My initial reaction to The Art of Star Trek and it's hefty price was skepticism. Once I did purchase it and start running through it, the price could've been twice and I still would've bought this gem. The Art of Star Trek is a pure celebration of everything that Star Trek is and was all the way through it's publication date. It includes articles from the very beginning to the lastest on Voyager and Star Trek Generations. The pictures and drawings are stunning to say the least. This is a book you'll definitely want to add to your collection if you haven't already.

"The Art of Star Trek," by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, is to date the ultimate "coffee table" book for devoted Star Trek fans. This book, which was published in 1995, covers all aspects of "Trek" history up until its publication date. Through text and plentiful illustrations, the book celebrates the visual artistry that has been such an essential component of the "Trek" phenomenon.

The book deals with each of the specific series from the original until "Voyager," including both the often neglected animated series and the aborted "Phase II" series of the mid-1970s. All films from "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" to "Star Trek Generations" are also covered.

The amount and quality of items in this visual "museum" are astounding. There are behind-the-scenes photos, concept drawings, photos of models, prosthetic makeup designs, storyboards, movie posters from around the world, closeup shots of props, and more. Particularly interesting were the shots of certain props and aliens which were barely seen in fleeting shots, but which represent great imagination and artistry.

Also noteworthy are the drawings which document the evolution of both the original series "Enterprise" and the "Next Generation" ship. I was fascinated by the concept drawings of possible "Enterprises" for the aborted "Phase II" series, as well as by the rejected new uniforms for the first "Next Generation" feature film.

The concise but clear text is a good match for the wealth of glorious, full-color photographs. This book is, from start to finish, a visual feast for "Trek" fans.

How do you give five stars to "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" and then 5 stars to "The Art of Star Trek"? The two books are impossible to compare. Let me just say they both are excellent, and accomplish with great skill what they set out to accomplish.

Growing up, Star Trek was one of the things that inspired me to draw. The voyages of Captain Kirk and the Enterprise crew powered my imagination as certainly as antimatter reactions power Starfleet vessels. This ship, her captain, and the stories that they told took an impressionable kid and called him towards adventure. I drew Star Trek pictures, I made communicators out of cardboard, and I wanted to BE Captain Kirk.

The Art of Star Trek captures just that feel. For me, the visual part of this show has always been the critical component. With large, lush photographs, behind-the-scenes sketches, and a ton of pages, this is one of my favorite books, and one I page through time and time again.

Just read ch. 5 and you will be sold. As a person who has worked as a therapist with a variety of people and a variety of problems, I was stunned by the way that this book explains the impact of trauma. You need to read the concept of "complex ptsd," presented in ch. 6. Chs 5 and 6 elegantly present a framework for understanding people who have grown up in the fear of a terroristic household, whether with sexual abuse or not, whether with notable physical abuse or not. This framework acounts for the various problems suffered that are often described by clinicians as "borderline personality disorder," "somatization disorder," and other difficult/lets-ignore-them diagnoses. My feeling is that if you grew up in a scary, terroristic home, if you read chapter five you will believe this author was observing the whole time, and you may gain some insight into your own adult life and personality.

I think Judith Herman's book is terrific for several reasons. First - she playfully, eloquently, and clearly encapsulates some of the relevant history of psychoanalysis and looks at Freud and his contemporaries from a humanist and clinical perspective. Second - she writes with feeling. Third - she provides a useful bibliography and introduction to various studies of trauma in formulating her new diagnosis, to add to the DSM-IV, of complex PTSD, which is very richly descriptive and is clearly aimed at helping therapists and others work with survivors.

I think the psych literature is best understood as a way to achieve some kind of cognitive understanding of trauma and its effects. But it's not predictive, not complete, and not ever going to be equivalent to individual person's unique stories, often told or remembered in fragments. If you are looking for a very succinct self help book, this isn't it. I would suggest something like Trauma a Workbook for Healing, or better yet a support group and/or individualized counseling. If you are having trouble affording counseling, think about taking an adult education/continuing ed course at a university. Campuses have a lot of counseling resources that are free or low cost.

If you can't afford that either, have hope. You will one day. In the meantime, read whatever appeals to you and realize that the ultimate self help book will be one that you write in the way and speed that feels right to you, that feels possible.

