Reddit reviews Death Star (Star Wars)

There was actually a book that tells the story of the guy who had the job of pulling the lever to fire the superweapon.

I believe after Alderaan, he began to regret his job and question it, and at the Battle of Yavin IV, he hesitated a second, which gave Luke just enough time to fire his torpedoes and destroy the first Death Star.

Edit: I think this is the book in question.

I recently finished the book Death Star, which fills in a bit with stories of civilians and the human side of the Death Star:

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Star-Wars-Michael-Reaves/dp/034547743X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1247291137&sr=8-2

The Star Wars Wiki has only a brief description pertaining to what you're looking for (thanks BlueSmoke95 for suggesting the Wiki):
>Since service onboard the Death Star was a long-term affair, the station maintained a number of civilian amenities to make the time aboard a deep space station more comfortable. Parks, shopping centers, recreation areas, and taverns such as the Hard Heart Cantina could be found in the general sectors of the station.

There is also a novel about the Death Star, appropriately-titled Death Star. I have not read it, so cannot speak to how much it would be useful to you. You can get a copy pretty cheap.

Apparently there was an online game at one point which allowed you to design a Death Star, which probably would have given you some guidance. The game is long-since gone, but browsing through some Google results for the name of the game might bear some fruit.

I gotcha (and OP).
https://www.amazon.com/Death-Star-Wars-Michael-Reaves/dp/034547743X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474139478&sr=1-1&keywords=death+star