Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual (Star Trek Next Generation (Unnumbered)) (Paperback)

by Rick Sternbach (Author), Michael Okuda (Author) "Starfleet has long been charged with a broad spectrum of responsibilities to the citizens of the Federation and to the lifeforms of the galaxy at..." (more)
Key Phrases: electro plasma system, saucer module, main impulse engine, Star Trek, Operations Manager, Cruise Mode (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Star Trek: The Next Generation® Technical Manual, written by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda, the technical advisors to Star Trek: The Next Generation, provides a comprehensive schematization of a Galaxy-class starship. From the bridge to the shuttlebays, from the transporter room to crews' quarters, this book provides a never-before-seen glimpse at the inner, intricate workings of the most incredible starship ever conceived.

Full of diagrams, technical schematics, and ship's plans, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual also takes a detailed look at the principles behind Star Trek®'s awesome technology -- from phasers to warp drive to the incredible holodeck.

From the Publisher
The Star Trek: The Next Generation^® Technical Manual, written by Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda, the technical advisors to Star Trek: The Next Generation, provides a comprehensive schematization of a Galaxy-class starship. From the bridge to the shuttlebays, from the transporter room to crews' quarters, this book provides a never-before-seen glimpse at the inner, intricate workings of the most incredible starship ever conceived.

Full of diagrams, technical schematics, and ship's plans, the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual also takes a detailed look at the principles behind Star Trek^®'s awesome technology -- from phasers to warp drive to the incredible holodeck.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671704273
• ISBN-13: 978-0671704278
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,793 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #9 in	Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Media > Star Trek > Next Generation
  #16 in	Books > Entertainment > Television > Reference

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible Quality!, August 30, 2006

By	J. Spiliotopoulos (Waterbury, CT, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've had the TNG Technical Manual for years, but recently lost it in a move. So, I decided to buy a new copy.

What I received was NOT the same book I was replacing. The entire book is some sort of low quality photocopying job. There was no color in the edition I received, and the graphics looked like they were printed on a copier low on toner.

I don't reccomend that anybody buy this version. You'll probably have a better experience looking for a good condition used copy.

I'm sad and dissappointed, and will be asking for a refund.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars User's guide to a true "ship of dreams", February 3, 2004

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Although the success of Star Trek's many incarnations -- from the 1966-69 Original Series, the 1979-2002 feature films, and the four television spin-offs -- is due to the humanity of the characters (even the alien ones!), it's the various starships that have taken the captains, crews and, of course, the audience on incredible journeys across the galaxy. After all, where would James T. Kirk be without the USS Enterprise, or Kathryn Janeway without the USS Voyager? For many Star Trek fans, it's the starship that is the true star of the series, with Kirk (or Picard, or Janeway, or Archer) and Co. as the human "supporting cast" that represents the dreamers who want to "boldly go where no one has gone before."

Although dedicated fans and role-playing game designers had written, illustrated, and even published unofficial Technical Journals of Star Trek's primary starships, Rick Sternbach and Michael Okuda's Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual was the first really detailed "owner's manual" to the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) "done by folks who actually work on Star Trek." Published in October 1991 (halfway through The Next Generation's seven-year run) and featuring Gene Roddenberry's last published words in his special introduction, the Technical Manual is the first volume of a trio of "official" Star Trek references that include The Star Trek Chronology: A History of the Future and The Star Trek Encyclopedia.

The Technical Manual's conceit is that it is a 24th Century reference work, perhaps as a Starfleet public relations publication or in-house orientation manual. The tone the authors adopt (with the exception of the "out-of-the-Star-Trek-scenario footnotes, which are insightful and often humorous) is very similar to a NASA shuttle operator's guide, matter-of-fact, dry, and -- of course -- like a technical journal. Starting with "1.0 USS Enterprise Introduction" and ending with "17.0 Conclusion," this 183 page book tells the reader everything he or she wanted to know about a Galaxy-class starship, but was afraid to ask.

Want to know, for instance, about the Enterprise-D's warp drive and the theory of warp propulsion? It's all there in "5.0 Warp Propulsion Systems." Does transporter technology turn you on, as it were? "9.0 Transporter Systems" tells you how and why a transporter works, complete with a three-page list of every detail of the five seconds that elapse between autosequence initiation and the signaling of a successful transport. All of the familiar operations we have seen on the show's many episodes and the Enterprise-D's final appearance in 1994's Star Trek: Generations are explained in "authentic" detail.

The Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual is generously illustrated with ship's blueprints, deck charts, line drawings of equipment, operations panels, readouts, and weapons. There is even a chart showing the five Starships Enterprise with a brief (one paragraph) history of each incarnation of the NCC-1701. (Star Trek fans who purchased this book when it hit the bookstore shelves in October of '91 got their first hint about the plot of Star Trek VI; the entry for the Enterprise-A not only reveals that the starship had once borne the name USS Yorktown and renamed after the Whale Song crisis, it also mentions the Khitomer conference, "which had such a profound impact on the political climate of this part of the galaxy.")

Star Trek fans -- either "old hands" who were Trekkies in the 1960s or "rookies" just catching up to Next Gen on the Spike Channel -- will probably enjoy this book...assuming it is not already on their bookshelves!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars USS Enterprise 1701-D....Inside and out, November 8, 2002

By	Rachel Watkins "Rachel Watkins" (Joshua, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you're a trekker, and would just love to know all the information about life aboard the Enterprise you'll love this book. This book coveres Warp Drive, Turbolifts, Bio-beds in the Sickbay, Tricorders, Hull Material and construction, Holodecks, impulse drive engines, phasers, facts about the Utopia Planitia shipyards, and even the system of addressing crew quarters and such. There is so much information here it's great.

The book also has footnotes throughout about different hapenings on the set of ST:TNG. It is well organised with diagrams and plans for many of the parts of the Enterprise. This really shows the planning which is put behind the world of Star Trek, and how they do thier best to make sure the stories fit technical plausability and cohesion.