The Making of Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Star Trek (Trade/hardcover))

Customer Reviews:

Insider's Look at How TV Shows Get Made.......2003-12-08

This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in learning about what goes into television production. Stevens and Stevens (who are screenwriters themselves, having written for the "Batman" animated TV series, among other things) go into detail about how "Deep Space Nine" got made. From the show's initial story concept to the inevitable pre-production meetings that followed, story development, and casting: it's all here.

This book also provides some brief but useful information on art design, make-up, directing, editing, how scripts are written (and re-written), and so on. There's even a helpful section at the end of the book which explains who all these people are whose names whiz by in the closing credits of a TV show. (Ever want to know what a property master is or what a scenic artist or grip does? Now you will.)

In short, even if you have no interest in the Star Trek universe whatsoever but you are interested in television production, this book should give you an excellent introduction to the art form.

And, oh, yeah... if you are a Star Trek fan, you'll love this book even more for all the inside trivia it provides on one of the finest (and most underrated) sci-fi shows ever to grace the airwaves.

Behind the scenes of the best written Star Trek series.......2003-01-07

All the behind the scenes technical information in this book. Viewers get to see the original production sketches of the DS9 station in development. Many of the designs were far better than what was eventually used. Overall, it is an entertaining book to read. This show more than the others depicted life on other worlds. They gave Trek fans what they always wanted to see...more alien species and action. Something the Next Generation and Voyager lacked. This series showed us how we all have to work together for peace or all is lost.

One of my favourite books.......2000-06-13

I have had this book now, for about 5 years. I must have read it dozens of times (yup i'm a geek). Its got all the technical stuff on filming the pilot (and beyond) from script development, model making and special effects, to acting and characters (even the story of how Morn came to be!). This book is well written, interesting, and above all a heap of fun. Go ahead and enjoy.

Average customer rating:

Explores Benefits of Playfulness
Amazing Writing; Scattered Story
Deep Playmate
Deep vanity
I loved this book.......

Deep Play
Diane Ackerman
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Adolescent Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Behavioral Psychology | Behavioral Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0679771352
Release Date: 2000-08-08

Amazon.com

"Deep play" is what helps humans survive, grow, and spiritually transcend, according to acclaimed poet and author Diane Ackerman. Children are of course drawn to deep play--those activities that catapult them into an altered state of consciousness, where all their senses are engaged and for that moment life is timeless and fully absorbing. But few adults are conscious of how this form of deep play continues throughout adulthood.

For athletes, deep play could embody the extreme and spiritually rewarding feats of mountain climbing or scuba diving, explains Ackerman. For lovers, it could be the compelling dance of courtship. Some find the act of making soup from scratch a form of deep play. For Ackerman, deep play has meant swimming with dolphins, writing poetry, piloting planes, and making sojourns to remote locations and sacred places. "Swept up by the deeper states of play, one feels balanced, creative, focused," explains Ackerman. "Deep play is a fascinating hallmark of being human; it reveals our need to seek a special brand of transcendence, with a passion that makes thrill-seeking explicable, creativity possible, and religion inevitable."

Ackerman's writing and metaphors are most engaging when she uses her fascinating life experiences to characterize how adults can engage in the rapture and ecstasy of deep play. This is a fascinating new territory of discussion, which could forever alter your approach to play in daily life. --Gail Hudson

Book Description

With A Natural History of the Senses, Diane Ackerman let her free-ranging intellect loose on the natural world. Now in Deep Play she tackles the realm of creativity, by exploring one of the most essential aspects of our characters: the abitlity to play.

"Deep play" is that more intensified form of play that puts us in a rapturous mood and awakens the most creative, sentient, and joyful aspects of our inner selves. As Ackerman ranges over a panoply of artistic, spiritual, and athletic activities, from spiritual rapture through extreme sports, we gain a greater sense of what it means to be "in the moment" and totally, transcendentally human. Keenly perceived and written with poetic exuberance, Deep Play enlightens us by revealing the manifold ways we can enhance our lives.

