"Phasers on Stun!" by Ryan Britt is an amazing collection of Star Trek history and future. The book had me as the author describes (on the first page!) one of his phone interviews with William Shatner. (Warning: If you do not know who William Shatner is then this book is not for you as this book is not an introduction to uninitiated. On the other hand if you have ever attended a Star Trek convention or dressed up as a Star Trek character, then you should definitely stop reading this review, take the phone off the hook, unplug the computer, and start reading this book THIS VERY MOMENT! :-)

If you are still reading this review then I assume you know who William Shatner is, enjoy watching Star Trek, and like to read about Star Trek. Then, like me, I also assume that you would enjoy the walk down memory lane that the author provides as he shares his insights from interviewing over 100 influential actors, writers, directors, producers, etc. in the Star Trek universe starting from The Original Series and including not yet released series' such as Strange New Worlds. I enjoyed learning the inside stories about the origin of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch and Spock's famous greeting. The stories behind scenes are fascinating. I had seen most of the episodes and movies described, but I had avoided "The Animated Series" assuming that it was not intended for adults. I was delighted to learn that "The Animated Series" is actually legit Star Trek and now look forward to watching it!

Occasionally, it is not completely clear exactly where the author is going with his prose, but the non-stop discussions about Star Trek were enjoyable. Perhaps the most profound question was "What exactly is the definition of 'Star Trek'?" The answer to which is not quite as obvious as it sounds.

If you have read this review to this point, then you likely consider yourself either a "Trekie" or a "Treker", and this book was written for you. You will like it.

As a humble closet Trekie, I thank Ryan Britt and the Penguin Group for graciously providing a temporary advanced electronic reading copy of this fine work.