On the Front Lines by Daniel Wallace

On The Front Lines by Daniel Wallace
     What an incredible book! It took on a unique format for a reference title, having more narrative than diagrams, which I for one greatly appreciated. Diagrams get difficult to read after too long and this was written so well in a smooth narrative flow that I found myself frequently unable to stop turning the page. The illustrations were gorgeous to look at, allowing for both a verbally and visually satisfying reference book experience.
     This book chose 11 battles to delve into and it did a phenomenal job of collecting battles from all across canon - movies, books, and a TV show. I was definitely impressed by the care put into the selection.
The following battles were included:
1. Naboo
2. Geonosis
3. Christophsis
4. Ryloth
5. Coruscant
6. Scarif
7. Yavin
8. Hoth
9. Endor
10. Jakku
11. Starkiller Base
I was absolutely delighted that battles from Clone Wars were included! I wish it had also covered The Battle of Mon Cala because that was one of my favorite story arcs from the show. But what they did include was enlightening and helpful in understanding at least one of the battles whose storylines were all mixed up chronologically within the show. Definitely cool to have it all laid out in an easy-to-read format.
     The narrative on each battle is broken up into an introduction, "Prelude to Battle," "Tactical Analysis," and "Aftermath." The narrative is then framed by an image and blurb on a commander from each side. Following this is a "Combatants" page that details sentient beings and droids that fought in the battle with photos and blurbs on each one. Then there is an "I Was There" section with someone who fought detailing their experience of the battle in a short narrative and a "Tales of Valor" section detailing the heroics of someone who usually died in the battle in a short narrative. (I believe the only "Tales of Valor" where someone didn't die was The Battle of Coruscant's bit about R2-D2's great help in that campaign. And we all know how awesome he was in that battle!) Finally there is a "Tools of War" section similar to the "Combatants" section displaying vehicles, beasts of burden, and weapons used. To conclude each section is a beautiful two-page illustrated spread of a scene from the battle. 
     The only fault I found in this book was the inclusion of only "good guys" in the "Tales of Valor" sections. No Separatist, Imperial, or First Order deaths were honored and I feel like they should have been for a more well-rounded take on the battles...especially with Death Troopers regaling the cover.
     With that said, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wishes to dig deeper into the various battles that create the backbone of the Wars in Star Wars. A learned a lot in a very engaging and captivating way. Definitely 10/10.