Customer Reviews:

Explores Benefits of Playfulness.......2007-04-05

In this fascinating nonfiction essay, Ackerman explores the benefits of what she defines as "Deep Play", activities which are so absorbing and enriching that the player transcends her setting. These activities, which tend to be recreational in nature, create a state of blissful, unselfconciousness creative capacity. With her lyrical skills, Ackerman examines what is deep play, how it can be attained and how it enriches a person's life. Whether she is exploring the voluptuousness of a windswept Antarctic vista or bicycling down a heat shimmered country road, Ackerman manages to evoke the sacredness of deep play which is central to the creativity of musicians, physicists and artists, providing the fertile mental landscape so vital to cosmic insight and social development. Central to this state of bliss is a communing with nature that lies at the heart of so many activities: rock climbing, biking, hiking, scuba diving, flying all provide a connection to the outdoors and its inhabitants. The author's own life is a testament to the ways in which deep play can inspire and enhance living. Through deep play, Ackerman taps into the imagination that fuels her poetry, her writing, her art, building the foundation for every activity that makes her unique. The book is a beautifully written, enjoyable exhortation to not only stop and smell the roses, but to revel in them and see them in a new light that exults in the glories of nature. A wonderful book!

Amazing Writing; Scattered Story.......2006-04-26

Deep play, sounds fun doesn't it? Ackerman's most recent book Deep Play is at times enjoyable, in some ways compelling but if it had not been for her beautiful writing and the way she sprinkles surprising human insights throughout the book I could not recommend this book to others. Readers beware, while Diane Ackerman's writing is wonderful - in this publication and others I have read - this particular book tends to be a bit self indulgent at times. I went into the read with a willing mind prepared to further understand deep play. There were moments where I was pleasantly surprised, but mostly disappointed, as Ackerman delivers some great facts but seems all together too scattered in trying to tie them together.

Ackerman sells the need for a book on deep play right from the start telling the reader how our culture "thrives on play," how play is used by animals to survive, and "play is fundamental to evolution." She dives into the constructs of play talking about its rules, social norms, and making sweeping arguments about play as the center of what we call work, "let's make-believe we can shoot a rocket to the moon." Akerman's take on play is based on transcendent.

What I enjoy about Akerman is how she eloquently mixes truly interesting human insights, facts and observations giving the reader brain food to ponder. In one chapter she writes about her experience studying and swimming with dolphins. I could see myself swimming and playing in the water through her eyes. Her description of poetry, "it's a kind of catapult into another metaphysical county where one has longer conceptual arms" is magical. In still another section she dives into youth and the childhood artist almost begging the reader to try and find that inner child thus locating play. Perhaps most magical of all was her writing on horses both historically and their meaning to humans. In the way she describes horses and their link to human history, I would be not surprised if each and every reader feels the desire to go out and watch them or ride them.

Throughout reading this book, I caught myself wondering if I agreed with Ackerman on her definition of Deep Play or if even she agreed with it. Ackerman tends to put Deep Play in a category of the daring and risky. And while her examples hold up especially to adrenalin junkies she herself seems to deviate from this course in some of her examples of play.

Overall Akerman gives the reader a look into her life, smart insights on play and if you like Ackerman's writing and style she will not disappoint you in Deep Play. However, be ready for a slightly scattered and a tad self indulgent ride. Ackerman fails to deliver on the truly profound, instead tells a mini-autobiography of her various life adventures. If the adventures were staged correctly they could be a wonderful addition in and of themselves but in the setting of Deep Play I was more annoyed than mesmerized.

Deep Playmate.......2005-11-11

I was introduced to her several years ago by a friend who thought I might enjoy her style. A Natural History of Love turned out to be love at first sight. She was open and comfortable with herself, sophisticated (in the good sense) and knowledgeable about nearly everything. The things that got me, however, were her passion and a way with words that enchanted me. Her metaphors were lavish and delightful. She saw the world in rich detail; she felt the world with a sensuousness that raised the hair on my arms. Who could not fall in love with all that?

