From Publishers Weekly
Working with various collaborators, Shatner has previously written science fiction (the TekWar series) and science fact (I'm Working on That), and ventured into memoir with Star Trek Memories. Embarking on a full-scale autobiography, he begins with his Montreal childhood doing children's theater, then covers comedies with the Canadian National Repertory Theatre, lead roles with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and live TV in New York City in 1956: I became one of the busiest actors in the city. At that point Shatner opens a Pandora's box of self-deprecating humor and fascinating anecdotes about the hilarious goofs, on-camera accidents and stage fright during the live TV era. Obsessed with work, Shatner took any job that came his way, from dog shows to reality TV. Some of his tales are quite funny, such as doing an entire feature film, Incubus (1965), in Esperanto: No one understood their lines. Covering his multiple careers of acting, writing and directing, he never pulls his punches, describing humiliations as well as triumphs. Shatner's sincerity, honesty and heightened sense of humor all come across at warp speed in this entertaining memoir. (May 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
The Autobiography seems a rather ponderous label for an impish book. On the other hand, maybe it notifies us that this is all Shatner, possessor of one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, intends to give us in the way of a primary source about his life. In any event, this is such an entertaining book, so full of baggy-pants foolery and general lightheartness, that not a word of it should be changed. The personifier of Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk, reactionary cop T. J. Hooker, and Boston Legal’s pompous Denny Crane is a terrific storyteller, who confesses to believing that truth in particulars must give way to telling a good tale. While proceeding basically chronologically from his 1930s Montreal childhood to his current home on the West Coast, Shatner makes decade-hopping feints back and forth as the spirit moves him, freely plugs merchandise obtainable through his Web sites, and pretends to use his cell phone now and then. The book comes across as a lightly edited transcript of a torrent of dictation. Shatner waxes somber very infrequently, at greatest length for the account of his alcoholic third wife’s accidental death, for which scandalmongers briefly suggested he might be responsible. The rest is an old-style entertainer’s spiel and delightful “lite” reading. --Ray Olson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“Shatner’s sincerity, honesty, and heightened sense of humor all come across at warp speed in this entertaining memoir.” —Publishers Weekly
“Shatner makes you feel like he’s sitting out on the balcony with you, sharing a cigar and waxing nostalgic.” —The Oregonian
“That rare celebrity autobiography that’s as entertaining as it is self-revealing, a genuinely fun read.” —The Dallas Morning News
“It is now Bill Shatner’s universe—we just live in it.” —New York Daily News
Product Description
The New York Times bestseller
After almost sixty years as an actor, William Shatner has become one of the most beloved entertainers in the world. It was the original Star Trek series, and later its films, that made Shatner an internationally known figure, but he neither began nor ended his career with Captain Kirk. He straddled the classic world of the theater and the new world of television. He stepped in for Christopher Plummer in Shakespeare’s Henry V and stared at “something on the wing” in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. And since then, he’s gone on to star in numerous successful shows, including T. J. Hooker, Rescue 911, and most recently, Boston Legal.
In this touching and very funny autobiography, William Shatner reveals the man behind these unforgettable moments and tells us how he’s become the worldwide star and acclaimed actor he is today.
About the Author
William Shatner has worked as a musician, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman, and notably played Captain Kirk on Star Trek from 1966 to 1969 and in seven Star Trek films. He has won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his role as attorney Denny Crane on the TV drama Boston Legal. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Elizabeth.
David Fisher is the author of more than fifteen New York Times bestsellers. He is the only writer ever to have works of fiction, nonfiction, and reference offered simultaneously by the Book of the Month Club. He lives in New York with his wife, two teenagers, one dog, and one cat.
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