Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
3.5 stars - As others have said, I was going to read this book regardless of reviews. And I'm glad that I read it. Shatner's admiration for Nimoy -- as an actor, an artist, and a friend -- shines clearly and honestly throughout the book.
However, many (MANY) pages deal with Shatner's own accomplishments and experiences, completely separate from Nimoy's experiences. At times, these lengthy "celebrations of self" felt akin to the protestations of a younger sibling: "Well, yeah, but look at what I did! I'm important, too!"
Given the success of Nimoy's Spock, perhaps Shatner did feel like the red-headed step-child. He's enjoyed tremendous success on his own, but he spends so much time reminding the reader of that, one wonders whether he always felt over-shadowed.
Your reward for sticking with this book are the moments of transparency -- those times when you can feel that Shatner is sad and simply misses the person who was very probably his best friend.
The end of their friendship is, frankly, tragic. I didn't know that part of their story before reading the book. It isn't well explained, and there seems to be so much confusion about it on Shatner's part that I doubt we'll ever know the cause. Frankly, I feel quite sad for both of them that Nimoy died before they could reconcile.
But there's no doubt about Shatner's feelings, even now, for Nimoy. This book is a love letter to him in the great beyond: "I'm sorry. I love you. And wherever you are, live long and prosper."
However, many (MANY) pages deal with Shatner's own accomplishments and experiences, completely separate from Nimoy's experiences. At times, these lengthy "celebrations of self" felt akin to the protestations of a younger sibling: "Well, yeah, but look at what I did! I'm important, too!"
Given the success of Nimoy's Spock, perhaps Shatner did feel like the red-headed step-child. He's enjoyed tremendous success on his own, but he spends so much time reminding the reader of that, one wonders whether he always felt over-shadowed.
Your reward for sticking with this book are the moments of transparency -- those times when you can feel that Shatner is sad and simply misses the person who was very probably his best friend.
The end of their friendship is, frankly, tragic. I didn't know that part of their story before reading the book. It isn't well explained, and there seems to be so much confusion about it on Shatner's part that I doubt we'll ever know the cause. Frankly, I feel quite sad for both of them that Nimoy died before they could reconcile.
But there's no doubt about Shatner's feelings, even now, for Nimoy. This book is a love letter to him in the great beyond: "I'm sorry. I love you. And wherever you are, live long and prosper."
I liked this book, but it was not written for me. I felt at times it was tedious and not relevant to my life. I thought it was an interesting read though and gave me some insight into Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner.
An interesting and short look into the life of Leonard Nimoy. The first half of the book is a quick overview of Leonards life before Star Trek and is compared with the life of William Shatner. Then we learn a little of what it was like for the men during the filming of the series. The last bit of the book covers snippets of times the two actors were together, Leonard's career after the series and films and his struggle with the creator and studio as well as his personal struggles at home with his son and his health. A decent book but has a lot of what has been told in other biographies and is only half about Leonard and a small time spent on his friendship with William.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
I should really reread this book. I read it over quarantine, but I hardly remember anything about it other than it had me weeping like a baby. After reading it, I watched the documentary that Leonard Nimoy's son made, and that had me even more wrecked. I will say, neither the book nor the documentary did a thing to assuage the homoeroticism surrounding both Kirk/Spock and William/Leonard, and for that I am forever grateful.
3 1/2 stars. I'm still figuring out how I feel about this book. It was very interesting reading about Leonard Nimoy's history and of course by default, Bill Shatner's, but I'm still trying to decipher why he wrote this book? There is a lot of love and honesty in Shatner's writing, and some tales are incredibly heartfelt. But Shatner and Nimoy had not spoken in nearly 4 years before Nimoy's death, and so the friendship had waned. No mention is made as to whether Nimoy's family gave their permission/blessing for the stories to be printed - I suppose most of them are Shatner's stories too, or in public domain, so that doesn't matter legally, but maybe ethically? Was it a way for Shatner to put forward his reasons for not attending Nimoy's funeral? This book posed lots of questions for me, and I found it an enjoyable read.
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Death
well-researched, devastatingly honest and full of fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes of star trek you're not likely to find anywhere else. if you love leonard nimoy, spock, or william shatner's self-deprecating stories i recommend this book!!!
This was a re-read for me through audiobook since its voiced by William Shatner. I only really listen to audiobooks if they are done by the author. Having his voice narrate the words did help, and parts of it did seem really sincere on Shatner's part. The part I always wrestled with is why they did not remain friends when Leonard was dying, and Shatner does not seem to know either, but hearing him say it seems to suggest he is putting on a front. Like he knows but doesn't want to admit to it. Cause if your friendship was so great, why not talk for about 10 years and not even when Leonard was dying? Seems far fetched. His voice was very low at times which made it difficult to hear, but it was a nice read. I'm giving it 4 stars for the book and 3 for the audiobook.