Our affair-intermittent though it had to be, with each of us off on our own adventures and grown-up obligations-grew more intense with each contact. I naturally had to read A Natural History of the Senses, her first best-seller, and then obsessively dug out whatever I could find that was hers, like The Moon by Whale Light. (I have to admit that I wasn't as spellbound reading that one, for some reason. Still, her perfume wafted from its pages, tugging at my insides.) I went for months without thinking about her. Then a couple of weeks ago I sought out my Diane Ackerman fix on the Internet, and ordered two more of her books (used) from Amazon.com. One was An Alchemy of Mind, and I immersed myself in the luxuriant featherbed of intellect, warmth and sense-stimulation that I had come to expect from her. I've read a number of authors about what we know of the mind, Steven Pinker (clear and antiseptic), Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (gut-aware but sometimes academic), Susan Blackmore (good description but betraying perhaps a meager first-hand knowledge). I'm not certain that I don't give Diane Ackerman the benefit of an occasional doubt-not to say skepticism-about some of her assertions. But, never mind. She's worth it.

The most recent of her books that I have read (not the most recently published) is Deep Play. The blurb on the back of this paperback says, "Ackerman illuminates an exalted state of transcendence achieved through emotionally and physically vigorous activities." I could believe that. Indeed, most of what she writes affects me that way, illuminating, stimulating an almost giddy sense of wonder, a sharing of her own passion almost to a point of transcendence.

The blurb goes on, "The ability to play is an essential part of what it means to be human. And `deep play' is that more intensified form of play that puts us in a rapturous mood and awakens the most creative, sentient, and joyful aspects of our inner selves." Full of anticipation, I dove into the book.

Now, I'm the first to admit (well, maybe not the first) that play is difficult for me. I don't do sports. I hate word games. I know that crossword puzzles would be good for my vocabulary, but I find them frustrating. Playing cards, even with friends, bores me. But Csikszentmihalyi convinced me that what turns me on is related, somehow, to what the athlete feels when he is "in flow," and to why a researcher is willing to give up a big part of her life in pursuit of a hunch, and to the obsession driving a novelist or a sculptor to express something more than a superficial likeness. Csikszentmihalyi, first in his own best-seller Flow and then in his subsequent The Evolving Self and Creativity, clearly describes the urges and satisfactions that make life meaningful for those who push themselves to create and to achieve in response to their inner visions.

So I was disappointed, a little, as I began reading Deep Play. Not that it wasn't my Diane Ackerman. Her pages were full of the delightful metaphors and sensuous descriptions that have been her hallmarks. She proposes that "deep play" is something that comes out of deep inside us, something profound, something distinctly human. It's expressed in many forms, from religion to art to climbing Mount Everest. But I kept feeling as though she were distracted as she wrote. I missed her point a lot as she jumped from example to example. Every so often she seemed to come back and insert a few paragraphs about deep play to keep the thread going. Even her chapters, I thought, lacked coherence. It was like having a serious conversation with someone while we watch television. The enchantment I had come to expect felt, well, thin.

So, the honeymoon is over, perhaps? Had I begun to notice the little crows feet instead of the lips? The mascara instead of the bottomless pools of the eyes? Okay, relax and go with it. Enjoy what's there and don't focus on expectations. If you want information, go to the library. Soak in the warm, sensuous bath. Breath in the perfume you know so well. Anyone can get scattered now and then. Enjoy the snacks and don't anticipate dinner.

Halfway through the book, I found myself paying attention again. She is discussing poetry and how it allows us to perceive the world in more depth because it makes us stop and look around, behind and under the words, puzzle through meanings in our own minds as a poem feeds us sparkles and hints of flavor. The poet and the reader both end up sensing more than what's there on the page. The poet is conscious of the limitations of words in expressing her insides, and resorts to touching the reader on the shoulder to make him look around, or catching his eye to flirt, to suggest, to hint about the inexpressible. Poetry is deep play.

