The real star wasn’t Kirk or Picard or even Spock.
The real star received more fan mail than all the actors combined.
The real star of Star Trek was and still is the Starship Enterprise — and what she represents to the earth-bound viewers who dream about sailing on her across the seas of space.
The first official book (official meaning licensed by Paramount) was the Star Trek Starfleet Technical Manual, which blew away Trek fans when it appeared 36 years ago. It was filled with diagrams and schematics of the original Enterprise of Kirk and Spock, cutaways of tricorders, phasers, McCoy’s medical equipment, Uhura’s earpiece . . . In short, the book filled a void in the years between 1969 and 1979, when original Star Trek stories were few and far between.
 |
| published in 1975 |
We’ve had many other books and products since then. The original Manual is now looked at as apocryphal and completely unofficial.
This title, however, was just released, and it struck me because of the packaging and the concept’s sense of humor.
I worked retail at Waldenbooks way back when — when malls were the big thing — and I remember the shelves of Haynes repair manuals for Mustangs and VWs and even Pintos. The people behind this newest Trek book have done a good job using the Haynes template as a base and evolving the rest of the contents for the 24th century starship fan. The graphics are excellent, including cutaway diagrams and CGI that fill the book with beautiful and — okay, I’ll say it — fascinating — color illustrations.
The book covers all the starships called Enterprise, and even though a lot of the material here is available elsewhere, the graphics are what make this book perfect for casual Trek fans and completists.
It’s just fun — and . . .
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
Rus Wornom 
Captain's Log: 20:11.8.07.01:10. Scotty has informed me the Pinto crystals are malfunctioning. Chekof has checked out, Ohera is chasing the young ensign and this uniform is too tight. I think Mr. Spoke wants to mind melt with me, but only after a few shots of Baranian brandy with the old coot Bones. Captain out.
LikeLike
Nimrod, above, had the 1975 volume when he lived on Franklin St. — I thought it was fascinating. He'll deny it now, of course.
LikeLike