Star Trek: "Where No One Has Gone Before": A History in Pictures

Rating:
Summary: A STAR TREK FAN'S DELIGHT!
Review: It took Leonard Nimoy almost three decades to finally admit that he was Spock. It hasn't quite taken me that long to admit to being a "Trekker". The fear of being labeled a "geek" or a "nerd" was so overwhelming that I would shun any mention of the show outside of my circle of fellow Trek fans.

Well, I have come out of the Star Trek "closet", proudly announcing my enjoyment of all things Trek, past and present. This book is a treasure for those of us that have followed the original series as well as the subsequent spin-offs as of the book's publication.

Insightful background on the various shows along with great photographic stills and illustrations makes this a "must-have" for the devoted follower.

It's definitely for those of us grateful for the "journey" of which Gene Roddenberry initiated back in the mid-sixties.

It's also a good primer for those that don't quite understand what all the fuss was about.

Rating:
Summary: A STAR TREK FAN'S DELIGHT!
Review: It took Leonard Nimoy almost three decades to finally admit that he was Spock. It hasn't quite taken me that long to admit to being a "Trekker". The fear of being labeled a "geek" or a "nerd" was so overwhelming that I would shun any mention of the show outside of my circle of fellow Trek fans.

Well, I have come out of the Star Trek "closet", proudly announcing my enjoyment of all things Trek, past and present. This book is a treasure for those of us that have followed the original series as well as the subsequent spin-offs as of the book's publication.

Insightful background on the various shows along with great photographic stills and illustrations makes this a "must-have" for the devoted follower.

It's definitely for those of us grateful for the "journey" of which Gene Roddenberry initiated back in the mid-sixties.

It's also a good primer for those that don't quite understand what all the fuss was about.

Rating:
Summary: A STAR TREK FAN'S DELIGHT!
Review: It took Leonard Nimoy almost three decades to finally admit that he was Spock. It hasn't quite taken me that long to admit to being a "Trekker". The fear of being labeled a "geek" or a "nerd" was so overwhelming that I would shun any mention of the show outside of my circle of fellow Trek fans.

Well, I have come out of the Star Trek "closet", proudly announcing my enjoyment of all things Trek, past and present. This book is a treasure for those of us that have followed the original series as well as the subsequent spin-offs as of the book's publication.

Insightful background on the various shows along with great photographic stills and illustrations makes this a "must-have" for the devoted follower.

It's definitely for those of us grateful for the "journey" of which Gene Roddenberry initiated back in the mid-sixties.

It's also a good primer for those that don't quite understand what all the fuss was about.

Rating:
Summary: An illustrated love letter to Star Trek....
Review: Over the years, many books have been written about Star Trek's growth from a popular-yet-low-rated television series to the huge cultural phenomenon it is today. Some are strictly technical (Gene Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield's The Making of Star Trek), others are a mix of in-depth analysis and insider's insights (David Gerrold's The World of Star Trek), while still others are personal memoirs (William Shatner's Star Trek Memories). Most of them describe the growing pains of Roddenberry's concept of "Wagon Train to the Stars" and tell the now-familiar story of how NBC commissioned two pilots (rejecting "The Cage" for being too cerebral); how the fans saved the show for a second season but couldn't stop NBC from cancelling Star Trek in 1969; how those same fans kept the spirit of Star Trek alive during the "in-between" decade from the show's debut in syndication to the release of 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

J.M. Dillard, author of many Star Trek novels (The Lost Years, Mindshadow, plus five movie novelizations), contributed the text for Star Trek: Where No One Has Gone Before -- A History in Pictures. Published shortly after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its seven season run and before both the premiere of the seventh feature film and the debut of Star Trek's third spin-off, Voyager, Where No One Has Gone Before covers Star Trek's first 28 years, from its creative genesis as the proposed chronicles of Starfleet Capt. Robert April and the Starship Yorktown to the pre-production of Star Trek: Voyager (which ended its run in 2001).

Although its well-written and includes two essays by the late great Isaac Asimov, informative sidebars in each chapter and an introduction by William Shatner, Where No One Has Gone Before's main asset is the wealth of pictures, many of them publicty shots of the several casts, but also many stills from the Original Series, the short-lived animated series, the first seven Star Trek features, and the first two spinoff series.

