Beyond Star Trek (Book Review) - Page 2

of Time, a book with a much wider scope.

Taking advantage of the lucrative market for Star Trek products, Krauss has thrown those two words into the title, though the book has little to say about Gene Roddenberry's creation. It focuses more on Independence Day (see my accompanying article "Life As We Don't Know It," parts 3 and 4), The X-Files, and other popular science fiction (but unfortunately no Mork and Mindy).

The book is rather short—less than 200 pages—but in that space the reader is treated to a dizzying array of real-world forces that bring new light to the cinematic events we've grown to love. Our best defense against ID4's death saucers? Well, maybe there is none. But their best weapon against us wouldn't be giant lasers but rather simple gravity. Due to their mere presence over our cities, we would be crushed like a tin can at an Earth Day picnic before we ever knew what happened. Thanks a lot, Isaac.

This unforgettable moment from Independence Day is just one of the scenarios that Krauss covers in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner. He really knows how to speak to science fiction fans, using terminology that they are familiar with and lots of analogies drawn from TV and movies. Many sci-fi fans already have a deep scientific knowledge, but for those who don't Krauss's book serves as a great little crash course in the world of nature. It's one fun ride.

So drop by your favorite bookstore today and pick up a copy because, as they say, the truth is out there. Only it's much stranger than fiction.

Read the related article:

Life As We Don't Know It (Part 1)
Life As We Don't Know It (Part 2)
Life As We Don't Know It (Part 3)
Life As We Don't Know It (Part 4)

And the other book and movie reviews related to the article:

Contact (Book Review)
Contact (Movie Review)
Independence Day (Movie Review)
Beyond Star Trek (Book Review) (you are here)

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4. Apr 7, 2001 6:03 AM
In response to message posted by quasar:

A series of classes on A Brief History led by a poet/philosopher sounds interest ...

-- posted by CBJ

3. Apr 6, 2001 8:37 PM
In response to message posted by CBJ:

Hmmm, maybe this is because I was younger when it came out, but I didn't see any real wide ...

-- posted by quasar

2. Apr 6, 2001 7:29 PM
In response to message posted by quasar:

A Brief History of Time is a great book, and certainly it has done a lot to popu ...

-- posted by CBJ

1. Mar 31, 2001 7:08 PM
I do find it interesting that you don't mention A Brief History of Time in the section of popular science books. That was the book that seemed to get non-science and non-science fiction folks interest ...

-- posted by quasar

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