Set Phasers to Stun

Forty-seven years after NBC killed it off, Star Trek celebrates its half-century in a state of rude health. Boldly going where several other people have been before, Marcus Berkmann tells the story of this sturdy science fiction vehicle from its first five-year mission (rudely curtailed to three), through the dark years of the 1970s, the triumphant film series and The Next Generation, to the current ''reboot'' films, with a younger cast taking on the characters of Kirk, Spock, McCoy and co.

With wit, insight and a huge pile of DVDs, he seeks to answer all the important questions. Why did Kirk''s shirt always get torn when he had a fist fight? What''s the most number of times Uhura said ''Hailing frequencies open, sir'' in a single episode? (Seven.) And what''s the worst imaginable insult in Klingon? (Your mother has a smooth forehead.)