As a teenager and avid Trekkie, I came of age in the 1980s absolutely loving these Signet book compilations from Trek magazine, edited by Walter Irwin and G.B. Love.
I still enjoy the cover artwork tremendously, but you can see that my personal collection of these books is pretty dilapidated in old age.
The telltale sign of many (enjoyable) readings, I suppose...
If you recall these books, they featured interviews with cast and crew, analyses of the various Star Trek episodes, and articles such as "The Klingons: Their History and Empire" (Best of Trek 1).
I remember very fondly reading Best of Trek 3 in particular, which was the first compilation after the release of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. I remember reading "Parallels in Star Trek: The Motion Picture vs. The Series" and fan reviews of the (controversial) film.
By the time of Best of Trek #15 in 1990, The Next Generation was being debated in essays such as "Same Sexism, Different Generation."
I remember many fun hours reading these books, and soaking up fan knowledge and speculation about Star Trek. I suppose these Best of Trek books provided me an early example, in my youth, of the fact that one could love science-fiction television with a passion and also write intelligently, deeply, and analytically about it.
I can see this spaceship from The Shape of things to come on some of those covers ! http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LazaPBEV-1c/THWBXBeB5mI/AAAAAAAACBA/jy2hnNbEWAk/s400/SHAPE_05.jpg
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