The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years

By: Edward Gross, Mark A. Altman, Seth MacFarlane - foreword

Narrated by: Helen Litchfield, Alex Hyde-White, Jason Olazabal, Susan Hanfield

This is the unauthorized, uncensored, and unbelievable true story behind the making of a pop culture phenomenon.

The original Star Trek series debuted in 1966 and has spawned five TV series spin-offs and a dozen feature films, with an upcoming one from Paramount arriving in 2016.

The Fifty-Year Mission is a no-holds-barred oral history of five decades of Star Trek, told by the people who were there. Hear from the hundreds of television and film executives, programmers, writers, creators, and cast as they unveil the oftentimes shocking story of Star Trek's ongoing 50-year mission - a mission that has spanned from the classic series to the animated show, the many attempts at a relaunch through the beloved feature films.

Make no mistake, this isn't just an audiobook for Star Trek fans. Here is a volume for all fans of pop culture and anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of a television touchstone.

©2016 Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman (P)2016 Macmillan Audio

Let there be Light!

My review covers the entire 50 year work, both the First 25 and the next 25. Together they add up to over 50 hours of Star Trek listening goodness.

I thought I knew a lot about Star Trek before I listened to this mammoth undertaking but my knowledge was a rain drop in a mud puddle. It's like Ken Burns does Star Trek. The Star Trek Universe, its spin offs, reboots, the lean years, feuds, Legends, its impact on Society, Technology, and the future are all there, warts and all.

My only complaint was each section began with a glossary of the people involved in Star Trek and the list is so large listening to the whole thing takes an entire hour. Being an Audiobook, it's hard to retain the list's information and it's very awkward to try and reference back to it. That said, it is easily skipped

Trekkie Bible - Old Testament.

required reading for the Church of Trek. this is honesty the best biography of Star Trek

Thoroughly Enjoyed

This wasn't quite what I expected; the book is a series of quotes, some short, some long, from people involved in the production of Star Trek. They are well assembled, however, and the format does create a good narrative with a sense of immediacy that would probably be lost with a more scholarly work. -1 star on the narration for a bit too much uptalking by one male narrator, and Susan Hanfield's constant vowel-shifting (Star Trek becomes Star Track, Bus becomes Boss, Left becomes Laughed, etc).

Star Trek First 25 years awesome

Just finished listening to this audio book. So awesome it was. Goes into fine detail. Looking forward to hearing the second.

Lots of fun if you enjoy oral histories

What did you love best about The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years?

I enjoy oral histories in general, and hearing the differing perspectives, even when they may clash. What I really appreciate is that the authors managed to get comments from so many of the producers, writers, actors and others who were part of the Star Trek franchise in its many incarnations.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked that we were given different views of the larger-than-life players, incl. Roddenberry, Shatner, Nimoy etc. I think the picture that was painted was of a combination of some great ideas, talent, and being in the right place at the right time. I don't feel anyone was portrayed as a genius or placed on a pedestal.

Would you listen to another book narrated by the narrators?

I liked the team of performers. However, I don't understand how some of the performers were allowed to mispronounce the surname of actor George Takei. In a project like this, do readers not do a little research to verify the correct pronunciations of names that will be repeated in the work? And if not, could someone in the production staff not have stepped in to correct them?

Any additional comments?

I'm looking forwarded to listening to volume 2.

A Fantastic Gift for Fans of an Epic Franchise

An EXTREMELY comprehensive recounting of the making of one of the most impactful science fiction shows ever. I've been a disciple of Star Trek for 47 years, devouring every story or scrap of information that I could, and I STILL found new and fascinating stories in this history. My only gripes (and they are minor ones) are that some pronunciations of names are off, and that the details of the final three films are given short shrift. Lastly, I realize this is just the first of a two part, all-encompassing tome, but I would have liked there to have been some kind of wrap up, rather than just the literary equivalent of slamming into a brick wall, with only the words "...to be continued

An ABSOLUTE MUST for Trek Fans

What a terrific book! An ABSOLUTE MUST for Trek Fans.

Your interest in this book will correlate directly to your interest in the various TV series and movies. I particularly like Next Gen and Voyager and so I am EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA annoyed that volume 2 is not out yet!

This book lives up to its promise in the title of being complete and uncensored - I think it’s one of the best Behind the Scenes type books I have ever read.

Hurry up people! I want more!!! Get to work on the audio production of Volume 2!

so good.

see my review on the next 25 years of star trek. again if a star trek fan - you gotta read this !

wow

More than I ever wanted to know about Star trek but glad I do. thank you

Fantastic history of the original series crew

This was an amazing history with lots of detail. My only really complaint was that the narrators frequently mispronounced Trek names and places.