If you adore Wookiees and droids, long for a lightsaber of your own, or are eager to explore faraway galaxies, then The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, is your go-to cache of intergalactic goodies. Brought to you by two of George Lucas’ employees, Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur, this collection of Star Wars memorabilia and (removable) ephemera is a one-of-a-kind paean to the creative fertility of Lucas and the cast of thousands who contributed to this massive franchise.

The Star Wars Vault includes hundreds of photos and pieces of art; 50 items of memorabilia (notably, reproductions of Lucas’ handwritten scripts); and two CDs featuring cast interviews, radio spots and a song or two from Princess Leia! With this scrapbook to end all scrapbooks, the authors have also framed a mind-bending, exacting prose history of the Star Wars saga, from its early days to the final Episode III; the book is a testament to moviemaking and the complex science of special effects. The imagined world of George Lucas has become a global cultural icon, with characters and dialogue inextricably sunk into our collective psyches. The Star Wars Vault reveals the complete genesis of Luke, Leia, Han and the Dark Lord, and is a must-have for all fans of The Force.

100 Days in Photographs: Pivotal Events that Changed the World, by Nick Yapp, Douglas Brinkley and Chris Johns, is a powerhouse blend of image and story. Photographs selected from the historic collections of the National Geographic Society and Getty Images show us our world, from 1851 to the present day, with both elevating and awful truth. Photography, says historian Brinkley in the book’s foreword, is a window onto our collective souls and struggles. This book, without a surfeit of unnecessary words, inarguably illustrates our human sufferings, but also our triumphs, curiosities and joys.

Presented in chronological order and accompanied by brief, succinct histories written by London-based journalist Yapp, the photographs reflect a gamut of ground-breaking and mind-boggling events, from the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, the fall of Saigon and the tumbling of the Berlin Wall, to a placid portrait of Dolly, the infamous cloned sheep. Photo captions give information about the photographers, their equipment and technique, and historic quotes round out the history behind each photograph.

Many of the images included here are disturbing; they remind of us our most terrible capabilities. But they are, says Brinkley, testimonials to an ever-evolving art form that teaches about ourselves. . . . And all we can do is be grateful for the discovery and recognition.