That Diane Ackerman is a poet goes without saying. I've not read any of her dozen or so books of poetry. I've always been one of those people who see a poem as a puzzle, and I've already said how I feel about games. In this chapter, she stops me. I wonder what I've been missing. Poetry, she says, isn't a puzzle, but an invitation. I wonder, "Can I do it?" Is my crotchety mind so ossified that I've lost the ability to play?

I have to smile, in spite of myself. There's that perfume again, turning my head. She may not have her makeup on. Her clothing may be just a little rumpled. Her editor may have had a bad week. Maybe the publisher was pushing to get the thing out, and her flight to Kilimanjaro was only days away. She's only human, after all. Isn't that what I love about her?

Deep vanity.......2005-06-02

Deep play (aka "Flow") is a valuable concept, but don't expect to find any intelligent exposition of it here. Instead, prepare for confusion as seemingly disparate phenomena -- rituals, hallucinations brought on by starvation, and Sunday morning reveries in the park -- are evinced as examples of "deep play". Just how and why these should be lumped together with creative flow is never adequately explained.

All in all, this is a rambling, entirely unsystematic and underresearched book, notwithstanding the author's credentials as a naturalist.* Worse still, as Wolfgang Pauli would say, it is "not even wrong". It has nothing to say, for page after page after page.

Well, not nothing exactly. As an indulgent exercise in vanity, it's worth a titter or two. The author, whose photo reveals a woman of a certain age in King Charles-style tresses, loses no opportunity to remind you the reader that she knows how to live. "I hate the fearful trimming of possibilities that age brings. If you lead a relatively narrow life, I suppose you never notice. But I've always been athletic"... etc etc. Mostly she goes on in this vein, larding up her exploits with new age musings that even I --liberal, female and eco-minded-- found eminently gagworthy. Reader be warned, though: a dark episode intrudes on page 100, as Ackerman takes NASA to task for having had the temerity to reject her for the Journalist in Space program. Her explanation: NASA feared she might say something "wise and profound."[!]

Whatever the case, don't hold your breath waiting for her to say it in this book.

*Serious readers of psychology would do better to consult Czikszentmihalyi's outstanding research on "Flow", while those interested in play in the natural world will adore Bernd Heinrich's Mind of the Raven.

I loved this book..............2003-07-29

Diane Ackerman writes with such beauty and her examples are so rich and invigorating. I refer people to her books all the time to experience word artistry in non fiction writers.

In fact, the word "Play" was getting on my nerves with regularity until I read this book which really outlines the Sacred aspect of play.

After reading, I look at everything involving Play from a different plane. My two year old delights in Mommy's delight! How is THAT for trading spaces!

I can't understand the low rating this book has had so far. Some people who reviewed it must be cranky.

Book Description

If Pigs Could Fly¿ and Other Deep Thoughts is a collection of Bruce Lansky's own hilarious poems about everything kids are concerned with, including: smelly diapers, chubby relatives, toothless grandmas, dirty socks, impolite dogs, burping babies, bad hair days and more. The poems in this book have been tested on over 1,000 schoolchildren and their teachers so that only the most giggle-packed poems are included.

Customer Reviews:

AWFUL.......2006-02-11

This book is not just bad poetry, and its not just potty humor. It is hateful and ugly. In various poems, the author ridicules obesity, makes a joke of death (sky diving), calls a teacher an old bat, etc.

Don't buy it!

Not sweet but very good.......2002-12-31

I'm prompted to write this review after reading the others. Yes folks, Lansky's topics are crude. Poop figures heavily, as does snot (in fact, that's the topic of my favorite poem in this collection). However, Lansky's poems are both funny and clever. They make my kids laugh out loud (and me too). If your sensibility is to fine to be crude or if you have moral objections to bodily fluids (and I suspect that is the case with the other reviewers) then this isn't for you. But, if you're looking for funny, readable verse that kids will like, this is a great one.

What the heck? No, really, what the heck?.......2001-02-02

What the heck was the author thinking writing a book this atrocious?

What the heck was the publisher thinking?

And what the heck was I thinking buying this book for my twin sons after scanning one poem about a dog?

