The Meaning of Star Trek

Various reviewers have sneered at Richards for analyzing and attempting to find meaning in what is "just a tv show.", treating it like it's "the Bible or Shakespeare". After all, the show's producers were motivated only by capitalist greed, and so couldn't produce a vision such as Richards credits them with. Why not?A Tale of Two Cities was written in installments, for Dickens' profit. Shakespeare's plays were produced primarily to generate income for the Bard. The capitalist motivations for a work doesn't disqualify it of any merit. Granted, the nature of television makes it less intrinsicly intellectual than books. Still, a television show containing purpose and thought is possible--if accomplished far to seldomly (see the current range of garbage offered). Such a creation was Star Trek.I find The Meaning of Star Trek a brilliant, thoughtful analysis of the politics, diplomacy and intellect of this fictional yet consistent work. I recommend it for anyone who enjoyed The Next Generation, whcih is the primary subject of analysis. For those who enjoy this book, I also consider The Ethics of Star Trek worth reading, though considerably inferior to 'Meaning'.

This book will broaden your understanding of the Star Trek universe. Definitely worth reading by any serious Star Trek fan.

Thomas Richards book is outstanding. It is a very deep analysis of Star Trek from a cultural - historical and a literature point of view. The author is focusing almost on Star Trek - The Next Generation alone, - that is a shame, i.e the Dominion of Deep Space 9 would have been worth analysing.