--- title: This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate Star Wars Fan description: Cass R. Sunstein's new book 'The World According to Star Wars' explores the political themes of the fantasy series. canonical: https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-05-31T16:05:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:55.143Z article:section: Ideas og:title: This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate Star Wars Fan og:description: It's an in-depth look at the saga's hidden meanings og:url: https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ec096e5867ab43b/698891b65f570f5354b20c31/160504_em_starwars_darth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: 160504_EM_StarWars_Darth og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate Star Wars Fan twitter:description: It's an in-depth look at the saga's hidden meanings twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ec096e5867ab43b/698891b65f570f5354b20c31/160504_em_starwars_darth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate _Star Wars_ Fan > Sponsored content. 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It explains how TIME's journalism is made, from the first pitch through the editorial decisions behind a finished story or cover. #### How can I read about how TIME chooses its covers? Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-inside-2026q3/newsletters?i=800b6393-1cbd-44b1-8c89-94ec1557cf8f&cr=time-nl-inside-2026q3-v1)  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick May 31, 2016 4:05 PM UTC  Darth Vader in STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Darth Vader in STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Lucasfilms Ltd.—courtesy moviestillsdb.com  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick May 31, 2016 4:05 PM UTC On first viewing, _Star Wars_ is a story about good versus evil, a loner farmhand who takes up arms against an evil empire. Around the 24th viewing — and I speak from experience — you start to wonder about the moral ambiguities surrounding Luke’s decision to blow up the Death Star, presumably killing hundreds of thousands of soldiers and government contractors in the process. Any text as rich in story yet rife with contradictions as is _Star Wars_ can be read in myriad ways. One viewer might see a heroic rebellion rising up against a tyrannical government, another might see a son struggling to avoid becoming his father, yet another might question just why it is that, in this universe, blackness seems to represent evil. It is these themes that Cass R. Sunstein seeks to explore in his latest book, [_The World According to Star Wars_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062484222/?tag=timecom-20), out May 31.  Dey Street Books The work is something of a departure from the norm for Sunstein, among the country’s foremost legal scholars and a former official in the Obama White House. (Among his best-known books is [_Nudge_](http://www.amazon.com/dp/014311526X/?tag=timecom-20)_,_ a New York _Times_ bestseller exploring how behavioral economics can help people make better decisions, co-authored with Richard H. Thaler.) But Sunstein’s analytical prowess combines with what is clearly a deep love of _Star Wars_ to produce a concise yet inclusive examination of the deeper meanings within the space fantasy saga. Many of the subjects herein — the existence of [free will](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskScienceFiction/comments/3yt3bt/star%5Fwars%5Fdoes%5Ffree%5Fwill%5Fexist%5For%5Fare%5Fwe%5Fall%5Fjust/?), the [influence](http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/05/22/star-wars-saga-reflects-political-ideals.html) of George Lucas’ politics on the series, the Jedi religion’s ties to [Buddhism](http://popculturephilosopher.com/jedi-philosophy/)— will not be new to the most hardcore _Star Wars_ fans. But that does not mean said fans should skip Sunstein’s book. Even if the topics here are well-tread ground, Sunstein takes battles long fought in college dorms and Reddit threads and elevates them to a higher level. Case in point is his analysis of the concentration of power in the _Star Wars_ universe, in which he draws parallels to American politics: --- > “” --- The book is not all serious. Sunstein also offers a look at some of the more entertaining theories concerning the _Star Wars_ universe, including a relatively new idea that Jar Jar Binks, a widely derided character from the prequels, is in fact a [manipulative master of evil](https://www.reddit.com/comments/3qvj6w) who acts foolish and inept to deflect suspicion. (It’s not true, but it’s fun to think about.) There is also the idea that Han Solo, famously skeptical of the Force, is himself capable of using it, as evidenced by his piloting and blaster skills. All told, what Sunstein has accomplished is the ultimate primer for guiding a _Star Wars_ padawan to the level of Jedi Knight. If you have a serious _Star Wars_ fan in your life, this book will help you speak his or her language, whether that might be Galactic Basic, Bocce or Shyriiwook. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/"},"headline":"This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate Star Wars Fan","datePublished":"2016-05-31T16:05:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:55.143Z","description":"It's an in-depth look at the saga's hidden meanings","url":"https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ec096e5867ab43b/698891b65f570f5354b20c31/160504_em_starwars_darth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ec096e5867ab43b/698891b65f570f5354b20c31/160504_em_starwars_darth.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"160504_EM_StarWars_Darth","caption":"160504_EM_StarWars_Darth","creditText":"Lucasfilms Ltd.—courtesy moviestillsdb.com","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4352086/cass-r-sunstein-the-world-according-to-star-wars/","name":"This Book Will Help You Become the Ultimate Star Wars Fan"}}]}] ```