At least I can say that I never read any of the "poop" poems before purchasing it. What excuse do the other two have?

A Poor Attempt at Poetry.......2000-11-03

I was not impressed by this attempt at children's poetry. This book made me think that an author might consider that writing children's poetry is easy. This book makes it obvious that it's not. Why you would publish a collection of such poorly executed poetry is beyond me. The material looks as if it were written by young children, as opposed to for young children. The illustrations were cute though.

An appropriate title for this book.......2000-10-12

If pigs could fly then I'd like this book. Unfortunately, this book doesn't take off any better than a pseudo-aerodynamic swine. I'm a grade school teacher who is always searching for material to fill my students with a love for reading. Poetry, in its bite-sized snippets, often turns children on to reading more than lengthier prose. However, this particular book of poetry did not generate any enthusiasm among my students. My students were not able to elequently relate why they didn't enjoy this title, but I think I can guess. These poems don't speak with the "voice" of delight that appeals to children. It's not that the poems aren't silly. The problem is that these poems are amateurish, lacking the polish that the masterpieces of the genre demonstrate. This title shows that writing children's poetry is not easy. If it was, then maybe pigs could fly.

Deep Play: A Climber's Odyssey from Llanberis to the Big Walls

Average customer rating:

A climber's review
Very good
Inspiring,great book

Deep Play: A Climber's Odyssey from Llanberis to the Big Walls
Paul Pritchard
Manufacturer: Mountaineers Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mountaineering | Sports | Subjects | Books

Mountain Climbing | Mountaineering | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0898865654

Customer Reviews:

A climber's review.......2004-02-16

I'd recommend this book to anyone who's even slightly addicted to climbing since it happens to be one of the best books around. Keyword of the last sentence is addicted. The book a short introduction to the mind of a very bold climber. For non-climbers... well it may be too complex and full of weird words. Must be interesting reading still, though.

For all the climbers out there I can say I've been climbing for 10 years and feel solid on alpine rock routes up to 5.11. The book didn't win Boardman Tasker award for nothing. Another very good book worth considering would be Feeding the Rat by Al Alvarez.

Very good.......2001-05-21

This is a collection of essays that appeared first in climbing journals published in England. The essays are written in a variety of styles, from straight narrative to a kind of stream of consciousness. One style written as if the writer is dictating his thoughts while climbing is used several times. At first it was interesting, but the later essays written in this style lose their novelty. Pritchard's essays are relatively short and cover a wide variety of subjects, from specific climbs, whole expeditions to people. Most of his stories about people were written after their death in one climbing accident or another. One essay about a climber with a career ending injury and how he deals with it is prophetic considering Pritchard's recent possible career ending climbing accident. Overall, it is easy to see why this book won the Boardman-Tasker award for climbing literature. The variety of the subjects and writing styles makes this a very good anthology of climbing essays that every climber should have in their library.

Inspiring,great book.......2000-02-12

Incredible book, I'm brusing up on aid climbing, I'm reading up on big walls, I'm feeling confident leading out on my pro. Well written, beatifuly written, great spirited, motivational. Extreme to the max. One of the best Christmas presents I'v ever gotten

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea: An Apache Dance

Average customer rating:

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea: An Apache Dance
John Patrick Shanley
Manufacturer: Dramatist's Play Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

jp-unknown2 | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0822202697

Customer Reviews:

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea.......2000-07-23

In this time of politically correct language and the sexes being afraid to speak for fear of being accused of sexual harrassment, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea is crudely refreshing, if not humbling. Danny and Roberta are the kinds of people that the BMW and Lexus set pass, with out the slightest awareness of the lives some people lead. Danny and Roberta both struggle with their demons and on this one night, in which the play takes place, they hold an emotional exorsism. Both emotionally handicaped, both blunt, almost vulgar in their use of the english language, find each other and begin to heal the wounds...in their own way. For one night, a porch light becomes the moon, two people beyond innocence become innocent again, and both find a few hours of unconditional love. J. Shanley doesn't make Danny and Roberta overnight, insightful psychologist. He lets them use their insticts,---guts. They touch each other because they are not fancy people. They are simple and the answers to their healing are simple.

