Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
1975, reprinted 1986, 1996, 2006) is a
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
reference book
A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to f ...
Starfleet
Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
, a
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''Star Trek''.
Although it is fiction, the book is presented as an
in-universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
collection of factual documents, describing the 23rd century Starfleet and United Federation of Planets, and it is described as having been accidentally sent from the
future
The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...
to the 20th century—specifically, when as described in "
Tomorrow Is Yesterday
"Tomorrow Is Yesterday" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by Michael O'Herlihy, it first aired on January 26, 1967. It was the f ...
", the starship USS ''Enterprise'' was accidentally propelled back in time in a freak mishap, causing the manual's contents to be accidentally downloaded into the main computers of the now-closed Omaha Air Force Station.
Contents
The book provides some detail on the workings of technology used in the original series, including its ships, phasers, tricorders, universal translators, and medical equipment, and even diagrams for a working communicator built using 20th century electronics. It also contains plans for 3-dimensional chess, and lays out some basic game rules.
History
In 1973, Franz and his daughter joined a San Diego ''Trek'' appreciation society called STAR, the members of which spent time making their own Trek props and costumes. Using his aerospace design talents, he began making technical drawings of phasers and tricorders. He quickly amassed a large collection and sent copies to a very impressed
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
Lincoln Enterprises
Lincoln Enterprises, formerly Star Trek Enterprises, was a mail-order company set up by Bjo Trimble and Gene Roddenberry to sell merchandise related to the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. It was known for selling official ...
, was producing ''Trek'' memorabilia at the time. Though he considered the franchise dead, Roddenberry encouraged Joseph to seek Barrett's help in creating a manual, a project blessed with privileged access to original props and carpenter's blueprints.
The book was published by Ballantine Books, a division of
Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, November 1975. The format was a paperback book, contained within a removable rigid black plastic binder, much like a typical real world technical manual. The binder featured a clear front pocket, within which the "dust jacket" of the book was placed. It could be removed, with the plastic binder reading only "STAR FLEET TECHNICAL MANUAL", just as a real manual might appear. It took the number-one spot on ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' trade paperback list, breaking the existing record for profitability. Its success hinted at the brand's great potential, and within a year of its publication,
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
and Roddenberry contracted to begin work on a ''Star Trek'' movie.
Use as reference material
The book was culled for background imagery in the first three ''Trek'' films. Elements from the manual that appear on screen include:
* Listings of starship names, adapted for opening-scene backgrounds at the communications outpost in '' Star Trek: The Motion Picture'';
* Starship class schematics, seen in background bridge displays in the
Kobayashi Maru
The ''Kobayashi Maru'' is a training exercise in the ''Star Trek'' franchise designed to test the character of Starfleet Academy cadets in a no-win scenario. The ''Kobayashi Maru'' test was first depicted in the 1982 film '' Star Trek II: The ...
test in '' Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''; and
* USS ''Enterprise'' plans, used in '' Star Trek III: The Search for Spock'' in a monitor display when the seal on Spock's living quarters is broken.
In addition, the manual, along with semi-official blueprints available at the time of the
Klingon
The Klingons ( ; Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''.
Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the original ''Star Trek'' (''TOS'') series, Klingons were swarthy humanoids c ...
and
Romulan
The Romulans () are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise '' Star Trek''. They first appeared in the series '' Star Trek'' (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent ''Star Trek'' releases, including '' The ...