There have been books, documentaries, fan sites, etc., that have attempted to chronicle the history of Star Trek. But none of them will ever be more comprehensive, more complete than the upcoming tome The 50 Year Mission: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek. Here are the very first details!

The book, which will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press in 2016, reveals the happening of all five decades of Trek's existence, as told by the cast, the crew, the movie producers, the network executives — people who were really there, and who watched the franchise grow, suffer and endure. It's being written by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, the latter of whom you may recognize as the writer/producer of Free Enterprise, as well as many Star Trek comic books — there's really no doubt this is going to be the ultimate chronicle of the shows, movies and fandom of one of scifi's most important franchises. Here's the official press release!

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS/ST. MARTIN'S PRESS LAUNCHES

"THE 50 YEAR MISSION: THE COMPLETE UNCENSORED, UNAUTHORIZED ORAL HISTORY OF STAR TREK" TO HELP CELEBRATE ICONIC FRANCHISE'S 50th ANNIVERSARY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(July 22nd, 2014) There have been many books written about Star Trek, but never a volume with the unprecedented access and insight of The 50 Year Mission: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by authors Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman. The hardcover edition will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press and edited by Brendan Deneen, editor of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead novels and the head of Macmillan's film and TV division. The world rights deal was brokered by Laurie Fox of the Linda Chester Agency.

Unlike other books which have been written by fans for fans, The 50 Year Mission is an incisive, no-holds-barred look at five decades of Star Trek, told EXCLUSIVELY by the people who were there, in their own words, sharing stories they've never told before. The authors have covered the franchise for over three decades and have assembled the ultimate guide to a television classic celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2016, and which serves as the final word on the first five decades of this unique pop culture phenomena.

The 50 Year Mission unveils the oftentimes shocking true story of the history of Star Trek and chronicles the trials, tribulations – and tribbles – that have remained deeply buried secrets… until now. The 50 Year Mission will include the voices of over 250 television and film executives, programmers, creators and stars (including every Star Trek captain) who were all a part of Star Trek's ongoing 50 year voyage; a mission that has spanned from the original classic series to the animated show, the many attempts at a Star Trek relaunch in the 1970s, the feature films, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, and J.J. Abrams' reimagined film series.

While there have been numerous books written about Star Trek, most have either been studio-licensed publications that glossed over the franchise's real history, or books that have relied on the reporting of others. The 50 Year Mission goes inside the making of the franchise, in the words of the people who were actually there, who decades later are finally ready to tell the real story behind the making of an indelible television institution.

"We could not be more excited to be publishing this essential volume," says Deneen. "The 50 Year Mission is likely to be the final word on the first five decades of this incredible franchise with stories about the making of the series that will shock, surprise and thrill you."

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MARK A. ALTMAN has been hailed as "the world's foremost Trekspert" by The Los Angeles Times. In addition to having covered Star Trek for over a decade as a journalist for such magazines as Cinefantastique, Sci-Fi Universe and Geek, for which he is founding publisher and editorial consultant, Altman also wrote numerous issues of the Star Trek comic book for DC and Malibu Comics.

But Altman is probably best known to rabid Star Trek fans as the writer and producer of the beloved love letter to Star Trek and award-winning cult classic, Free Enterprise, starring William Shatner and Eric McCormack (Will & Grace), a film about two dysfunctional Star Trek fans who meet their idol, William Shatner, and find out he's more screwed up than they are. The film won the WGA Award for Best New Writer at the AFI Film Festival and was released theatrically in 1999. A sequel is in the works.

Since leaving entertainment journalism, Altman has been a writer/producer on such hit TV series as ABC's Castle and USA Network's Necessary Roughness as well as the Executive Producer of HBO's Femme Fatales, which Entertainment Weekly called "a badass-chick anthology series" and the Huffington Post hailed as "Pulpy Fun."

In addition, Altman produced the $30 million film adaptation of the bestselling videogame, DOA: Dead Or Alive, as well as well as House of the Dead, based on the videogame series from Sega.

Altman has spoken at numerous industry events and conventions, including the NYU Tisch School of the Arts, ShowBiz Expo as well as the Variety/Final Draft Screenwriters Panel at the Cannes Film Festival. He was a juror at the prestigious 2002 Sitges Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain and has been a frequent guest and panelist at Comic-Con held annually in San Diego, CA, and a two-time juror for the Comic-Con Film Festival.

EDWARD GROSS is currently the Executive Editor of Movie Magic and Life Story magazines, Contributing Editor to Geek and regular contributor to Sci Fi Now. In a career devoted to covering film, television and comics as an entertainment journalist, he has been on the editorial staff of such publications as Cinescape, Starlog, Film Fantasy, Femme Fatales, CFQ, Fangoria, Comics Scene, SFX, RetroVision, Not of This Earth and Vampires & Slayers. Additionally, he's contributed to a number of magazines, among them Nightlife, Slaughterhouse, Total Movie, Premiere, Heroes, Monsterland, Sci-Fi Universe, TV Zone and official publications based on Smallville, Star Trek, Superman, James Bond and Alias.

Gross has authored many non-fiction books, including Rocky: The Complete Guide (2006, DK Books), Spider-Man Confidential (2002, Hyperion Press), Planet of the Apes Revisited (2001, St. Martin's Press), The Unauthorized Star Wars Compendium (1999, Little, Brown and Company) and X-Files Confidential (1996, Little, Brown and Company).