Take a Deep Breath: The Kids' Play-Away Stress Book/Book, Clay and Cookie Cutters (A play and read book)

Average customer rating:

Interactive Stress Book is a PLUS!

Take a Deep Breath: The Kids' Play-Away Stress Book/Book, Clay and Cookie Cutters (A play and read book)
Laura S. Shelton , Laura Slap-Shelton , and Lawrence E. Shapiro
Manufacturer: Childswork/Childsplay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1882732022

Customer Reviews:

Interactive Stress Book is a PLUS!.......2007-01-26

Today's children are surrounded by stress. They experience stress in every situation from what they see, hear, and do. This is a major factor in causing both psychological and physical problems and yet we do very little to teach children the very important lessons on how to deal with this stress. This very uniques book combines activities, advice, and checklists to help with this never-ending job. Includes clay and two cookie cutters for the activities.

Bond Plays 2: Lear, The Sea, Narrow Raod to the Deep North, Black Mass, Passion (Master Playwrights)

Average customer rating:

Bond Plays 2: Lear, The Sea, Narrow Raod to the Deep North, Black Mass, Passion (Master Playwrights)
Edward Bond
Manufacturer: Methuen Publishing, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Entertainment Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0413392708

Book Description

Critics have had this to say about Bond: Plays 2:

Lear: "Bond's greatest (and biggest) play ... it is even more topical now and will become more so as man's inhumanity gains subtle sophistication with the twenty-first century's approach."- The Times

The Sea: "It blends wild farce with tragedy and ends with a sliver of hope ... what makes the play fascinating is Bond's bleak poetry and social comedy."- Guardian

Narrow Road to the Deep North: "His best piece so far ... No one else could have written it."- The Times

Black Mass, written for performance at an anti-apartheid demonstration: "A George Grosz picture come to life ... the only kind of artistic imagery through which to speak of such evil."- Listener

Passion: "Mingles comedy and high anger with absolute sureness."- Guardian

Edward Bond is "one of our outstanding playwrights ... He is already an acknowledged classic."- Plays and Players

Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos

Average customer rating:

Now I finally understand what "post-modernism" means!
An excellent analysis
The book was very interesting.

Deep Space and Sacred Time: Star Trek in the American Mythos
Jon Wagner , and Jan Lundeen
Manufacturer: Praeger Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Popular Culture | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Media Studies | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Guides & Reviews | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Television | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

Genre Films | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Foreign Languages | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Science Fiction & Fantasy Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Arts & Photography | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Entertainment | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Reference | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science Fiction & Fantasy | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0275962253

Book Description

What could possibly account for the scope and longevity of the Star Trek phenomenon? With legions of impassioned fans and a life span of 30 years and counting, the Star Trek television and film corpus has made Gene Roddenberry's creation nothing less than an American mythology. Deep Space and Sacred Time examines for the first time in book-length form the many ways Star Trek has served as a mythic reference point for American society--and suggests that an understanding of this might help us to see ourselves more clearly as a culture. Moreover, this thoughtful and thought-provoking work posits that Star Trek offers its audience a sense of hope and, in the setting of an orderly cosmos, the possibility for empowerment. Written to appeal to thoughtful Star Trek viewers, as well as teachers and scholars, Deep Space and Sacred Time examines Trek's humanist creed, with its faith in the human capacity for compassion, growth and self-guidance. Roddenberry's optimistic vision stressed the tolerance of diversity, the central role of friendship and loyalty, an opposition to prejudice, and the rejection of organized religion and divine authority. Employing the framework of contemporary social analysis, authors Jon Wagner and Jan Lundeen reveal the evolving tension between Star Trek's liberalism and its subliminal messages of gender, race and class hegemony; yet they also take issue with the recent wave of critical scholarship that finds only homophobia, sexism, racism, and other "oppressive" forces dominating the Star Trek mythos. Citing hundreds of examples from the first eight Star Trek feature films and the four television series, the authors consider the ways in which Star Trek invites its audience to explore the nature of the self, the essence of humanity, the construction of gender, the possibility of utopia, and the role of narrative in shaping an intelligible cosmos.

