[Wiley Pop Culture and History 01] • Star Trek and History

This is a new guide to the history that informs the world of _Star Trek_ \--

just in time for the next JJ Abrams _Star Trek_ movie! For a series set in our

future, _Star Trek_ revisits the past constantly. Kirk and Spock battle Nazis,

Roman gladiators, and witness the Great Depression. When they're not doubling

back on their own earlier timelines, the crew uses the holodeck to spend time

in the American Old West or Victorian England. Alien races have their own

complex and fascinating histories, too.

The _Star Trek_ universe is a sci-fi imagining of a future world that is

rooted in our own human history. Gene Roddenberry created a television show

with a new world and new rules in order to comment on social and political

issues of the 1960s, from the Vietnam War and race relations to the war on

terror and women's rights. Later _Star Trek_ series and films also grapple

with the issues of their own decades: HIV, ecological threats, the collapse of

the Soviet Union, and terrorism.

How did Uhura spur real-life gender and racial change in the 1960s? Is Kirk

inextricably linked with the mythical Old West? What history do the Klingons

share with the Soviet Union? Can Nazi Germany shed light on the history and

culture of the Cardassians? _Star Trek and History_ explains how the holodeck

is as much a source for entertainment as it is a historical teaching tool, how

much of the technology we enjoy today had its conceptual roots in "Star Trek,"

and how by looking at Norse mythology we can find our very own Q. It also

features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the

original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum. The book

explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and

storylines. In addition, it covers topics ranging from how stellar cartography

dates back to Ancient Rome, Greece, and Babylonia to how our "Great Books" of

western literature continue to be an important influence to _Star Trek_ 's

characters of the future, and it includes a timeline comparing the stardates

of _Star Trek_ 's timeline to our own real world history.

Filled with fascinating historical comparisons, _Star Trek and History_ is an

essential companion for every _Star Trek_ fan.