Star Wars is an American epic space-opera media franchise, centered on a film series created by George Lucas. This is a list of the many reference books that have been published to accompany the films, television series, and the Expanded Universe of books, comics and video games.
The visual dictionary series is a series of reference books based on photographs (usually taken from films or TV productions or shot at the unused props) about characters and elements from Star Wars media. They are published by DK Publishing.Note: The updates of the books are listed right below them.
The essential guides are more adult-oriented and descriptive than the Visual Dictionaries. They are published by Del Rey.
The first generation of books (except for to Alien Species and, possibly, to Episode I) had covers with cartoon-like illustrations of the subjects and was known to use non-specific terms. They are listed below. It included data about the prequel trilogy only since The Essential Chronology.Note: The second book was known for a number of picture errors, such as confusing the Imperial and Victory classes of Star Destroyer.
The second generation of books had covers with the standard Star Wars logo, stills from the films (or artwork based on them) and with the word "New" evidenced in the title. They are listed below. It included data about Episode III only since The New Essential Chronology.
The third generation of books had new covers featuring specific artwork and title characters. They are listed below. It included data about almost every Legends piece of media.
Some of the essential guides have also an in-universe counterpart, as they are written from an in-universe perspective. They are listed below, among with their fictional release dates and authors.
The Making of Star Wars is a series of reference books about the so-called "making of" of the films and the video games of the franchise. They are published by various publishers, including notable names.Note: The refurbishments of the three original trilogy books are listed right below them.
The Art of Star Wars is a series of reference books based on paintings and artwork (mainly concept art). They are published by DK Publishing.
The Incredible Cross-Sections books are a series of reference books focusing on cross-sections of buildings and vehicles. They are published by DK Publishing.
The Inside the Worlds of books are a series of reference books focusing on accurate cross-sections of buildings featured in the films. They are published by DK Publishing.
The Official Star Wars Technical Journal was a 3-volume reference publication about organizations and places in the Star Wars universe. It was published by Starlog Communications International, Inc.