2 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
 Trekkies Rejoice!, 2004-05-04
I bought this for my husband (then boyfriend) about four years ago. Since then, he has turned me into a Trekkie. This book is WONDERFUL for proving who's right when we get into a discussion about an episode, and it's so easy to read! Not like an ordinary Encyclopedia, this one is actually readable, and an entertaining read, too! A MUST for any Trekkie!
8 of 8 customers found the following review helpful:
 So very close to perfection, 2003-04-07
A well researched, laid out and engrossing guide to the vast Star Trek universe. You stop to look up one thing and next thing you know it is 30 minutes later and you've read through an entire letter's worth of entries.My ONLY complaint about this book (and what keeps it from it's fifth star) is that the new entires weren't integrated, but simply stuck in the back as add on. So let's say you want to read the complete entry on Capt Sisko. First you have to read the original entry and then flip to the back of the book to read the additional information. And since you are never sure what got an additional entry, you have to constantly flip to the back to make sure you aren't missing something. Luckily the Pros far out weigh the cons, and this is still a must have for any die hard fan!
2 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
This Is Very Good, 2002-12-16
I love looking at this all of the time because it gives me a lot of information on the Star Trek Universe. You will enjoy it. I promise. Good job Mike an Denise Okuda.
Excellent reference, needs to be updated!, 2002-11-05
Absolutely outstanding work. Well researched and documented, with some humorous asides. My only wishes are that it be updated soon to reflect the last seasons of Voyager, and that they integrate the updates in with the rest of the book. It's extremely frustrating that the last time it was updated the editors were lazy and simply stuck the new information on the back of the book.
9 of 12 customers found the following review helpful:
This Encyclopedia Can Be Read, Not Just Used for Reference, 2002-07-11
As the Star Trek Universe got bigger, with more spin offs, movies, books, and alien races, so did the base for its Star Trek fans, so it is no surprise that the standard and definitive one volume work on the subject should get bigger too. The newest edition of THE STAR TREK ENCYCLOPEDIA is a monumental reference book that is as comprehensive as it is physically imposing. In its more than 700 pages of a continually snowballing phenomenon that was the birthchild of the late Gene Roddenberry, the rabid Star Trek fan (who else would read this?) can cross-reference every human, alien, planet, creature, ship or any other proper noun that was mentioned even once in any of the Star Trek series or its descendants. Michael and Denise Okuda, the married duo who did most of the writing acknowledge in the Introduction that a large cast of helpers were required to painstakingly find and correct errors from past editions. This book is loaded with hundreds of beautiful photographs and drawings, each of which illustrate one item in the Star Trek universe. As in most encyclopedias, this one is in alphabetical order, with each entry given a complete description/analysis. Bold-Faced terms indicate they are further defined under their own names elsewhere. For example, do you remember the episode from the original series about the mirror universe with an evil Kirk and bearded Spock, where unreliable crew members were put in the 'agony booth?' Well, the term 'agony booth' is listed and fully described with appropriate cross-references. Unlike other reference texts, this one has a separate supplement to include references to episodes in the various ST reincarnations after the 1996-1997 seasons. Finally, it contains additional helpful sections on historical timelines of major events, complete listing of all episodes from each spinoff, and a cast of all characters who ever appeared in any show.
Exactly, what is the purpose of such a text? I know why I use it. When I see an episode that mentions even off-handedly a minor reference to a singular event, I flip open this book to see if it is there. And it always is. Now if I could only be so motivated about the mundane details of my non-Star Trek life. And that perhaps best defines who likes Star Trek and why.
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