Customer Reviews:

Now I finally understand what "post-modernism" means!.......2000-07-22

I decided to read this book mostly because of the title -- as a Trekker who is also Jewish, I was interested to see what these authors had to say about "sacred time," because, as Abraham Joshua Heschel said, we Jews live more in sacred time than in sacred places. So, any book with "sacred time" in the title is bound to catch my eye.

As it turned out, their definition of "sacred time" wasn't quite the same as the Jewish one, but I still enjoyed the book. It's an excellent analysis of Star Trek from an anthropology POV. Especially useful to me was the clear, concise explanation of what "traditional," "modernist," and "post-modernist" worldviews mean in terms of how various cultures view time and the future. I had heard TOS called "modernist" and DS9 called "post-modernist" before, but could never really get a grasp on what that meant, exactly. (What can I say? I'm in the over-50 generation and haven't always kept up on the latest buzzwords.) This book clearly explained all three POVs -- traditional, modern, and post-modern -- then put them into the context of various Trek episodes. Great job!

I also enjoyed the brilliant insight that Trek has, in effect, moved primal mythology from sharing a common story about the past, to sharing a common story about the future. In centuries gone by, each culture assumed its origins story to be the "real" story, and that was a uniting factor for each group. But today, with so many cultures colliding in an ever-shrinking world, we cannot assume that we all we share the same past heroes anymore. Instead, we look to the same future heroes on Star Trek for role models and inspiration. Whether or not Trek is the "real" future is beside the point here. It has become a mythology that people use on a global level (to greater or lesser degrees), regardless of the different creation stories that make up their individual cultures' past mythologies.

I liked the fact that this book intelligently questioned some of the politically-correct criticisms of Trek that have come out in recent years. While not accepting everything on Trek at face value, this book does point out that some PC critics have bordered on the ridiculous. The authors here strike a very good balance between entering into the spirit of the Trek universe, and critically examining some of the basic assumptions that Trek makes about what the future "should be." >I highly recommend "Deep Space and Sacred Time" to anyone seriously interested in the impact of Star Trek on our modern (or is that post-modern? ) culture.

An excellent analysis.......1999-03-25

Wagner and Lundeen have added an important book to the growing repository of "serious" literature concerning Star Trek. In a sense they take over where Harrison Taylor et al left off with "Enterprise Zones", and they are not slow to suggest within their own book criticisms of that earlier work. The chapter on religion was particularly enlightening, since for me it seemed to highlight the inconsistencies inherent in Star Trek's treatment of the subject. Less caustic than Taylor's volume, its apparent gentleness does not betoken an acceptance of all things Trek.

The book was very interesting........1998-11-12

This book was a great book because of how he include family life and the things about star trek. I would recomend this book to the star trek fans.

Average customer rating:

Clemson: Where the Tigers Play
Sam Blackman , Bob Bradley , and Chuck Kriese
Manufacturer: Sports Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

History of Sports | Miscellaneous | Sports | Subjects | Books

General | Sports | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Sports Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 1582613699

Book Description

Clemson: Where the Tigers Play is the most comprehensive book ever written on Clemson University athletics. This book chronicles over 100 years of Tiger athletics, listing yearly accounts of statistics, records, bowl and tournament appearances, and historical moments. Read about the legends that put the Clemson Tigers on the map, including Banks McFadden, John Heisman, Rupert Fike, Frank Howard, Fred Cone, Bruce Murray, Bill Wilhelm, and I.M. Ibrahim. Also included are vignettes on some of Clemson's greatest moments -- the 1981 national football championship, the 1984 and 1987 national championship soccer seasons, College World Series appearances, the Frank Howard era, and the inaugural running down the hill in Death Valley.

Average customer rating:

DEEP PLAY

Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0965863948

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books