Starfleet Technical Manual

[napalmnorm]

So, Memory Alpha says there are four editions of the Starfleet Technical Manual. Does anyone know if these editions differ in any substantial ways?

 

[David Mack]

They might just represent formatting differences—original trade paperback, print-on-demand trade paperback, eBook based on original document, eBook based on PoD version.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Uh, Mr. Mack, why would you be "asked to make any changes or updates" in Franz Joseph Schnaubelt's book?

Neither do I see anything in the MA article about multiple editions: just reprints of the vinyl-jacketed Ballantine edition. (I would not rule out the possibility of a fanzine edition preceeding the vinyl-jacketed edition, though.)

 

[David Mack]

Sorry — I mistook "technical manual" for Starfleet Survival Guide.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Nothing to be sorry about; we all make mistakes. I'm still a bit puzzled about the OP mentioning "4 editions." Although he could have simply mistaken the four different covers shown at the bottom of the article for distinct editions, rather than just four updates to the cover. (The cover picture at the top of the page appears to be from the original spot-color jacket-pocket-insert from the first Ballantine edition.)

 

[Daddy Todd]

I'm still a bit puzzled about the OP mentioning "4 editions." Although he could have simply mistaken the four different covers shown at the bottom of the article for distinct editions, rather than just four updates to the cover. (The cover picture at the top of the page appears to be from the original spot-color jacket-pocket-insert from the first Ballantine edition.)

The copyright page of the most recent copy in my collection lists three editions:
1st Edition Stardate 7511.01
20th Anniversary Edition Stardate 8609.01
40th Anniversary Edition Stardate 0609.01
So, that accounts for three.

There are two other discrete English-language editions that I know of:
SFBC “Special Book Club” Edition from 1976 (essentially identical to the 1st, but printed on lower-quality paper — I have one of these)
Titan Books UK Edition from 1991 (this is on my Want List)

So, that’s 5 editions. They’re missing one.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Well, that's actually 6, if there's a book club edition, because they show the original at the top of the page, and three "anniversary edition" covers, and the Titan cover, at the bottom.

But in all likelihood, they're "editions in name only."

 

[Daddy Todd]

The publisher does not consider the 30th Anniversary printing as a separate “edition.”

Even though the cover changed, the list of printings continues from the 20th anniversary edition.

 

[DEWLine]

The content remains as it did from the first edition onward, though.

 

[Daddy Todd]

The content remains as it did from the first edition onward, though.

Correct, the content was essentially the same right through the end.

The only change was the original vinyl-jacket editions had a laid-in page that later wound up on the back cover. That sheet of paper is seriously rare.