I was sad to hear of the passing of Lora Johnson who, as Shane Johnson, wrote one of my favorite Star Trek-related books, Mr. Scott’s Guide to the Enterprise.
This came out shortly after Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (I think) and I cannot tell you how utterly absorbed 12-year-old me was in its detail, verisimilitude and in-universe prose.
We talk about “worldbuilding” all the time now, but this was a novel concept in 1986 and this book took it to a whole new level. It truly made the Enterprise feel like a real place, and I would watch the films over and over again to imagine what was around every corner and behind every panel.
Because everything is on the Internet now, here’s an online copy.
Rest in peace.
When I got the StarFleet Technical Manual way back in 1975 at 14, I felt the same way. It really made you feel like they had time-traveled it back from the 23rd Century. And like all good technical manuals, it was also kinda boring!