Book bits - Non-fiction edition: Vulcan, mini-models, self help from Kirk and Spock, and more

We're in a bit of a golden age of Star Trek non-fiction lately, and this fiftieth anniversary year is a great excuse for even more books exploring Trek from both the real world perspective, and would-be non-fiction from within the universe. Continue below for news of all the most recently announced books, new covers, previews, and more.

First up, from Insight Editions, is a Hidden Universe: A Travel Guide to Vulcan, by Dayton Ward. A preliminary cover for this has been floating around, featuring a lovely new image of Vulcan with a very nuTrek-styled Vulcan city:

The release of this has been pushed back a few months than was earlier suggested, with it now expected in July. Here's a reminder of the blurb:

Art from On Board the USS Enterprise

The Lightworks website has been updated with a portfolio of their work on the recently release On Board the USS Enterprise book. Here's the lovely cover image in its full glory:

They've also posted lots of samples from the virtual tour, here are a couple of my favourites:

 

You can see more on The Lightworks, and of course by experiencing the virtual tour yourself with On Board the USS Enterprise.

Continue reading after the jump to see Tobias Richter's latest animation posted on YouTube, featuring the USS Defiant and DS9:

First look at On Board the USS Enterprise's virtual tour

TrekCore have posted stills from the new CD-ROM virtual tour coming with the new On Board the Enterprise book, which is due out next month, but has now started shipping. TrekCore report the tour works using browser based software (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc). Here are some views of Tobias Richter's new CGI interiors of the USS Enterprise-D:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see several sample pages from the accompanying book in my previous report.

In other non-fiction news, StarTrek.com have launched a competition to win copies of Star Trek: The Visual Dictionary, and in doing so have relased one more preview page from that book:

Finally, Amazon have added a listing for a paperback version of Federation: The First 150 Years. Coming without the giant plastic pedestal of the hardcover edition, it will be a bit cheaper (and easier to store...), and is due out in October.

First look inside new Trek reference books

StarTrek.com have posted the first previews of interior pages from the forthcoming Star Trek: The Visual Dictionary, which does not disappoint in offering pages jam packed with Star Trek imagery, both familiar and obscure. Here are spreads on the Vulcans, and Archer's crew:

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp, Things From Another World.

Amazon.com have also updated their listing for On Board the USS Enterprise, giving us a first look inside that book too, and a pretty good idea of the sort of ground it will cover. The background of a couple of the pages here show new CGI renders of the Enterprise's interior, which I would guess are from the same new models which will be the focus of the accompanying CD-ROM virtual tour:

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-order: Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.co.jp.

Non-fiction updates

Some updates on forthcoming on-fiction Trek titles:

The CD/book On Board the USS Enterprise now has a cover. It is, somewhat lacking in originiality... Hopefully what's inside will fair better!:

The TNG quotes book also has a new cover, which also is a little on the dull side, but looks better than the first version released at least:

Curiously Amazon now have two listings for this quotes book: There's the 96-page version that has been around a while. But there is also now also a 126-page version listed as "Star Trek Classic Quotes: A Little Seedling Book". Both are due out at the same time, and I am inclined to believe they are actually both the same thing. Here is the blurb for the little seedling version:

This mini edition filled with notable quotables and color photos from all seven seasons of The Next Generation are the perfect way to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first episode

This 25th Anniversary Tie-In Edition celebrates the popular syndicated television show that aired from 1987 to 1994, as a new, larger crew explored strange new worlds, sought out new life and new civilizations, and boldly went where no one had gone before. Continuing the successful Classic Quotes series, this book pairs full-color photographs and quotes derived from all seven seasons. There’s a lot of great material to pull from. In fact, Star Trek: The Next Generation won 18 Emmy Awards. The series formed the basis of the seventh through tenth Star Trek films.

Finally there's something completely new, Star Trek: Phaser, from Running Press. Due out in April it is described thusly:

For more than forty years, Star Trek has made a phenomenal cultural impact. Now with the new movie well on its way, trekkies everywhere will want to get their hands on this kit. The kit includes a light-up phaser (to get all the bad guys!) and a 32-page book on the history of phasers, and lots of fun quotes and images from the classic show.

This appears to be part of Running Press's miniature kit series, which couples a small book with a ornament or game, in this instance a small model phaser. Some of the previous and forthcoming titles in the series include a TARDIS, a Bat-signal projector, miniature stonehenge, and magnetic kama sutra!