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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this, it was an interesting glimpse into a unique relationship. It made me want to read something in Leonard's own voice. Sometimes William Shatner made this a little too much about himself, but his stories were interesting too. The audio was great, but Shatner's mumbling was hard to understand at times.
funny
sad
fast-paced
I really liked this. William Shatner is so dramatic and it was a nice counterpoint to Leonard's more restrained nature.
Who better to write a memoir of his friendship with Leonard Nimoy than William Shatner? Over the years, Trekkies have loved watching the relationship between Captain Kirk and the enigmatic Spock evolve. Here, Shatner takes us behind the scenes and off the set, giving us a glimpse of the real Leonard Nimoy.
Some memoirs are all light and airy, easy reads with an upbeat vibe. Shatner is not afraid to touch on the darker sides of his and Nimoy's lives and careers, as well as the high moments. I thought it was honest and refreshing. I enjoyed getting a more in-depth picture of what it must be like to deal with sudden, lasting fame while trying to maintain a home and family life.
I enjoyed the book and hope to read some of Shatner's other books some time.
Some memoirs are all light and airy, easy reads with an upbeat vibe. Shatner is not afraid to touch on the darker sides of his and Nimoy's lives and careers, as well as the high moments. I thought it was honest and refreshing. I enjoyed getting a more in-depth picture of what it must be like to deal with sudden, lasting fame while trying to maintain a home and family life.
I enjoyed the book and hope to read some of Shatner's other books some time.
A beautiful tribute to a wise and wonderful friend. I listened to this via audiobook, with Shatner himself reading. It was beautiful to hear his true feelings through his own words about someone who mattered to him. It was like I knew him and their bond, even their falling out in later years. It's sad, but such a bond did exist, and these two men were like family to each other, the best of friends for each other, and both men were the better for it.
So this is basically a story about Shatner, more than about Leonard, but I was kinda of expecting it so I wasn't really surprised. That being said, I still enjoyed it, but would have loved to have a more in depth biography about Nemoy. His son is writing one as well that I look forward to reading it. Don't get me wrong I kinda like Shatner, I met him once and he was very sweet to me and told me I was too pretty to be a nerd, but Spock was always my favorite. Shatner has obviously done some research into Nemoy's life other than just his what he learned during his friendship with the man. I get the sense that Nemoy was an extremely private man and not one for taking about his inner emotions. This is also brought more into light when Shatner talks with Adam, Leonards son. I did get the sense that Shatner also feels quite bad about their falling out near the end of Nemoy's life. Though who really knows what truly happened. Shatner says he has no real idea, but well he is an actor, so you never really know. I loved the pictures and their is a truly delightful one with Shatner and Nemoy doubled over in laughter - which shows that they did indeed have a friendship. Shatner is all about Shatner and he doesn't hide that, which I somewhat appreciate. But I can imagine for Nemoy, that might have been a little hard to deal with all the time. Like anyone, it must be hard for Shatner to really deal with his own failings in their friendship. At times you can sense his openess about his own shortcomings, but he is definitely still holding back. To me its a bit of an apology and love letter to the Nemoy, laced with Shatner trying to explain his side. Truly fascinating to learn about how similar their upbringings were. A must read for any Star Trek Fan. And the best part of the book is that is starts with the scene at the end of The Wrath of Khan - truly one of the truly most beautiful heartbreaking scenes that most of us geeks cannot even talk about without balling our eyes out. LLAP my friends
Favorite Passage
"I suspect Roddenberry felt I was the perfect choice for the lead roel in a show because I wasn't too intelligent for the audience and he didn't have to pay me a lot of money."
Favorite Passage
"I suspect Roddenberry felt I was the perfect choice for the lead roel in a show because I wasn't too intelligent for the audience and he didn't have to pay me a lot of money."
This book pleasantly surprised me (want to give it 3.5 stars not 3!) I am by no means a huge Star Trek fan but I thought the book would be interesting because it was narrated by one actor about another and because both Shatner and Nimoy are/were iconic actors. I learned so much about their careers, TV and film in general and about them personally.