This book begins with an in depth history of the study (and understanding) of trauma and related disorders. Judith Lewis Herman provides aspects of feminist history not seen in other "popular" trauma literature. Judith Herman is a passionate and eloquent writer, and the excerpts written by survivors, that she includes throughout the book, are also poetic and beautifully articulated. She addresses that although trauma literature is now in abundance we must be careful not to abandon the continued study and education of psychological trauma. In addition she explains that there is always a backlash when the "unspeakable" is spoken, and she offers encouragement to remain standing against the repeated abuses of offenders and people who need to maintain their sense of a "just" world.

While reading this book I truly felt understood. So many aspects of the trauma that I experienced (and the after effects) are explained in this book. She weaves together common ground for survivors of incest, rape, torture, war, captivity, and the holocaust. I felt that I was part of a greater community of people, and began to understand that I am not alone. This book is particularly valuable to the understanding of the long term and complex after effects of ongoing, repetitive childhood abuse/captivity (one of the best books on this subject). Other trauma books generally do not devote enough time to the complexity of long term childhood trauma. She explained the distinction between trauma-related symptoms and non-trauma related anxiety disorders, depression, psychosomatic disorders, and personality disorders. Often when this distinction is not recognized by health care providers survivors of trauma are misdiagnosed, given the wrong treatment and prescribed ineffective medications instead of dealing with the underlying trauma. On page 188 she says, "Even PTSD as it is currently defined, does not fit accurately enough [for survivors of prolonged trauma]." She has given a new diagnosis called "complex post-traumatic stress disorder". It was a relief to me because, although I have received great help from books on PTSD, a thorough understanding of long term trauma (beginning in childhood) has often been overlooked. Judith says on page 122, "It is an attempt to learn from survivors, who understand, more profoundly than any investigator, the effects of captivity." She took the words right out of my mouth.

Another aspect of complex PTSD that she addresses is how to cope with the desire to withdraw from the world, and other people. She explains that it is a normal stage of recovery, and gives information on how to reconnect with the world and people. She also says that survivors of captivity often respond in this way: "Before taking any action, she will scan the environment, expecting retaliation."(p.91). In this book she goes into much greater depth on this topic.

The chapter on child abuse also devoted considerable information about how incest survivors are often raped again (multiple times) as teenagers/adult. I finally felt that I was not so alone in the multitude of sexual violation that I have endured over my lifetime. This is very important to address, and is often lacking in books on rape.

In the very first part of the section on recovery she explains that the trauma occurred in a primary relationship and it is through healthy and healing relationships that the survivor can ultimately heal. I think this is very important to discuss since so many survivors of trauma feel that they can not rely upon anyone in any way (even in a mutual, equal, and healthy interaction).

I highly recommend this book to survivors (and pro-survivors) of all kinds of trauma, and to all health care and mental health workers. If everyone read this book we would live in a very different world. One of the best options I have found for recovery is simply reading about trauma and it's effects upon the nervous system. By understanding which behaviors of mine are trauma related and what "normal" experience is for a person that has not been traumatized I know what my goals and hopes for the future can be. Also, through understanding my own reactions to trauma, I also began to understand the reactions of other survivors that I have encountered when events evoked an experiential memory of the trauma they endured.

Probably the best book there is on Father-Daughter incest. Highly recommended for all interested in the subject.

A very clear, concise and informative way of explaining the complex and sometimes perplexing issues around incest. Readers who may have found the complicity of the victim incomprehensible may find new insight here. The only flaw I found in the book was the box within which it was written. The text explains things within it's own universe, but the analysis isn't quite global enough to allow it's dynamic application in the chaos of the real world, where motivations, temptations, emotions, etc. can all tangle quite intricately to further confuse the issues involved. Still, a very, I would even say indispensible treatise on the subject.

As a text about the 'whys' and ways of incest, this is among the best. It explains why children go along with the parent, why they do not report it, and in some cases, may even want to continue the sexual relationship once it has begun. This is hard for some to understand, but you need to remember that a child will accept what they perceive as love from a parent any way they can get it. This is one of the best texts on incests that i have read.

You get a sense of this book's priorities by reading its subtitle: "A Kitchen Entertainment and Cook Book." 15th century recipe translations and 19th century recipes are scattered higgledy-piggledy. (A phrase that dates to 1598, according to the Oxford English Dictionary.) There are lots of good historical recipe books out there -- choose one of them instead.

What a wonderful work. It must have taken many arduous years to complile the type of historical material that can be found in this collection. The original illustrations add greatly to the well laid out recipies accompanying the various methods and ingredients for the time period. What a shame this volume is out of Print (Hint.) No self respecting Chef should be without this key Historial work!