You’d be hard-pressed to encapsulate a lifetime of wise words from Jean-Luc Picard in a 10-volume series of Encyclopedia Britannica, let alone in a pint-size, mini coffee table book – but that is pretty much what Chip Carter has done in compiling The Wisdom of Picard, a 208-page tradebook of the two-time Enterprise captain’s most sage quotes.

The presentation is as sharp as the content, with one easily digestible quote on almost every page of the compact, 4″ x 4″ full-color, hard-cover book, printed on a thick, high-quality paper stock.

The book’s layout is interspersed with various photos of Picard in action and is broken down into five specific chapters, each including their own short introduction:

• The Final Frontier: Philosophy and Humanity
• Where No One Has Gone Before: History and Science
• New Life and New Civilizations: Literature and the Arts
• Strange New Worlds: Exploration and Adventure
• To Boldly Go: Politics, Leadership, and Diplomacy

As much as the book is exactly what you think it is — a ton of inspirational quotes from the many grandiose speeches and quiet, personal moments of the great captain’s life on screen throughout seven seasons and four films of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and one season of Star Trek: Picard — it’s also full of surprises.

Below is a smattering of what you can expect when you thumb through the pages of The Wisdom of Picard, including the book’s first quote on page 10, the last quote on page 207, and a bunch of random ones in between (that we literally chose arbitrarily to get a feel for the broad scope of observations that are included in this publication).

There is no greater challenge than the study of philosophy.

— “Samaritan Snare”

 

You may learn that being first, at any cost, is not always the point

— “Tin Man”

Data’s capacity for expressing and processing emotion was limited. I suppose we had that in common.

— “Broken Pieces”

We were once as you are now. To study you is to understand ourselves.

— “Who Watches the Watchers”

I like climbing. There’s something about actually having your fate in your own hands.

— “Bloodlines”

Lieutenant, sometimes the moral obligations of command are less than clear. I have to weigh the good of the many against the needs of the individual, and try to balance them as realistically as possible. God knows, I don’t always succeed.

— “The Enemy”

Imprisonment is an injury, regardless of how you justify it.

— “Allegiance”

If there is on ideal that the Federation holds most dear, it is that all men, all races can be united.

— “Star Trek: Nemesis”

Chip Carter has previously authored two other Star Trek books, including the spectacularly good trivia book, Obsessed with Star Trek, and The Book of Lists, which was fun, but a little hit-and-miss..

Interestingly, all the quotes are presented here by the author with almost no context — beyond the targeted chapters they have landed in — and it doesn’t seem to matter. The advice and observations offered from Starfleet’s most revered hero, Captain Jean-Luc Picard, always stand the test of time, as does this great compilation of his overall insights.

Jim Moorhouse is the creator of TrekRanks.com and the TrekRanks Podcast.
He can be found living and breathing Trek every day on Twitter at @EnterpriseExtra.