Latest acquisition!

[Steve Roby]

I think Preston's book is going to be a bit larger.

I haven't read Creating the Enterprise yet, but it looks like there's a fair bit of autobiography on either side of the chapters about TMP. Lots of positive quotes from some Trek tech fans, so I'm reasonably optimistic.

The Cushman book is a revision of the first book, but there are still a fair few typos (not nearly as many as some small press books I've seen, though). As for errors, I don't really know, but there is a lot in here I don't remember reading before, especially the info on previous versions of scripts. But it's a long time since I read any TOS nonfiction, so he may be repackaging stuff -- but given the size of the books, I think he must have a considerable amount of new info here. Cushman supposedly had a lot of studio documentation that hasn't been widely seen, and he also draws on interviews he's done and on a wide variety of published material. If you're not sure about the Cushman books and you don't mind ebooks, you can get the revised first for a lot less than a print edition. I will say this: the book has had me really wanting to go back to my TOS DVDs, which had been gathering dust lately. I've rewatched a few eps. That's a good thing, right?

 

[Christopher]

Harvey has done some good posts pointing out the errors in Cushman's book. Here's the entry from his Star Trek Fact Check blog:

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-few-thoughts-on-these-are-voyages-tos.html

There's also this thread:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=235333

 

[Avro Arrow]

I think Preston's book is going to be a bit larger.

I haven't read Creating the Enterprise yet, but it looks like there's a fair bit of autobiography on either side of the chapters about TMP. Lots of positive quotes from some Trek tech fans, so I'm reasonably optimistic.

The Cushman book is a revision of the first book, but there are still a fair few typos (not nearly as many as some small press books I've seen, though). As for errors, I don't really know, but there is a lot in here I don't remember reading before, especially the info on previous versions of scripts. But it's a long time since I read any TOS nonfiction, so he may be repackaging stuff -- but given the size of the books, I think he must have a considerable amount of new info here. Cushman supposedly had a lot of studio documentation that hasn't been widely seen, and he also draws on interviews he's done and on a wide variety of published material. If you're not sure about the Cushman books and you don't mind ebooks, you can get the revised first for a lot less than a print edition.

Thanks for the reply!

I don't mind eBooks, but I like to put them on my Kobo, and their page seems to state that their eBook is not compatible with eReaders and can only be read on a computer. That's not really my preferred way to read books... but I guess for $5 it might be worth a shot. I'll think about it.

I will say this: the book has had me really wanting to go back to my TOS DVDs, which had been gathering dust lately. I've rewatched a few eps. That's a good thing, right?

For sure!

 

[bbailey861]

Ordered and waiting for Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Preston Neal Jones. Really looking forward to this one.

Thanks for the info - I just placed my order and am "Really looking forward to this one." as well.

(Still not acquired: in two days it'll be nine years since I paid Conlan Press for a copy of Writing Sarek by Peter S. Beagle. Last summer they hoped to have it out before the end of 2013. Nope.)

This is disgraceful. Beagle and Conlon Press have a horrible record of delaying projects:

http://www.conlanpress.com/html/updates.html

Apparently, though, that hasn't stopped Beagle from having dozens of screenings of his "The Last Unicorn" film all over the U.S. and Canada where he makes appearances to sell and sign merchandise.

Just get on with it, already - or just cancel the project and return the money.

Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek: The Motion Picture by Preston Neal Jones. Really looking forward to this one.

I'd really like to get this, but $25 shipping for a $30 book is hard for me to financially justify. And it's coming from the US... The Creating the Enterprise book you mentioned above is only $14 for shipping, and it's coming from England!

I agree, the shipping costs to Canada are ridiculous. 25 bucks seems very unreasonable. I am fortunate, though. Living in Kingston, I am close to the U.S. border and have a mailbox there that I ship stuff to. That's where this is going for under 7 bucks. It's the same for Amazon.com with me. I use them instead of Amazon.ca because of the large differences in prices and the vastly larger selection of goods from the U.S. site.

Harvey has done some good posts pointing out the errors in Cushman's book. Here's the entry from his Star Trek Fact Check blog:

http://startrekfactcheck.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-few-thoughts-on-these-are-voyages-tos.html

There's also this thread:

http://www.trekbbs.com/showthread.php?t=235333

These are sites with very, very valuable reading. Harvey has done a remarkable job in refuting points made in the book and getting to the nitty gritty of some of the details presented. That being said, I have nonetheless enjoyed these books for the incredible behind the scene looks into the making of TOS. I am looking forward to the last book in the series.

 

[Steve Roby]

Well, that's disappointing. I vaguely remember the fuss about the use of photos without crediting the source, which was a definite screwup. The revised edition provides sources for all photos. It's still not a professional job of editing and proofreading, but sadly I've become used to that in recent years. There have been a lot of otherwise pretty good books on Doctor Who in particular that have suffered because a self-publisher or very small press thinks it's possible to go it alone there.

Cushman's take on Roddenberry is a little odd, definitely leaning toward hero worship and claiming too much credit for him, but at the same time routinely pointing out how much GR managed to annoy other people.

Unless my memory is worse than I realized and the stuff I've been finding the most interesting (the info on early versions of script outlines and early draft scripts) is widely available elsewhere, though, I'll still expect these books to be a useful resource.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I didn't need to acquire these again, 'cos I picked them up in USA, but last Thursday night at Galaxy Bookshop, Sydney:


New at Galaxy by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Seekers 1 and 2, placed in both "New Releases" and "Star Trek" sections, and "Seekers 2" also featured in the "Top Picks" shelf opposite!

