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More reviews of A Long Time Ago  

To the Author-thanks for writing this memoir. It was a fun ride that anyone in their late 30s or 40s who grew up with the Star Wars experience should read. I found myself laughing out loud and connecting with so much of it... 

Ronald Preiss review 
on Amazon.com

For guys of a certain age (and the women who would like to understand them) this is a great book. It kind of blew me away with how, though we came from very different places geographically and from very different backgrounds & families, we shared many of the same experiences when it came to Star Wars movies, toys, collectibles, and the dreaded "Prequels". Though it is presented as a personal memoir, it could easily be any of our stories. 

Scott A. Deuel review 
on Amazon.com

A thoroughly entertaining read that brought back many of my own childhood memories of the original Star Wars trilogy. It is an easy, enjoyable read, written in a nice flowing style. 

Colduo review 
on Amazon.co.uk

John Booth, author of Collect All 21!
Memoirs of a Star Wars Geek

 

 Jamie Benning, creator of Star Wars Begins, Building Empire and Returning to Jedi

Pure pleasure...A Long Time Ago is a thoughtful, funny, and beautifully written story...[Van Ert's] critiques of the Kenner action figures are both scathingly hilarious and bang on, and that's pretty much a microcosm for the whole book....it rewards the reader with an echo of the excitement, disappointment, anger, delight, and, ultimately, love, that Van Ert feels for the franchise.

Cory Doctorow review on Boing Boing

A Long Time Ago is a wonderful look back on growing up with Star Wars...Van Ert [has] written a great little memoir about life as a boy with Star Wars and his trials as an adult with his boyhood fascination.

Dave Banks review on Wired.com's GeekDad blog

This is a beautifully written book - touching, and very funny. For anyone whose childhood was shaped by George Lucas...it will bring back many happy memories...A treasure trove for Star Wars fans.

A.D. Barker review on Amazon.co.uk

For those of us who grew up with Star Wars, this is like a page from our own lives.

Gareth-Michael Skarka review on Amazon.com

Some time in the summer of 1977, sitting in the back seat of a borrowed station wagon at the only drive-in in town, Gib van Ert saw the first ninety minutes of a film that changed his world—and the world in general—forever. Then he fell asleep. So began a torrid thirty-five-year love affair with Star Wars, complete with infatuation, lust, devotion, jealousy, betrayal, despair, separation and reconciliation. 

In A Long Time Ago: Growing Up With And Out Of Star Wars, van Ert describes how Star Wars captivated his imagination as a boy, broke his heart as a young man, and is foisting itself upon him again today through fatherhood. At once a personal memoir and a reflection on the shared experience of a generation, A Long Time Ago explores Star Wars fandom with equal parts humour and thoughtfulness, nostalgia and regret. 

Get excerpts from the book

Prologue: Staring at Skywalker

A pig with a stomach ache: reflections on first seeing The Empire Strikes Back

Me reading from the book at VCON 37 (video)

View the Keener promotional pamphlet

If you're an old-time Star Wars fan, you'll remember the glorious brochures Kenner used to insert into its playsets and vehicles. Here's an example. Below is a Kenner-style brochure with photos of the people and places portrayed in my book.

Media coverage 

CBC Radio One Vancouver interviewed me about the book, and Star Wars generally. Listen to the interview.

CTV News BC interviewed me. Click here to watch the video.

My book became international news when Amazon briefly removed it from the store. Here's Boing Boing's explanation of what happened. Here are some samples of the coverage that resulted.

About Gib van Ert

Gib van Ert, 40, is a lawyer and father in Vancouver, British Columbia. He studied law at the University of Cambridge and is the author or co-author of several books and articles on international and constitutional law. A Long Time Ago: Growing Up With And Out Of Star Wars is van Ert’s first book directed at a broader audience.