The World of Star Trek (Star Trek pro book)

The World of Star Trek is a pro book by David Gerrold. It was first published in 1973. It was the first professionally published book about Star Trek to discuss the show's considerable fandom activity, including and naming fanzines. 
A revised edition was published in 1984.
==Contents==
The book contains four chapters and an epilogue.
* The First World of Star Trek – Gene Roddenberry's Dream (includes interview excerpts of Gene Roddenberry and D.C. Fontana, and gives a brief overview of the creation of Star Trek)
* The Star Trek Family – The People Who Made The Enterprise Fly (the longest section, accounting for half of the book's material, includes interview excerpts from William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and Majel Barrett, and two-time guest star William Campbell.)
* The Star Trek Phenomenon (comments on the impact of the program, its fans, and the conventions)
* Star Trek Analyzed – The Unfulfilled Potential (Gerrold offers his insights and opinions on what the program did right, and criticizes its perceived failings.)
==Comparisons by David Gerrold==
In 1973, Gerrold sent a letter to Metamorphosis #1 which hawked his book, "The World of Star Trek" (as well as other books, posters, and his massive tribble merchandising blitz, and compared this book to Whitfield's similar book, The Making of Star Trek: 
==The Revised Edition==
It was the revised edition that caused controversy in fandom. Gerrold added comments about fans that many found offensive. In particular, his commentary on slash was particularly troublesome to some. 
It sparked his Open Letter to K/S Fandom by David Gerrold. The opening lines:
A fan in 1984 wrote: 
==The Book as Introduction to Slash==
The 1973 edition included extensive explanations of science fiction fandom, Star Trek fandom, fanfiction and the fanzines. This was the first time these things had been mentioned in a professionally published book you could buy on any newsstand, and millions of readers were made aware of them. Gerrold anticipated this, and in his lengthy list of fanzine titles he was careful to add the words "No, I do not know where you can order any of these."He listed the following: Eridani Triad, Pastaklan Vesla (A Horta Press Publication), Spock's Showcase, Terran Times, The Nimoyan, Retrospect: Spotlight on Leonard Nimoy, Deck 6, Faunch, Grup, Babel, Vorpal Sword, Anti-Matter, Spock’s Scribes’ Storyteller, Impulse, Leonard Nimoy Power, LNSTFCCF (Leonard Nimoy Star Trek Fan Club of Concerned Fans), Masiform D, Nimoyan Digest, Nuts and Bolts Work Sheet, Pentathlon, Spockanalia, Star Date, Star-Fleet Communications, S. T. Phile, T-Negative, Kevas & Trillium, The Voyages, The William Shatner Letter Exchange, Gonomony [Writing in Comlink 28 in 1986, the person responsible for Gonomony in 1969-70 said "[It] never saw the light of day as all contributions were destroyed in a basement flood." How Gerrold ever found out about this zine is unknown.], Guardian of Forever, Kraith Collected, Log of the U.S.S. Enterprise, NCC 1701, LNAF (Leonard Nimoy Association of Fans), Nimoyan Federation, Overload, Quadrant, Star Base Omega, Star-Borne, Stargram, Star Trek Song Book, Tholian Web, Triskelion, and A Taste of Armageddon.
At the time the revised and expanded edition was published, in 1984, slash was an open "secret" within Star Trek and other fandoms, and it's doubtful anyone was unaware of its existence, but little or nothing had been revealed to the outside world. The Gay Liberation movement had barely begun (starting with the Stonewall riots in 1969) and homosexuality was not accepted in mainstream society the way it is today. This and other Slash controversies were the subject of intense discussion particularly in K/S fandom, as to whether it was better to remain underground and secret in that sense, citing the fear and unease that fans felt regarding exposure to the mundane world. Some doubted it would be harmful and wondered if publicity might be a good thing. 
Some fans saw David Gerrold's statements on slash in the book as an unprovoked attack on a group of people who never did anything to Gerrold personally except embrace a fictional concept he found unacceptable. That he did it in a publication directed at millions of Star Trek fans in a mainstream platform that would reach many hands, knowing the fans being attacked had no like forum in which to defend themselves in equal measure, was felt to be cowardly and bullying behavior.
Some of this publicity, however, was welcome, as Gerrold's remarks about slash were what ultimately introduced a number of new fans to the genre: A fan in 1990 wrote: 
Another fan in 1990 wrote: 
From a fan in 2001: 
Another fan in 2001 wrote: 
===Some Similar Incidents===
For more on fans' opinions on publicity, see:
* Open Letter to K/S Fandom by David Gerrold
* Open Letter to the Editors of All K/S Zines & All Other "/" Media Zines
* The Great Australian Radio Show Fiasco
==Fan Reactions and Reviews== 
From a fan who initially discovered Star Trek in 2009:
==References==
Category:Star Trek TOS Professional Works
Category:Star Trek TOS Academic Commentary