# Star Trek: Star Charts *The Complete Atlas of Star Trek. Written and illustrated by Geoffrey Mandel. Pocket Books, 2002.* > I did not read the book. This note uses publisher and retailer descriptions, a Stanford magazine profile, Open Library and the video notes. It is a real published book, so there is nothing to flag on that score. I could not verify the specific distances the videos attribute to it. ## 1. Book facts | | | |---|---| | Title | *Star Trek: Star Charts: The Complete Atlas of Star Trek* | | Author | Geoffrey Mandel (written and illustrated) | | Publisher | Pocket Books (New York) | | Published | 2002 (Open Library; Stanford magazine) | | ISBN | 9780743437707 (ISBN-10 0743437705) | | Pages | 95 pages plus 4 folded leaves (Open Library); Stanford magazine says "96-page" | | Format | Paperback with foldout charts | | Contributors | Doug Drexler and others; technical advisors including Andre Bormanis (from a library catalog entry shown in a search excerpt; I did not open the full record) | **Where it came up.** Both videos are from The Overview Effect and give no timestamps for it. - [The Location of Deep Space Nine and Sci-fi Stars](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tso5pSzBRDo): at 5:56 the video says Star Trek has no official map and that the 2002 book is "the closest thing to canon", putting Deep Space Nine about 62 light-years from Sol. [[Video Summaries/The Overview Effect/The Location of Deep Space Nine and Sci-fi Stars]] - [The 3D Locations of Firefly Serenity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpDs3STggzk): says Mandel also mapped the Firefly 'Verse in canon. [[Video Summaries/The Overview Effect/The 3D Locations of Firefly Serenity]] ## 2. Book resources - **Free copy:** none. In copyright; I do not link unofficial scans. - [Star Trek Book Club listing](https://www.startrekbookclub.com/books/star-charts-the-complete-atlas-of-star-trek/) with the publisher description - [Open Library record](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780743437707.json); [Google Books page](https://books.google.com/books/about/Star_Trek_Star_Charts.html?id=lsOp61OOvycC) - [AbeBooks listing](https://www.abebooks.com/9780743437707/Star-Trek-Charts-Complete-Atlas-0743437705/plp) (used copies) - [Mandel's portfolio page, "Star Trek Star Charts"](https://geoffreymandel.com/books-maps) - **Audiobook:** none (a map book). - **Cover:** [Open Library](https://covers.openlibrary.org/b/isbn/9780743437707-L.jpg) ## 3. Author biography Geoffrey Mandel is a Hollywood graphic artist. The Stanford magazine profile says he drew *Star Trek* starship blueprints as a teenager and sold them by mail, earned an MA in English at Stanford (1981) and an MFA in film at NYU, and became a graphic artist on more than a dozen TV shows and films. AbeBooks quotes the publisher's bio: four years on *Star Trek*, after *JAG* and *The X-Files*, with work on *Enterprise* and the film *Nemesis*. He also designed graphics for *Serenity* and created the "Complete and Official Map of the 'Verse" ([Slashfilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/501488/cool-stuff-fireflyserenity-maps/)). His portfolio site is [geoffreymandel.com](https://geoffreymandel.com/books-maps). ## 4. Author interviews and talks - [Stanford magazine, "An Enterprising Guide to the Galaxy"](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/an-enterprising-guide-to-the-galaxy), a profile with quotes from Mandel and Doug Drexler. - A Serenitystuff.com interview on his *Serenity* work is cited in search results; the page returned a server error, so I did not read it. ## 5. Summary **Thesis.** The book is a reference atlas, not a story. The publisher says it shows "for the first time" the star maps that chart the routes of Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko and Janeway, and covers the space routes and planets in each series and film, including the Klingon homeworld and Voyager's path. **Chapter outline.** I found no chapter list. Stanford magazine says the book "maps the Milky Way quadrant by quadrant", with foldout charts and detailed civilizations. **How it was made (Stanford).** Mandel built a large spreadsheet of fictional planets and the dates characters visited them, then spent nine months researching on set and watching reruns. Some fans call the book "Star Trek nonfiction" because it does not invent new plots; Mandel prefers "reference". ## 6. Fact-check Overall verdict: **mixed**. The book is real and is a fan-valued reference. I could not confirm the video's specific distance, and "canon" is a loose label. | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |---|---|---| | *Star Trek: Star Charts* is a 2002 book by Mandel | Supported | [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780743437707.json), [Stanford](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/an-enterprising-guide-to-the-galaxy), [AbeBooks](https://www.abebooks.com/9780743437707/Star-Trek-Charts-Complete-Atlas-0743437705/plp) | | It puts DS9 about 62 light-years from Sol (video) | Unverified | The sources I opened do not give distances | | It is "the closest thing to canon" for Star Trek geography | Opinion | Stanford reports that some call it "Star Trek nonfiction" and Mandel calls it "reference"; I found no official canon status | | Mandel mapped the Firefly 'Verse in canon (video) | Supported as the map's existence | The Slashfilm item describes his "Complete and Official Map of the 'Verse"; "canon" depends on the franchise's own rules | | Mandel "also drew the Star Trek maps" | Supported | Stanford, AbeBooks | | Page count | Discrepancy | 95 plus 4 folded leaves (Open Library) versus 96 (Stanford) | ## 7. Citations and references - [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/isbn/9780743437707.json); [Google Books](https://books.google.com/books/about/Star_Trek_Star_Charts.html?id=lsOp61OOvycC); [AbeBooks](https://www.abebooks.com/9780743437707/Star-Trek-Charts-Complete-Atlas-0743437705/plp); [Star Trek Book Club](https://www.startrekbookclub.com/books/star-charts-the-complete-atlas-of-star-trek/) - [Stanford magazine profile](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/an-enterprising-guide-to-the-galaxy) - [Slashfilm: Firefly/Serenity maps](https://www.slashfilm.com/501488/cool-stuff-fireflyserenity-maps/) - [geoffreymandel.com](https://geoffreymandel.com/books-maps)