And even though it is a history of Star Trek, don't look for juicy "dark" revelations about the troubles (real or imagined) behind the scenes. Jeffrey Hunter's departure from the show is never examined in detail (the book Captain's Logs, an unauthorized history of Star Trek, blames Hunter for being excessively demanding, telling producers what camera angles not to use when photographing Capt. Pike and other prima donna behavior). It's not written as an expose -- Dillard, after all, is a Star Trek fan who also is an authorized Star Trek writer, and the intended audience is, of course, the vast number of other Star Trek fans.

Rating:
Summary: An illustrated love letter to Star Trek....
Review: Over the years, many books have been written about Star Trek's growth from a popular-yet-low-rated television series to the huge cultural phenomenon it is today. Some are strictly technical (Gene Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield's The Making of Star Trek), others are a mix of in-depth analysis and insider's insights (David Gerrold's The World of Star Trek), while still others are personal memoirs (William Shatner's Star Trek Memories). Most of them describe the growing pains of Roddenberry's concept of "Wagon Train to the Stars" and tell the now-familiar story of how NBC commissioned two pilots (rejecting "The Cage" for being too cerebral); how the fans saved the show for a second season but couldn't stop NBC from cancelling Star Trek in 1969; how those same fans kept the spirit of Star Trek alive during the "in-between" decade from the show's debut in syndication to the release of 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

J.M. Dillard, author of many Star Trek novels (The Lost Years, Mindshadow, plus five movie novelizations), contributed the text for Star Trek: Where No One Has Gone Before -- A History in Pictures. Published shortly after Star Trek: The Next Generation ended its seven season run and before both the premiere of the seventh feature film and the debut of Star Trek's third spin-off, Voyager, Where No One Has Gone Before covers Star Trek's first 28 years, from its creative genesis as the proposed chronicles of Starfleet Capt. Robert April and the Starship Yorktown to the pre-production of Star Trek: Voyager (which ended its run in 2001).

Although its well-written and includes two essays by the late great Isaac Asimov, informative sidebars in each chapter and an introduction by William Shatner, Where No One Has Gone Before's main asset is the wealth of pictures, many of them publicty shots of the several casts, but also many stills from the Original Series, the short-lived animated series, the first seven Star Trek features, and the first two spinoff series.

And even though it is a history of Star Trek, don't look for juicy "dark" revelations about the troubles (real or imagined) behind the scenes. Jeffrey Hunter's departure from the show is never examined in detail (the book Captain's Logs, an unauthorized history of Star Trek, blames Hunter for being excessively demanding, telling producers what camera angles not to use when photographing Capt. Pike and other prima donna behavior). It's not written as an expose -- Dillard, after all, is a Star Trek fan who also is an authorized Star Trek writer, and the intended audience is, of course, the vast number of other Star Trek fans.

Rating:
Summary: Pictures From Space
Review: STAR TREK-A History In Pictures, is yet another book that examines the popular space saga and how it came to be, and where it's headed. However, unlike the various episode and movie guides that have been published over the years, this book concentrates more on Trek's stll photo record, as opposed to detailing every adventure in text form.

Having said that, there is still a fair amount of history outlined in the book, written by J.M. Dillard. It is a well written overview of the franchise. There are still plenty of interviews with, and remarks by the actors and creative staff behind all of shows and films. In fact key episodes, the films, and many of those responsible for its success over the years, are highlighted with special "sidebar" pages If you are inclined to follow all things TREK, many of the stories and facts will probably seem familiar to you...Still Dillard's style and love for the subject she writes about makes for a fun trip down memory lane for fans, while newcomers will be brought up to speed quite nicely

The photos in the book are well chosen, and as I said before, really set the book apart. Many of them have been published before, while others seemed "new" to me and quite rare. The 2nd edition, (released in 96) features an introduction from William Shatner (Captain Kirk from the original series) and is "updated" to include Star Trek Voyager's first two years and then some Since the last edition though, that series ended, along with Deep Space 9, another has premiered, and there's been some more films, I guess it's time for a 3rd edition. As a fan of this great pictorial, I would welcome it, for now this 239 page book (including appendices) is recommened and will have to do

Rating:
Summary: Review of the past
Review: This book aims to be a review of the series in pictures, and it does it very well. A lot of shots with great quality throughout the book makes it very enjoyable reading. An extensive reference for all series, even the animated ST:TOS. A lot of interesting behind-the-scenes information makes this book more then a bunch of pictures. Half of the book is on TOS, we also get a good section on DS9 (no Voyager, as it has been written in 1994). All and all, a great collection book for the Star Trek fan.