The root problem with "A Bridge Too Far", however, is that the top-heavy complement of stars never allows for any focus of attention." However, not all reaction was negative. Charles Champlin of the "Los Angeles Times" wrote, "In strictly cinematic terms, the appeal of "A Bridge Too Far" is easy to state: it is spectacular in the size and range of its effects, earnestly well-acted by a starry and able cast, well-paced and swift despite its length, and marked by an evident attempt to give the balanced truth of a tragic episode from history." Gary Arnold of "The Washington Post" called it "an unusually conscientious and impressive war epic" that justified its high budget "in terms of careful period recreation, visual spectacle (the sequences depicting paratroop landings are particularly awesome), the mixture of exciting combat episodes with vivid human interest vignettes, an effort to establish a coherent, many-faceted view of a complicated and ill-fated military adventure, and a generally superior level of filmmaking intelligence and craftsmanship." The film has a 64% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with an average grade of 6.11 out of 10. To promote the film, scriptwriter William Goldman wrote a book titled "Story of A Bridge Too Far" as a favour to Joseph E. Levine. It was published in December 1977 and divided into three sections: