Star Trek and History

By: Nancy Reagin

Narrated by: Kim McKean

A 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.

• Features an exclusive interview with Nichelle Nichols, the actress behind the original Lt. Uhura, conducted at the National Air and Space Museum
• Explains the historical inspiration behind many of the show's alien races and storylines
• 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
• 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.

©2013 John Wiley & Sons (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

The Narrator was no fan

Seriously Ms. McKean is no fan of Star Trek or science fiction in general. Many of the franchises most beloved characters names get hacked to bits by her pronunciation. She even gets the same names messed up twice, like she is making up a new name or way to pronounce on the spot.

Great book, full of interesting parallels and theories and great historical facts with the TV series and movies as a foil for history. Worth listening to, but if Audible considers re-releasing this book with another narrator I would buy [pay extra] to not have to listen to Ms. McKean again.

Must suspend disbelief - about awful narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Without hesitation. Especially to a Star Trek hater, or worse, a Star-Wars-is-better-than-Trek malcontent. This book provides rich ammunition to explain why Star Trek is so much more than a mere Sci-Fi entertainment franchise: it's an institution deeply woven into the fabric of American culture, ethics and technological progress that has literally changed history, and continues to do so.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. See below for explanation.

What didn’t you like about Kim McKean’s performance?

Star Trek fans are singularly capable of suspending disbelief (hello warp speed, time travel, and at times even terrible acting and props that came straight out of a middle school woodworking class). But I would sooner see Capt. Picard pray at the altar of Luke Skywalker, or Lt. Uhura join the Maquis and murder a million innocent bystanders, than have to hear Ms. McKean's bright chipper voice refer one more time to Star "Track," Lt. "Uhawrah," the "Markee," or innocent "bystandards." Her verbal atrocities are all the more glaring because they are not limited to Trek-specific terms and they stand in such stark contrast to her otherwise dilithium crystal-clear diction. I'm not exaggerating, and I'm not prone to oversensitivity. I tried to treat it like a game at first (in fact, paired with Romulan ale or even prune juice it would make an epic--albeit lethal--drinking game), but by Chapter 8 I couldn't take it anymore. This is what it must sound like to hear George Bush (either one) recite French poetry. At least they don't even try, let alone get paid to do it. Please, please -- I'm no professional, but I would volunteer my time as a community service to record this program again if Audible would agree to send a free copy to every poor soul who had to listen to this version. My qualifications are that I have a pulse, have watched more than 20 minutes of a single Star Trek episode or movie in my life, and can read and pronounce correctly nearly every word on my 8th grade spelling test.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No joke, I choked up a little when I learned that Martin Luther King Jr. personally implored Nichelle Nichols not to depart the cast after the first season because of the profound impact her presence had on the civil rights movement, both in terms of America's perception of and exposure to black people, and as a role model. He said it was significant not merely because she was a black actress on primetime network television, but because her character, while supporting, was not relegated to some traditionally subservient "black" role -- she was the chief communications officer and fourth in command on the bridge. I mean, seriously, Star Trek has genuinely affected the course of history in the 20th and 21st centuries in myriad ways; this is just a particularly shining example.

Any additional comments?

Not all of the essays in this book contain sweeping revelations about the societal significance of Star Trek, nor are they intended to. There is a surprisingly diverse mix of subject matter viewed through the lenses of different academic disciplines, not all of which will appeal to everyone. I admit I was tempted to skip several chapters. But overall I was surprised at the breadth and quality of the analysis. It shed new light on episodes and themes with which I was already very familiar, which alone is worth the price of admission for Trekkies. But I think the writing and context provided would be very approachable and at least as interesting to someone with only passing familiarity with the Trek universe. Overall, highly recommended except for the catastrophically failed narration. And even that should not be a deal-breaker because at least it is eminently comprehensible, as long as you suspend disbelief.

Interesting but repetitive

This is s collection of essays. Unfortunately, the individual authors contributions are complete in themselves, meaning that there is a lot of repetition and a multitude of references to a single episode. It was interesting, but I was glad when it was finished.

Good book

I love the intellectual look at Star Trek through out history but the narrator should have watched a few episodes first. Some of her pronunciations were horrible. It may have been how some of the authors wrote the words because she changed some pronunciations in certain chapters.

Narrator is awful

The idea of linking Star Trek to various socio political and historical themes is interesting, but could they not have chosen a narrator who knows what she's talking about?
Kim Mckean's lack of knowledge of the Star Trek universe comes out in most chapters, but none more glaringly than when she refers to Lt. Uhura as Lt. Uhara (her Irish cousin perhaps?). One could understand a single slip during the book, but it happens very frequently. One could even forgive a uniform mispronunciation of the name, but in this recording the correct and incorrect pronunciations are both used at seemingly random intervals. There even a few occasions of her flipping back and forth more than once in the same paragraph.

This might seem like a trivial complaint, but it really detracted from the listening experience. I'll be watching for her name as a narrator to avoid in future.

The book was good, not the narrater

She mis-pronounced so many words I was distracted. Many were Star Trek words but others were simple standard things. It was embarrassing.

Fans will like

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Seriously? The narrator had trouble pronouncing "Star Trek(Track) correctly? She also has trouble with main character's names. Uhura sometimes is Uhara, sounding like she's Irish! oddly she gets harder to pronounce and less important characters names correct. If I was the author I would be mortified and demand they re do the reading, with a narrator who has basic phonics skills.

It's Star Trek, not Star Track

Would you listen to Star Trek and History again? Why?

Yes. This is one of the most fascinating Star Trek books I have read in, maybe forever. It's insightful, full of memorable sections, and provides a terrific social context to the episodic stories. It reminded me of why I love Star Trek, and educated me about some subtleties in history I had not correlated to certain shows. Pretty cool.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Oh my gosh, man. In the Star Trek universe, the correct pronunciation of important terms like "Star Trek", for example, is important. How could she get this wrong? This super-slow-reading narrator destroys term after term and proper name after proper name with a shamefully incorrect rendering of them. When people mispronounce Trek terms, it's forgivable, unless it's narrating a Star Trek book. That's where it matters.

Should have read the blurb better

I am not a hard core Trekkie, but I grew up watching reruns of the original series and was old enough to see the movies in the theater. I wish I had read the description better and realized this was a collection of articles not a cohesive narrative. The quality of the writers varies greatly but by far the worst thing about this book is the narrator. In one of the first essays (it may even be the first one), she mispronounces the name of one of the main characters, Uhura. What's even worse is that she pronounces it correctly at first, then switches to some weird pronunciation, then goes back and forth between the two. It totally ruins the listening experience. It would have been better with a central thesis and a different narrator.

Brace yourself for massive mispronunciations.

I found 'Star Trek and History' a worthwhile read, despite Mrs. McKean's best efforts to throw me off track.
First, the book. The book itself is a collection of essays from various authors delving into Star Trek storylines pulled from the full spectrum of the series and movies and how those episodes and topics relate to history, current technology and social issues. Overall, the chapters are very interesting and delve deeply enough into their respective areas to make for some lively post reading discussion. In fact, this book would be a great addition to a middle or high school science or social studies curriculum. The topics are board enough and cover enough familiar territory that students would have a wonderful time watching an episode mentioned in a particular chapter and then discussing it in the terms set forth in the book.
Some chapters are stronger than others. For example, you can hardly go wrong with discussions on how Star Trek's visionary technology has shaped our current lives (flip phones and iPads anyone?) and the impact it has had on our space program. I even found the chapter on cartography quite interesting, especially in the context of stellar cartography and the future of mapping our known galaxy. Other chapters however fall quite flat. Yes, "Facebook as the Borg" makes for a fun Internet meme, but the analogy really does fall apart if you put any real thought behind it.
My overall impression is that the book is a fun, insightful look at some of the serious (and not so serious) topics tackled by the Star Trek writers.
Now, the narrations. The only reason Kim McKean did not get 1 star from me on performance is that she spoke English and I was at least able to understand the words that came out of her mouth. Other than that, I felt her reading was stiff and stilted. You can almost hear the end of a line as she scans down to the beginning of the next line ... to ... read ... to ...you ... the ... very ... next ... word ... she ... sees ... on ... the ... page.
Aside from that, you can sort of get lost in the cadence and get wrapped up in the concepts of the book ... until she mispronounces a word. Repeatedly. Now, this isn't Star Trek's famous techno-babble she is getting hung up on. While she does mispronounce character names (it took me a while to figure out who "Tee Pole" was), she also mispronounces historical figures and some common words. I eventually started to make a list. Words like "Maquis", "Uhura", and "Locutus of Borg" were constantly, jarringly mispronounced. But even non Trek words and names like "Leonidas", "Yamamoto", and "omnipotent" were butchered.
That being said, as bristled by the narration as I was, I still found the subject matter engaging enough to keep at it and be entertained as well as challenged. It is a worthwhile listen, or better yet, this might be one to get in dead tree form. Then at least you have your own voice in your head to contend with.