Ships of the Line (Star Trek)

By Margaret Clark, Doug Drexler, Michael Okuda

Book Overview

They dared to risk it all in a skiff of reeds or leather, on a ship of wood or steel, knowing the only thing between them and certain death was their ship. To explore, to seek out what lay beyond the close and comfortable, every explorer had to embrace danger. And as they did so, what arose was a mystical bond, a passion for the ships that carried them. From the very first time humans dared to warp the fabric of space, escaping from the ashes of the third World War, they also created ships. These vessels have become the icons of mankind's desire to rise above the everyday, to seek out and make the unknown known. And these ships that travel the stellar seas have stirred the same passions as the ones that floated in the oceans.

While every captain has wished that their starship could be outfitted in the same manner as the sailing ship H.M.S. Beagle -- without weapons -- that proved untenable. From the start, Starfleet realized that each vessel, due to the limited range of the early warp engines, must be able to stand alone against any attack. Thus arose the idea, taken from the days of wooden sailing ships, that every Starfleet vessel must stand as a ship of the line. Through the actions of their captains and crews, countless starships have taken on that role. Here we remember some of those ships and their heroic crews.

In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek, here for the very first time collected together are the spectacular images from the highly successful and acclaimed Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendars. Gloriously rendered, each of these illustrations was created exclusively for Pocket Books. With text by Michael Okuda (The Star Trek Encyclopedia), the story of each of these valiant starships comes to life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416532439
• ISBN13: 9781416532439
• Release Date: February 2007
• Publisher: Star Trek
• Length: 184 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 11.3" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Ships Galore and More!

This is a must have for the Trek fan or collector! Great detail in graphics and workmanship. The details come alive right off the page. You'll love this as a keepsake!

Excellent book for those who love Star Trek ships...

I've been a fan of the "Ships of the Line" calendars for many years. This book is essentially a compilation of those stunning images, with some explanatory captions added. As such, it's a wonderful volume for any Star Trek fan who enjoys "beauty shots" of the various ships shown in the series. It should be noted, however, that these are pieces of original digital artwork. They are not screen captures of the various series or movies, but unique images created for the calendar series (and now, for this book). It was a great value and an excellent addition to my Star Trek book collection.

Beautiful book--but know what you're getting.

This is a beautiful, imagination-stimulating, sometimes breathtaking book. But potential buyers should know three things: 1. This book is about half the size of the average coffee table book (FYI, in case you don't read the fine print or easily "get" measurements in the Product Description), so they are not big pictures. 2. This is an *art* book; these are "illustrations," not photographic reproductions from the Star Trek T.V. series(s) or movies. I wasn't familiar with the "Ships of the Line" calendars, so was expecting "real" photos of the Star Trek ships, not paintings. However, some of the pictures are computer-design artwork that very effectively look like photographs. I know it's a matter of taste, by I find these more enjoyable, more evocative. 3. While ships from all five of the T.V. shows are included (not the animated ST), there is of course a favored emphasis on the Enterprise in its various/successive generations. There are only 37 illustrations, so that doesn't leave room for a whole lot else. (Opposing/even-numbered pages are blank, except for a short paragraph of text by official Star Trek history guru Michael Ocuda, which offers interesting commentary, though more impressionistic thatn encyclopedic.) Also, the book's cover illustration is not repeated in the book, so if you get a torn or badly smudged copy, you're out of luck. I was also disappointed that a book called "Ships of the Line" didn't have a single schematic drawing or even a comparative illustration to scale of the various ships (like is sort of done on the cover picture). Even given all these qualifications, there are at least 10 pictures in this book that really inspire me and excite my imagination; and any two of them, for me, are worth the price of the book.

Awesome book

As a life long Star Trek fan I welcome this book as a step in the right direction. The CGI images are excellent. I highly recommend this book especially for those who like the visual elements of Star Trek. I hope this leads to a Janes type Starship book for Star Trek. I know the market has been questionable for these sorts of books but I feel the time is right for more. I like the easy to handle size and the reasonable price. A well done is in order for editor Margaret Clark

Simply Gorgeous

The vessels portrayed in Ships of the Line cover the length and breadth of the Star Trek universe. Arranged chronologically, from the earliest warp vessels to the futuristic Enterprise-J and darn near everything in between, this is a book you'll never tire of looking at. Images of the U.S.S. Enterprise do dominate this collection but there are also wonderful representations of plenty of other Starfleet ships, as well as vessels associated with both friends and foes. The variety of images is fantastic. Battle shots, alien landscapes, illustrations depicting the wonders of the universe and images that commemorate some of Star Trek's most memorable moments can all be found within the pages of Ships of the Line. Each full-page illustration is accompanied by text written for each image by Michael Okuda on the opposite page. As you turn the pages it is a bit like an illustrated history of Star Trek as interpreted by Okuda. Even if you've been collecting the calendars over the years that contain these same images, the high quality production values and the bargain price of $19.99(US) make Ships of the Line a must-have for every fans collection.