Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is a reference book authored by Dr. Chris Kempshall and published by Dorling Kindersley on July 4, 2024 in the United Kingdom^[3] and on July 9 in the United States.^[1] The book is written from the in-universe perspective of historian Beaumont Kin.^[4]

The book was edited by David Fentiman, and Kempshall received guidance from Brett Rector and the Story Group at Lucasfilm, with additional support from various Star Wars authors and loved ones.^[5] Kempshall said that his work was inspired by William L. Shirer's seminal 1960 book The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a small bust of Star Wars' Emperor Palpatine, and Kristin Baver's 2021 book Skywalker: A Family at War.^[6] After the contract for the book was signed, Kempshall had a conversation with Michael Siglain of Disney–Lucasfilm Press at Star Wars Celebration in London discussing topics such as the book's structure and a sample chapter Siglain had recently read.^[7]

Publisher's summary[]

A history of the dark times.

"So this is how liberty dies—with thunderous applause." —Senator Padmé Amidala

When Palpatine declared the birth of his new Empire, he expected it would stand for millennia. Instead, it lasted only 24 years. This is the story of how a tyrannical regime rose from the ashes of democracy, ruled the galaxy with an iron fist, and then collapsed into dust.

It is a story of war and heroes, of the power of propaganda and the dangers of complacency. But most of all, it is a story of normal people trying to live their lives in the face of a brutal dictatorship.

From the ruthlessness of Darth Vader's campaigns to the horrors of the Tarkin Initiative, this book offers fresh new insights into the dark entity at the core of Star Wars.^[1]

Development[]

According to author Dr. Chris Kempshall, Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire would not have existed without the prior book Skywalker: A Family at War by author Kristin Baver,^[8] who is referenced in Rise and Fall as an in-universe Skywalker family biographer named Kitrin Braves.^[9] Rise and Fall also ended up connecting well with^[10] the then yet-to-be announced Reign of the Empire trilogy^[11] according to editor Tom Hoeler.^[10] Furthermore, Hoeler noticed details in Rise and Fall that he realized would work well with Reign of the Empire Book Two, promising Kempshall that Rise and Fall content had been brought up as ideas to be fleshed out in that novel,^[12] much to Kempshall's joy.^[13]

Continuity[]

As the conceit of Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire is that it is an in-universe text written by Beaumont Kin, many continuity errors can be explained away as possessing inaccurate information. For example, Kin makes reference to Grand Admiral Thrawn's significant civilian casualties at the battle of Batonn. The 2017 novel Thrawn established that the casualties were actually the result of actions taken by Arihnda Pryce, but the pair conspired to give public credit to Thrawn.^[14] As Kin reports the commonly believed innacurate version of events, this indicates that Pryce's actions at Batonn did not become public knowledge, even after the fall of the First Order.

• The book states that General Hurst Romodi died during the Battle of Yavin, when he in fact participated in the Battle of Endor per "To the Last" short story in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi.
• The book states that Rae Sloane was promoted from Vice Admiral to full Admiral during the ambush of a rebel convoy at Derra, despite still being a Vice Admiral during the Battle of Endor per Star Wars Battlefront II.
• The book states that Pitina Mar-Mas Voor made her final broadcast and was executed by Darth Vader in 2 BBY. These events actually take place in 2 ABY, per the Star Wars: Doctor Aphra comics.
• The book mistakenly calls The Grand Inquisitor an Umbaran, when his species is, in fact, Pau'an.
• The book misspells Morgan Elsbeth's name as "Morgan Elspeth" on one occasion, although subsequent references are spelled correctly

Media[]

Editions[]

• ISBN 9780744098822; July 9, 2024; Dorling Kindersley; US hardcover^[1]

Cover gallery[]

Appearances[]

This out-of-universe list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Sources[]

• New Book The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire to Explore the Imperial Regime - Exclusive on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 226

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• Star Wars The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire on the official Edelweiss website (backup link)
• Star Wars The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire on Dorling Kindersley's official website (backup link)
• Star Wars The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire on Amazon.com (backup link)