Book Review: The Fifty-Year Mission: The First 25 Years

The publishers sent me an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I've read pretty much everything that's ever been published about the making of Star Trek and I've been to many conventions and heard all the stories a hundred times so I was skeptical that this book would reveal anything new. I'm so glad I read it!

I expected a straightforward, narrative history of the franchise because I missed the words "Oral History" in the subtitle. After some brief introductions by the authors and Seth MacFarlane, this book is laid out in brief statements by those involved in the history of Star Trek. Innumerable interviews with cast, crew and critics come together to form a unique and wonderful history of the franchise.

At first, the format threw me off but I quickly became engaged in the story. Each segment is thoughtfully chosen to add a new piece to the puzzle. After a few pages I found it nearly impossible to put down and I spent the entire day with the book until I had finished it.  It left me wanting more and gave me a keen desire to pop in some Trek movies on Blu-ray!

It's true that I didn't learn much of anything new about the original series -- but there were some tidbits! Interviews with Gene L. Coon's secretary were especially revealing.  For me, where the history became really interesting was in the 1970s. This book does a great job of uncovering the history of the early Star Trek conventions and fanzines. It also provides a cohesive and logical account of the confusing period leading to The Motion Picture.

The latter half of the 1970s and the road through Phase II to TMP have always been sort of muddled but Altman and Gross do a wonderful job of clearing up the timeline and making clear the motivations of Paramount in bring Star Trek back.

From there, the journey through the remaining TOS films is fairly quick but you get a very solid picture of the events and the major players involved.  We read quite a bit from Walter Koenig and a bit from James Doohan but very little from George Takei and Nichelle Nichols. Perhaps this is because Nichols and Takei have already told their own stories fairly comprehensively in their own memoirs.

The book doesn't really tell the whole story of the first 25 years of Trek. The Next Generation is barely mentioned in passing. Instead, the authors have devoted this first volume to the original series and its films. I expect the second volume will tackle TNG from the beginning.

I recommend this book highly and cannot wait to read the second volume!  I expect this will become the definitive account of Trek's history. It should be required reading for those who are interested in in the production history of the franchise.

This first volume is available for sale on Tuesday and the second will be released in the Fall.

Book Review: Leonard

The good folks at St. Martin's Press sent me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

William Shatner has written a whole series of memoirs, most of them with a focus on his Star Trek experiences.  I have to be honest and say that I didn't really enjoy most of them.  I often felt overwhelmed by the voice of the Shatner Persona and I frequently felt an attempt by Shatner to distance himself from Star Trek and the fans that have given him the lifestyle he has.  This book is different.

Here, I sense a maturity and honesty that was lacking in most of Shatner's other memoirs.  There was some of this in Up Till Now but in Leonard, I have the sense that William Shatner is becoming more comfortable with himself and his role in Star Trek fandom and I'm tempted to say that some of this was a result of the example set by Leonard Nimoy.  In the other books, I sensed an almost desperate need for the writer to be entertaining but here, he is actually just sharing from his heart.

The book begins with Shatner setting up the parallels between his own life and Leonard Nimoy's.  They were of an age, both from Jewish families that escaped Europe and both became fascinated with acting in childhood.  He goes on to discuss how they met and worked on Star Trek and how their friendship grew, not while the show was on the air, but in the 70s when they began to attend conventions together.  It seems logical to me that they would grow closer through this experience. No one but those few people who were involved in the show could possibly comprehend the Star Trek phenomenon and even those people sometimes took decades to really understand and come to terms with it.

This book is a love letter to Leonard Nimoy.  Shatner outlines Nimoy's career and describes the pleasure that Nimoy found in poetry and photography.  He discusses Nimoy's family life, struggles with alcoholism and the results of smoking and he talks about what he learned from Nimoy.  Shatner shares memories and quotations from other actors who worked with Nimoy (mostly Steve Guttenberg and John DeLancie) and also from Leonard's son, Adam Nimoy. Those who haven't read either of Leonard Nimoy's memoirs will discover new things about the man in this book.

It has been nearly a year since Leonard Nimoy left us and during that time I have been unable to watch any Star Trek with Nimoy in it.  His death continues to have a huge impact on me but I think I've now had enough time that I can go back and enjoy the work he left in the world.

William Shatner's Leonard is a portrait of the artist who had millions of friends across the globe.  It is the story of two men who lived through an unprecedented cultural phenomenon and who found friendship in the process.  Like most people who encountered him, William Shatner is a better person for having had Leonard Nimoy in his life and this book is well worth reading.  Trekkies will note a few small errors in Shatner's memory but they don't detract from the overall experience.  I felt a sense of closure about the loss of Leonard Nimoy when I came to the end of this book and I think other Trekkies will appreciate the truths Shatner reveals about himself in this memoir.

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Review: I Am Not Spock

"The question is, without Spock, who am I?  Do I, or would I, exist without him?  And without me, who is he?"

In November of 1975 Celestial Arts published Leonard Nimoy's first autobiography; a slim volume, provocatively titled I Am Not Spock.  

The fan reaction was one of anger and betrayal.  Many who did not read beyond the title felt that Nimoy was turning his back on the role that made his career and the fans who had supported him.  In fact, just the opposite is true. Though the book does deal with the difficulties of an actor struggling with tyepcasting, I think Nimoy is actually quite positive about the role and what it did for his career.

In true 1970s pop psychology form, Nimoy tries to break himself apart from the character he played in order to examine himself.  In fact, in parts of the book he goes so far as to literally break himself into a Nimoy persona and a Spock persona and then has conversations with himself.  Though somewhat schizophrenic, these sections of the book do manage to convey Nimoy's intelligence and the respect he feels for Spock.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that it is written from a place of ego that is a departure from the more reserved persona Leonard Nimoy has presented to the world in the past twenty or so years.  My feelings about this just go to illustrate how inextricably linked Nimoy and Spock are.  It's difficult to think of an emotional and somewhat prideful Nimoy when he is so good at playing the exact opposite in Spock.  This may be the very reason that Nimoy chose to use this voice in his book.  It was important to him that he send the message to fans that he is an actor with his own personality.

The book more or less begins and ends with Spock but Nimoy also discusses his love of photography and its influence on his life from childhood onwards. There is also some discussion of Nimoy's post-Star Trek theatrical work, which I found interesting.  But of course, the most interesting parts of the book (to me) are the Star Trek bits.  Nimoy shares some of the infamous memos between him and members of the Trek production staff and studio and shares his in depth thoughts on the creation of the Spock role.

As I said above, I think the overall theme of the book is that Nimoy knows he will be forever connected with, and part of, Spock.  As much as it is important to him for people to realize that he and Spock are separate entities I get the impression that he is satisfied to be linked with Spock.

"It is easy to forget that Spock was created by humans.  And if he does in fact represent elevated concepts of life, its value and its meaning, then those elevated concepts must be credited to the human race.  Personally I find this an enormously exciting challenge--to try to live up to the broader vision and deeper perception that I helped build into this fictional character."

I'm reading this book with the foreknowledge of Nimoy's 1995 autobiography I Am Spock, which probably colours my impressions.  At the time this was published, Star Trek had been cancelled for five years and I can understand how fans might have reacted.

Out of print for many years, I Am Not Spock is difficult to find now.  A few copies can usually be found on eBay ranging in price from $60-$100.  There is also a mass market edition that can usually be found for about half the price. A marked increase from the original $4.95 cover price!

Review: Vulcan's Forge

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Review: Sarek by A.C. Crispin

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Review: Spock's World by Diane Duane

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Review: Star Trek Magazine The Vulcan Chronicles

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