Aliens: Illustrated Screenplay by Paul Summon is somewhat of a rarity since it has been only published in UK. This book is of course, the final Aliens script, but it's so much more than that. I feel like the script is just a bonus. The first chapter of the book is written by James Cameron himself for the book and is, to this day (June 2020) , the most detailed and extensive account on the process of writing and starting the movie, much more detailed even than the bluRay extras in this area. Cameron goes into incredible details on how the process originated from the mention in the meeting to starting the actual shoot, and also talks about his earliest drafts and lesser known facts, such as the fact that in the early version there was an android on the colony who was also a survivor and had an entire subplot devoted to him.
The second chapter is written by Paul Summon and is also exceptionally good, focusing on the impact, accolades and greatness of the film, and even quotes Ridley Scott's praises for Cameron's sequel, first in print if I'm not mistaken
The cover probably wasn't designed by any hardcore fans since it includes a still from Alien and Alien 3 but that's a small pickle
Highly, highly recommended
