I have finished reading the New Essential Chronology, cover to cover.

It's the best history textbook I've ever read, and I'm studying to become a history teacher.

First off, the pictures are absolutely amazing. The artists do a terrific job of depicting characters, battles, and key locations in the GFFA.

The NEC begins at circa 100,000 B.B.Y., and ends up at 36 A.B.Y., or the war between the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances (New Republic) and the Killiks. I'm pretty sure this takes place in the Dark Nest Trilogy. The book has been updated for all three prequels, the New Jedi Order, and part of the Dark Nest Trilogy.

The book is set up as a history book for someone who lives in the future of the GFFA and is learning of what happened in the past, just like you'd be doing if you stayed awake in your own history class!

I could not put this book down. One of the most amazing things about it is that there is insight in the NEC that may not have been given originally in the books.

This book saved me countless time and money. I won't have to pay for lots of EU books that I would have suffered through. I can pick and choose based on what interested me the most. I had no idea how horrible the Clone Wars really were before reading this book. Also, for the NJO fans, part of the mystery of Vergere is explained. I'll be caught up on all of the NJO I haven't read, and everything else that happened in the galaxy. If you were confused by parts of the EU that you read, it will be cleared up for you in the NEC.

I highly recommend this book to the die-hard fans that would like to learn everything they can about Star Wars. I feel like I'm completely up to speed on the EU I haven't gotten to. All of the holes that were there for me in the past have been filled up.