and more balanced account of George Lucas' life, read Skywalking by Dave Pollock. Pollock doesn't take a critical machete to Lucas' life or films and there aren't any editorial mistakes.