"Star Trek was explicitly crafted by its creator, Gene Roddenberry, into a humanist manifesto; the stories Trek told were humanist parables, putting forth the core philosophies to which he was devoted: equality, reason, integrity, fairness, opportunity, community. I was soaking them up before I even really understood what they were. I didn't know it way back in 1972, but Star Trek had already made a humanist of me. It just took me a while to discover that there was a word for it.

"This book is a celebration of both the stories and the values they inculcated in me. It is a humanism primer, for those not well-grounded in that domain, and it is a showcase of humanist moments from across the Star Trek landscape. It is my hope that you, the Gentle Reader, will likewise find much to celebrate in both..." (from the Introduction)