Best Non-Fiction books about Dr. Who?

Residents Fan · 14/04/10 - 19:02

What do you think are the best non-fiction books about
Doctor Who? I thought the "About Time" books by
Tat Wood and Lawrence Miles were excellent at
describing the show's history and its role in
British culture. "The Handbook" by Howe, Stammers
and Walker was a excellent history of Doctor Who's
production. Even though it's old and factually
inaccurate in places, I also enjoyed Peter Haining's
"Doctor Who: A Celebration".

tingramretro · 14/04/10 - 19:08

I still have a soft spot for 'Ace: the End of an Era', but I think I'd have to go for 'Doctor Who: the Hinchcliffe Years'.

[Deleted User] · 14/04/10 - 19:11

The Sixties, The Seventies , The Eighties and Timeframe also by Howe, Stammers and Walker are four of the best and for me The Discontinuity Guide by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping is the best episode guide to the "classic" series.

tingramretro · 14/04/10 - 19:25

11's Bow Tie wrote: »

The Sixties, The Seventies , The Eighties and Timeframe also by Howe, Stammers and Walker are four of the best and for me The Discontinuity Guide by Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping is the best episode guide to the "classic" series.

I'd forgotten about Timeframe! That's a good one.

omipalone · 14/04/10 - 22:13

Just ordered The Writers Tale - The Final Chapter from Amazon for £8.50 (free P&P) as a mate said it was a superb insight into the RTD era.

Amazon Linkage

Residents Fan · 15/04/10 - 21:39

I have the first edition of Lance Parkin's "A History
of the Universe" somewhere, which was an attempt to
cover all the show's imaginary history in one book.
Strictly for the hardcore fan, but very interesting.
He's published a second edition, which I haven't seen.

daveyboy7472 · 15/04/10 - 21:44

I liked all The Sixties/Seventies/Eighties books and all the Handbooks though the Hartnell one was a bit of a torture read at times. Would like to think they'd do one on the recent Doctors in the future.

Muttley76 · 15/04/10 - 21:48

The Writers Tale. Easily. Superb book which provides a brilliant insight in to the making of the show, especially the writing process.

[Deleted User] · 15/04/10 - 21:57

The Writer's Tale.

Talma · 15/04/10 - 22:09

I've always enjoyed The Gallifrey Chronicles by John Peel (if only for the photos).

omipalone · 15/04/10 - 22:11

Muttley76 wrote: »

The Writers Tale. Easily. Superb book which provides a brilliant insight in to the making of the show, especially the writing process.

Katy Butterfly wrote: »

The Writer's Tale.

Can't wait to get my mitts on it

*hurry up Amazon*:D

chuffnobbler · 16/04/10 - 09:57

Some of Andrew Cartmel's Script Doctor book is fascinating. his diary entries from the time make really interesting, funny and revealing reading. However, the diary entries stop after a while, and the book is a bit more anecdotal after that.

Abomination · 16/04/10 - 10:24

Have only got The Writers Tale: The Final Chapter. It is a good read.

[Deleted User] · 16/04/10 - 12:59

Inside the TARDIS for Classic Who. The Writer's Tale for New Who.

Residents Fan · 16/04/10 - 23:00

There was talk of Andrew Pixley turning his
DWM columns on each story (which ran, IIRC, all the way from
"An Unearthly Child" to "the Parting of the Ways") into
a book, which I for one would certainly enjoy
reading.

JohnFlawbod · 16/04/10 - 23:19

There's a book called "The Science of Doctor Who" which looks at the ideas of the show and how close to reality they might be - it's fascinating stuff

tingramretro · 17/04/10 - 10:00

Not specifically about Doctor Who (though Doctor Who does dominate a huge chunk of it) but I found Nicholas Courtney's (first) autobiography, 'Five Rounds Rapid', fascinating.

andy1231 · 17/04/10 - 11:18

I still have a copy of Piccalo books "The Making of Doctor Who " with Jon Pertwee on the cover. I believe this was the very first "making of" book about Doctor Who. It's not very accurate but has a number of decent pictures and reveals that that the Doctor's real name is actually a mathematical equation !

[Deleted User] · 17/04/10 - 15:42

I'm going to add to the voices who say the Writer's Tale...
Have only read the first part (a number of times) yet....looking forward to reading the rest. And I'm definitely going to look into the other books recomended on here. Thanks guys.

[Deleted User] · 17/04/10 - 22:23

Doctor Who: A Celebration. I waited months for my birthday to come so I could have it. I wasn't disappointed!

THEHANDOFOMEGA · 17/04/10 - 22:59

tingramretro wrote: »

I still have a soft spot for 'Ace: the End of an Era', but I think I'd have to go for 'Doctor Who: the Hinchcliffe Years'.

I have just picked up a copy of Ace - The end of an Era.

Its amazing to think how much has changed

For me it would have to be the combined Handbook series

http://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Who-Handbook-Second-Paperback/dp/0426205162

I managed to get hold of a limited edition of all 7. Awesome

Free Radical · 28/06/15 - 13:17

I was reading Who Is The Doctor by Graeme Burk and Robert Smith at the library yesterday. Both the writers are Canadian fans of DW and after a short introduction about the history of the show, the book is basically a review of the first six series of the revival. It's really well written and honest about any flaws in each episode as well as mentioning the references to the classic series.

I learned a few details that I never knew. Like the fact that in "Rose" when the Doctor speed-reads a book, it's The Lovely Bones. I never notice little things like that. I was pleasantly surprised.

Who Is The Doctor is well worth a read.

Dalekbuster523 · 28/06/15 - 13:22

The Shooting Scripts is by far the best one currently. I loved being able to see scripts from the first series of New Who; I just wish they'd released follow ups for series 2-8. I'd have liked to have been able to compare a Moffat Era script to a RTD Era one.

adams66 · 28/06/15 - 14:11

andy1231 wrote: »

I still have a copy of Piccalo books "The Making of Doctor Who " with Jon Pertwee on the cover. I believe this was the very first "making of" book about Doctor Who. It's not very accurate but has a number of decent pictures and reveals that that the Doctor's real name is actually a mathematical equation !

I have the Target 1976 reissue / update of The Making Of Doctor Who. A wonderful book.
The chapter on the making of Robot through scripts and story breakdowns etc was always fascinating, the first insight i ever read about how a TV show was made. Terrance Dicks' synopses of all the stories was also an invaluable reference point in those days long before DWM, videos etc etc .

JAS84 · 28/06/15 - 16:38

Talma wrote: »

I've always enjoyed The Gallifrey Chronicles by John Peel (if only for the photos).

The Vault is good for the same reason. Lots of rare pics.

Daniel Dare · 28/06/15 - 16:45

JAS84 wrote: »

The Vault is good for the same reason. Lots of rare pics.

Oh most definitely the best non-fiction book to be released in recent years. If I was to have written a n/f book then this would've been it.

Hey there!

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Best Non-Fiction books about Dr. Who?

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