Review by C.J. Bunce
Walter Koenig, Star Trek’s Pavel Chekov, passed away this week at age 90, and it’s nice that he made it to see the celebration of 60 years of Star Trek this year. He was a kind man who was human first, actor second–someone you could actually sit down and have a conversation with. Koenig and his fellow actors from the original Star Trek television series take front and center stage next month in the pages of a giant hardcover compendium from Ten Speed Press celebrating 60 years since TV viewers first argued over… exactly what color uniform was Captain Kirk wearing anyway? Star Trek: The Original Voyages–A Visual History, available for pre-order now here at Amazon, has something for every Trek fan. Fans who participated in all 60 years will get to see exactly how that fandom began, grew and changed over the decades. Newcomers who only are familiar with bits and pieces of Captain Kirk and his crew can connect with all the journeys they faced in TV, movies, books, comics, and even with fans via decades of licensed toys and games. Other fans will appreciate the volume of matte paintings used to create those strange new worlds on the show, and others will marvel the images of costumes and props created exclusively for the Federation and those new lives and civilizations.
In 416 pages readers will see why the book is called a “visual” history. Writers Kyle Newman and Jeff Bond provide a cross-section of episodes from those original three seasons that spanned 1966 to 1969. We at borg have reviewed dozens of accounts of the creation of Star Trek, including a six-volume, 4,000 page treatise on Roddenberry and the production. But no single book has everything for everyone. A single page bibliography tracks only some of the sources of interviews, and since most of the cast and crew are gone now, the writers pulled a lot together and had to whittle away even more to create a view of these stories that would inform, inspire, and celebrate their legacy. It comes together as a chronology of the series behind and in front of the camera.
But it doesn’t stop there. It moves on to the animated series, to the abandoned Phase II series, then covers six of the movies that featured the crew of the original series: Kirk, Spock, Bones, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov. The strangest quirk of this book is that it completely ignores Star Trek Generations, which featured the death of Kirk, a memorable villain played by Malcolm McDowell, as well as appearances by James Doohan as Mr. Scott and Walter Koenig as Chekov. Otherwise it provides a good sample of what most fans would want from a 60th anniversary celebration.
More than the past licensed volumes that celebrated previous milestones, this book is about the inspiration and impact of the series on others. The authors include interviews with celebrities and other Hollywood insiders who describe memorable story elements and famous behind the scenes legends. This book doesn’t shy away from Gene Roddenberry’s strangely conceived company Lincoln Enterprises, which he used to sell literal pieces of film taken from the cutting room floor, along with actual objects from the show, like tribbles, and even had one of the company’s creations make it back to appearing on the show itself.
Also more than past books on Star Trek–which tended to delve into every episode with more production information and behind the scenes anecdotes–this book documents the nostalgia that allowed kids of all ages to celebrate Star Trek long after that third season ended. That nostalgia took the form of ViewMaster reels, Colorforms, Gold Key Comics, Mego dolls, tie-in novels, AMT model kits, arcade games, and more.
Key contributors include a foreword by William Shatner, fan-turned Trek production jack-of-many-trades (and Oscar winner) Doug Drexler, and Star Trek: The Next Generation writer Ronald D. Moore. The book probably has the largest assemblage of fan information, like fanzine covers and photographs from early Star Trek conventions. Surveys of later projects, like Phase II, the animated series and each of the six movies from Star Trek: The Motion Picture to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, include highlights that mark the 60-year journey, but of course each of these has seen more than one volume (and often many publications) previously published that delve into the production of each project (dozens of which have been reviewed here at borg).
The book actually features two discussions. First there’s the main narrative in the text that talks about the journey from Gene Roddenberry to the final marketing of Star Trek VI. Then it has detailed commentary that accompanies many of the photographs. You could, and probably should, have two separate reads of the book, as these Star Trek stories provide different views. Most of the photographs focusing on costumes and props reproduce photographs from auction houses that have sold screen-used items from the CBS and Paramount sets over the past 30 years. Fans may find themselves nitpicking some of the references, which may not be entirely accurate in each instance. But the biggest appeal of this book compared to previous looks at Star Trek is the scope of the concept artwork, from the previously mentioned matte paintings to original art used for marketing posters. The authors pull in appropriate commentary from costume designers, visual effects creators, and others. The book is current–its most recent reference is a photograph of the filming model of the Enterprise that once donned Gene Roddenberry’s desk, thought lost for years, and only recently rediscovered, appearing at this year’s Las Vegas Star Trek convention.
This book would form a nice pairing with Star Trek: A Celebration (reviewed here), which celebrated the 55th anniversary of Star Trek. Browse borg here to find deeper dives in each subject discussed in this new book.Fans of Star Trek will all want this one to commemorate 60 years of exploring strange new worlds. Don’t miss it. Pre-order Star Trek: The Original Voyages–A Visual History, now here at Amazon. It’s in stores November 10, 2026.
The book is one of several products from Ten Speed Press and Clarkson Potter celebrating the 60th anniversary of Star Trek. Find more about the rest at these links: Star Trek: The Official Coloring Book, Star Trek: The Ultimate Trivia Deck, Star Trek Warped Phrases Card Game.