What I truly love about it is how Shatner (maybe with a little help from co-writer Fisher) can set aside his ego (a bit) and even criticize it when it comes to understanding the few fights he had with Nimoy.
Either this is a very honest, very heartfelt book or at least Shatner is pretty good at making it feel this way.
In any way I loved and cried and enjoyed reading it very much.
Either this is a very honest, very heartfelt book or at least Shatner is pretty good at making it feel this way.
In any way I loved and cried and enjoyed reading it very much.
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
This book was a must-read for this long-time classic Trek fan. Though I am an avowed McCoy girl, I have always enjoyed the on-screen relationship between Kirk and Spock. Having grown up with Trek and heard all the stories about supposed the behind-the-scenes feuds as well as the stories of Shatner and Nimoy's estrangement at the end of Nimoy's life, I was interested to read Shatner's side of things--but I also know to take it all with a grain of salt. After all, Nimoy is no longer here to tell his side...if he were willing to do so, and Bill Shatner is...well, Bill Shatner. Key words in his vocabulary are "I" and "me" and they appear a fair amount, even in this tribute to his friend.
But--he does come across as genuine. He readily admits his failings--that his own ego often got in the way and that, as the only boy in the family, he got a great deal of attention which contributed to his self-estimation. He also relates his great difficulty in making friends. As a boy from an Orthodox Jewish family, he walked alone to school and felt an outsider among his non-Jewish neighbors. He didn't have any close friends growing up and he found it difficult to make friends when he got older. It took a long time for him to become close to Leonard Nimoy and it really wasn't until they began appearing at Trek Conventions that they became close.
I do feel, from the stories related, that Shatner felt a lot closer to Nimoy than perhaps Nimoy did to him. It seemed that he got a lot more out of the relationship than he gave. And, again, that may stem from his admitted character flaws--he just didn't know how to give that kind of support. I don't know if it is his ego or his lack of real experience at friendship that causes him to say that he has no idea why Nimoy cut off the relationship in those final years. But his bafflement and hurt is genuine, I truly believe that he doesn't know or perhaps hasn't been able to recognize what went wrong. I really feel for the man who can't understand how he lost something important to him. I do hope that, as he has chosen to believe, that Nimoy really did see the final letter that Bill Shatner wrote to him--telling him of his great respect and love for his friend of fifty years.
The stories he tells of their work together and stories about Leonard's life--from early days in Boston to his young acting career through the glory days of Star Trek to finding new passion in photography in his later years were, to quote Mr. Spock, fascinating. Some of the stories had made the rounds of Trek lore previously, but there were enough new anecdotes to keep the memoir interesting and informative. A thoroughly enjoyable memoir.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
But--he does come across as genuine. He readily admits his failings--that his own ego often got in the way and that, as the only boy in the family, he got a great deal of attention which contributed to his self-estimation. He also relates his great difficulty in making friends. As a boy from an Orthodox Jewish family, he walked alone to school and felt an outsider among his non-Jewish neighbors. He didn't have any close friends growing up and he found it difficult to make friends when he got older. It took a long time for him to become close to Leonard Nimoy and it really wasn't until they began appearing at Trek Conventions that they became close.
I do feel, from the stories related, that Shatner felt a lot closer to Nimoy than perhaps Nimoy did to him. It seemed that he got a lot more out of the relationship than he gave. And, again, that may stem from his admitted character flaws--he just didn't know how to give that kind of support. I don't know if it is his ego or his lack of real experience at friendship that causes him to say that he has no idea why Nimoy cut off the relationship in those final years. But his bafflement and hurt is genuine, I truly believe that he doesn't know or perhaps hasn't been able to recognize what went wrong. I really feel for the man who can't understand how he lost something important to him. I do hope that, as he has chosen to believe, that Nimoy really did see the final letter that Bill Shatner wrote to him--telling him of his great respect and love for his friend of fifty years.
The stories he tells of their work together and stories about Leonard's life--from early days in Boston to his young acting career through the glory days of Star Trek to finding new passion in photography in his later years were, to quote Mr. Spock, fascinating. Some of the stories had made the rounds of Trek lore previously, but there were enough new anecdotes to keep the memoir interesting and informative. A thoroughly enjoyable memoir.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.