Star Trek: Captain Kirk's Guide to Women by John Bones Rodriguez
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Book Reviews of Star Trek: Captain Kirk's Guide to Women
Book Review: Excellent fun read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Funny, exhaustively enjoyable read from page 1. A definite addition to my television library and an excellent reference for the show. I highly recommend this book as a gift.Book Review: A book that only Trekkers can appreciate
Summary: 3 Stars
The measure of a book of this type is how well it appeals to a broad audience as well as the "niche base" that's going to buy it, regardless, because of its devotion to the subject. No matter how hard author John Rodriquez tries to make an "across the board book" for the masses, "Captain Kirk's Guide to Women" is basically written for those that truly know the difference between a Klingon and a Romulan, the connection between a dilithium crystal and a warp core, or which is a better with whom to have a roll in the hay, an Orion slave girl or the Dohlman of Elas.
Trek fans know that Captain Kirk, as played by William Shatner, was the embodiment of the hero that got the girl, the girl, and the girl. This book, through its various "chapters," provides an entertaining look at the Kirk myth and offers suggestions as how a guy can successfully conquer the woman of his choice. It illustrates what to do and what NOT to do in a male-female relationship.
The text and references to episodes of the original series, along with photographs of the actresses that played Kirk's respective "conquests," are heaven to anyone that ever dreamed of holding a phaser or getting his molecules mixed up in a transporter.
However, for those uninformed in Trek lore, the book offers little to bring them into the fold.
For that, "Captain Kirk's Guide to Women" loses two stars.
Book Review: You gotta be kidding me
Summary: 2 Stars
When I first saw this advertised at Fry's I had to laugh. However, after seeing it here on Amazon getting all these glorious 5-star reviews, and being a Star Trek fanatic for the last 30+ years, I decided to buy it. Mistake. When it arrived, the first thing that struck me was how TINY it is - about the same surface area as a standard paperback novel, and only 60+ pages long. It was like a childrens' book and, in my mind, hideously overpriced. $5.95 absolute max.
The content was fun for 10 minutes or so, but the problem I see is that if you aren't totally obsessed with the minutia of Star Trek you won't understand most of the references and just think it is bad writing (the author tries to incorporate the names of the episodes in his 'prose') and if you ARE fan enough to catch all the references, and you're over the age of 12, it quickly becomes tedious and juvenile. And half the characters discussed don't even have photos! No Helen Noel? You gotta be kidding me.
To be fair, I only read the first half because I got bored and went back to something more intellectual like Uncle John's Bathroom Reader (which are way more fun!)
So - if you must own every bit of Star Trek minutia there is to own, buy this book, accepting the fact that CBS is taking advantage of you big-time, otherwise, spend 20 minutes in the library or wait for it to show up at a garage sale for a quarter. I felt really ripped off.
Book Review: A nice idea for a book
Summary: 2 Stars
There are two reasons to buy this book. (1) The cover. (2) Sorry, there is no 'two'.
Here are some bare facts which may convince you to not buy this book.
(1) From the introduction: "I wrote this book because it is a well-known fact that many Trekkies have had some difficulties locking their tractor beams onto members of the fairer sex."
(2) From page 55: "Lesson Four: Increase Her Self-Esteem".
(3) From page 81, listing the "top pickup lines": "To [NAME], the loveliest human ever to grace a starship."
(4) From the acknowledgments: "I can't believe I am actually writing this book."
(5) This book is Uhura-free.
Now, in the author's defense, "Star Trek" has been hot for more than twenty years, and the idea for this book is pretty obvious. I mean that, if anyone wanted to do a decent job of it, they've had time.
Book Review: Don't waste your money!
Summary: 2 Stars
This is the first review I've ever written at Amazon. I feel compelled to do so in the hope of saving potential purchasers of this book from wasting their money. As has already been noted, it's teeny. Amazon lists its width as 1/2 inch, but this is inaccurate - 1/3 inch is closer to the truth. Having seen it, I would expect it to cost about half as much as it does. I guess they really have to milk the Star Trek name for all it's worth when it's off the air. As far as the content goes, this book does have some amusing bits here and there, but they are few, and having read it, I know I will never have the desire to do so again.