THE WISDOM OF PICARD - Chip Carter, editor

 


Let's be honest.  If you are thinking of buying this book, it's because you are already a big Star Trek fan (or at least a Picard/Next Gen fan).  You are probably interested in buying it because you are a Trek/Picard fan, or you're thinking of it as a gift for a Trek fan. In any case, a review is not likely to sway you one way or the other.

This book is filled with quotes, spoken by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in any of his television or film appearances.  Well ... not filled with quotes exactly. More like - there is a smattering of quotes within.  Sometimes there may be two quotes on a page.  But that almost makes up for the pages of photos rather than quotes.

At best this is a coffee-table type of book.  It's something you leave out so that guests know you're a Star Trek fan and that they can thumb through while you're getting drinks or chips.

At less than best, it's a bathroom reader.  Something that you won't get too involved in and that you can put away easily.  The only problem with this as a bathroom reader is that it won't tide you over very long because there's not much to this book.

I love quotes - pearls of wisdom in a simple statement or sentence. I collect quotes (I've shared a few through my blog) and I have picked up more than a few books of quotes and honestly, I was hoping for something here that was either essay-like, taking a look at the Wisdom of Picard, or, if going with the quote idea, a heftier collection categorized by type. 

To be fair, editor Chip Carter does give us five 'chapters' with specific themes to the included quotes. We have Philosophy and Humanity; History and Science; Literature and the Arts; Exploration and Adventure; and Politics, Leadership, and Diplomacy.  The chapters have between 26 and 35 quotes each, and a small handful of photos.

Aside from the sparseness of the book, I was a bit disappointed that while Carter gives credit to the episode in which the quote was delivered (and the season and episode number of the show, he doesn't give any credit to the writers ... the people who put that wisdom into Picard's mouth!  (I know I could look it up pretty easily, but in that case I could just watch the episodes and not bother picking up this book, too.

To say I was disappointed would be putting in gently.  This feels like just another attempt to make a buck off of Star Trek fans who will often buy things just because it says "Star Trek" or "Picard" on it.  I'd rather save my money for a replica phaser.

Looking for a good book? The Wisdom of Picard, edited by Chip Carter, is a wise way to relieve some Trek fans of their money.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Wisdom of Picard: An Official Star Trek Collection

editor: Chip Carter

publisher: Adams Media

ISBN: 1507214731

hardcover, 208 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more