 

[Smellincoffee]

I can't remember if I bought To Reign in Hell, the last Khan novel (superb!) or David Mack's Mirror Universe book last.

 

[Paris]

My local chapters has come through once again; i've just got my copy of Seekers 2 before Amazon could have ever shipped it. I'll try and get into it soon...i really want to finish off DRG3's DS9: Twilight before I start anything else.

 

[q264]

Latest Acquisitions:

The Babylon 5 books were only a dollar at the store, I've been looking for these for years but have never seen them in a shop. Still need the first book of the Bester Trilogy it seems.

The Star Trek books were really cheap on Amazon so I couldn't resist. It will probably be awhile until I read these since I'm just about to start Avatar next week (hopefully) and am not up to date on the recent changes in the universe. I'm really looking forward to the day I can pick up the new Trek book and know just what the hell is going on!

 

[KirkPicard]

Hooked on Books, a used bookstore in Wildwood, NJ has an ample selection of used Trek books on a bottom shelf all the way in the back of the shop. Stopped in during my stay-cation this weekend.

 

[Antonio]

I love Wildwood! I miss going there, haven't been there for awhile. I would like to take my 2 year old there to the rides on the boardwalk. She would get a kick out of the tram car of the board that bellows "watch the tram car please" as it travels down the boardwalk. I hope the community has rebounded post Hurricane Sandy. Its great that they have a store selling Trek books like this.

 

[Therin of Andor]

New Star Trek books by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Cool! Received a Facebook message from Rich Handley today, who compiled the appendix of "lost" comics for the "New Life and New Civilizations" book and he pointed out that I'm mentioned in the notation about the lost Dave De Vries & Glenn Lumsden story they sold to Kim Yale at DC. I'd originally sent the anecdote to Mark Martinez for his site.

 

[Marika]

I decided to read them on my phone because .. i read a book in a day , not even the fastest delivery company would keep pace with me :O !
So i have read all the books starting after Nemesis relaunch and waiting for the new VOY book i read again Destiny . Thing is i read fast and i need new stuff. I was wondering if i should start New Frontiers series> Which book comes first? be warned that i don't like the Mirror Universe for some reason .

 

[Therin of Andor]

I was wondering if i should start New Frontiers series> Which book comes first?

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_New_Frontier
http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_New_Frontier

 

[Marika]

Thank you Therin

 

[Therin of Andor]

My new Simpsons' Leonard Nimoy action figure presents... Star Trek Pop-ups (Thames & Hudson) by Courtney Watson McCarthy; the new Star Trek novel, Foul Deeds Will Rise (Pocket) by Greg Cox; The Real History of Science Fiction DVD (BBC America); and Willful Child (Bantam Press) by Steven Erikson, a Star Trek parody in the vein of Redshirts.


New Trek by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Scenes in the pop-up book include: "The Corbomite Maneuver" encounter with Balok's ship and "The Trouble With Tribbles" pile of tribbles (both TOS), Klingon Bird of Prey (ST IV), The Borg (cube ship, TNG), "Call to Arms" (DS9 armarda), "Bride of Chaotica!" (VOY) and NX-01 Enterprise (ENT).

Interviewees in the DVD include: William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Zoe Saldana, Peter Weller, Douglas Trumbull and Christopher Lloyd.

 

[JoeP]

My new Simpsons' Leonard Nimoy action figure presents... Star Trek Pop-ups (Thames & Hudson) by Courtney Watson McCarthy; the new Star Trek novel, Foul Deeds Will Rise (Pocket) by Greg Cox; The Real History of Science Fiction DVD (BBC America); and Willful Child (Bantam Press) by Steven Erikson, a Star Trek parody in the vein of Redshirts.


New Trek by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Scenes in the pop-up book include: "The Corbomite Maneuver" encounter with Balok's ship and "The Trouble With Tribbles" pile of tribbles (both TOS), Klingon Bird of Prey (ST IV), The Borg (cube ship, TNG), "Call to Arms" (DS9 armarda), "Bride of Chaotica!" (VOY) and NX-01 Enterprise (ENT).

Interviewees in the DVD include: William Shatner, Nichelle Nichols, Zoe Saldana, Peter Weller, Douglas Trumbull and Christopher Lloyd.

That Simpson's Nimoy figure is pure badass.

 

[Greg Cox]

New Star Trek books by Therin of Andor, on Flickr

Cool! Received a Facebook message from Rich Handley today, who compiled the appendix of "lost" comics for the "New Life and New Civilizations" book and he pointed out that I'm mentioned in the notation about the lost Dave De Vries & Glenn Lumsden story they sold to Kim Yale at DC. I'd originally sent the anecdote to Mark Martinez for his site.

It's a small world. I actually wrote the jacket copy for that dragon book . . . and both of its sequels!

 

[Christopher]

It's a small world. I actually wrote the jacket copy for that dragon book . . . and both of its sequels!

When's the second sequel coming out again? The first two were really cool.

 

[Desert Kris]

It's been a good couple of weeks for ST lit acquisitions, thanks to Half-Price books, and 40% and 50% off sales. I held off on getting the the reprints of the Gold Key comics, but then eventually a copy of the first volume (which had been absent) suddenly appeared, so I went for them.

Then I noticed that they also had a four book boxed set of the Lost Years novels. I held off again, wanting to ask about it here and research them a little. In the end, I was able to do a search and find a topic here that covered a lot of questions, and then happy as a clam found it still available so went ahead and snagged it.