By no means a quick cash-in on the surge in popularity of the BBC series, Dave Thompson’s impressive new book on Doctor Who is clearly the work of both a scholar-historian and a long-time fan. It’s that mix of approaches, in fact, that makes it arguably the perfect companion (pun intended) for any devotee of the show, whether veteran or newbie, teen, tween, or adult.

Like a lot of Yanks of my generation, I was vaguely aware of the Doctor and tried watching episodes on public television as a kid. I did find it interesting, and I liked the main character, but that was about it; mostly it was just a curiosity, a cultural taste that didn’t seem to travel so well, kind of like Marmite. Things changed when the series revived in the past decade, so much so that, like a lot of us, I’ve been playing catch-up ever since. Well, Doctor Who FAQ, authoritative, clearly organized, and well-written, has helped tremendously in this respect. This doesn’t mean that Thompson has compiled a dry reference tome, and in fact his informed opinions throughout make even the purely informational aspects a pleasure to read. I can’t even hold it against him that he describes The Lodger, a beloved episode of mine partly because it was the basis for one of those photonovels I wrote, as a “nadir” of the Eleventh Doctor’s run, a stint he is none too fond of to begin with.

And if all of this sounds like a foreign language to you because you’re not a fan (yet), here’s the book trailer to provide a bit of background:

All right, now for the business at hand:  thanks to the generosity of Applause Books, we have three copies of Doctor Who FAQ to give away. Following are the rules…

1. Double-check that you live in the U.S. or Canada.

2. Leave a thoughtful comment here (through 11:59 pm ET March 15) or on any CTP post tagged with “Doctor Who.” You can find a list of them here: http://blogs.slj.com/connect-the-pop/tag/doctor-who/

3. If you don’t see your comment after several hours, just contact me via email or Twitter (see below).

4. I’ll email the three winners, who’ll then be asked to provide (via me) their mailing addresses to the publisher. If I don’t hear back from you within 48 hours of notification, I’ll simply draw another name.