Dukes of Hazzard: The Unofficial Companion Book

The first third of the book is a general overview, from inspiration (Moonrunners, not Smokey and the Bandit) to the (pre-1998) post-Dukes careers of some of those involved. Most of the rest is devoted to an extensive episode guide; there's a discussion of each season with a list of that season's cast and crew; then a plot summary and guest star list for every ep, along with occasional added commentary, highlights, notes, or trivia, covering everything from continuity to bits about guest actors to filming details.

Filling it out are a short foreword by Catherine Bach; a brief article on the "real" Hazzard (Hazard KY); a partial list of Dukes of Hazzard Merchandise; a few notes on making your own General Lee; Episode "Guides" (really just technical credits, cast, and a list of episode titles) for Enos and the cartoon series The Dukes); an "episode guide" for the show (alphabetical list of titles along with order of airing); the addresses for the fanclub (postal) and numerous websites (internet); a selected Bibliography; and an index.

This book is a joy. I'm fine with books by guys who are pro writers first, fans a distant second, and I'm okay with fanish books that aren't very polished, but this book is the best of both worlds. The writing is solid and the author is clearly a fan who loves the show for a lot of the same reasons I do. I'm annoyed by episode guides that resemble TV Guide blurbs; a good episode guide will remind me of the best scenes or the fun bits, and this one does that job admirably.

I would have been happy to have "more" on numerous fronts, but OTOH it's an overview and I didn't feel particularly shorted in what I did get. Lots of info, well presented, can't complain. Well, I didn't like the cover painting (the artist didn't capture Catherine Bach's charm at all, IMHO), but that's really my only gripe. Highly recommended to any Dukes fan who's interested in this sort of thing.