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Get a Life!

Get a Life!

List Price: $24.00
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A funny read about Star Trek Fandom
Review: First of all let it be said that I'm not a "trekkie-er". I picked this book up because I'd heard somewhere that it was good. Somewhat to my suprise, I found it a funny and interesting read. It explains some of the apparent "weirdness" of Star Trek conventions. I could never comprehend how the show had *so many* fans, but now I think I have some idea of why it is so popular.

Shatner was a self-admitted 'clueless' person at the centre of Trekdom when he started this book, and not quite so clueless at the end. It's a light-weight read in a lot of ways, and easy and quick to get through. If you want to get some idea of what motivates people to go to conventions that are larger than many towns (I've never been to one - but they look like worth going to in the USA, if only to see the dress-up), then pick this up.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: humorous, insightful--a wonderful book
Review: Circumstances conspire to induce William Shatner to sign up to appear at a goodly number of Trek conventions, and the result is a major paradigm shift for Mr. Shatner and this wonderful book for us. Shatner, like Henry V, goes incognito (in a way only possible at a con!) and finds out what it's really all about. Great interviews with fans and cast members, and hilarious anecdotes. Whether you're a fan or you're still scratching your head and wondering what all these people are doing, get this book. You'll have a good time and learn something all at the same time--a heck of a deal, I think.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Surprisingly good, funny, even moving!
Review: This book was surprisingly good, funny, well-written, and even moving (I refer in particular to Shatner's emotional encounter with a woman suffering from multiple personalities -- including Spock and Kirk -- due to horrible abuse by her father). Among other things, I never realized that William Shatner had such an excellent sense of self-deprecating humor, but he certainly does and he puts it to good use in his explorations of the American subculture of Star Trek conventions. Besides humor, Shatner also displays a significant amount of psychological perceptivity and sensititivity (I know, it's hard to believe based on the swaggering Capt. Kirk character as well as on the numerous less-than-flattering accounts by former colleagues of Shatner's, many of which depict him as an arrogant, strutting jerk). Finally, Shatner provides keen insights into fame, fans, and the connection between fantasy and reality. I definitely recommend this book, and not just for Star Trek fans.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally, Bill Shatner "get's it"!
Review: It took the death of James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations for William Shatner to finally become -- oh no! -- a TREKKIE! In this candid and hilariously self-depreciating book, Shatner admits that, for all those years as a cast member, he had been totally clueless about what Trek fandom was all about. To find out, he dons a really tacky rubber alien mask in order to mingle anonymously with the crowd. (The book has photos of him wearing it -- I wonder how many fans will see them and think, "Oh no! I was standing right next to Bill and never even got his autograph!") When the undercover experiment is over, he has a new respect for what happens at a Trek convention. And when he asks the fans what to call the book, they suggest, "Get a Life!" So he did.

One of the funniest parts of the book is in the first chapter, where he describes going to a typical speaking engagement, from panic on the plane (this ex-starship captain hates flying!) to being met at the airport by an enthusiastic fan who invaribly can't find the car, then being driven at top speed to the convention, where he is smuggled in the back door past the smelly garbage dumpsters, through the hotel kitchen, then along the "secret" passageways used by the cleaning staff, to emerge backstage -- all choregraphed by security teams using codes like "The Eagle has landed" to try to keep his exact arrival time a secret from the crowd. Whew! No wonder he had to put on a mask to enter the real Trek universe! I, for one, am glad he did, because this is a very entertaining book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Well Written! Very Good Book!
Review: I read this book and find it to be a very good book. I loved the pokes at Nimoy and found the story about the elephant to be equaly funny!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: I could not put this book down. I read it in three days! It is like having a friend describe to you certain periods in their life, some stories are funny, and some......not so funny. I really enjoyed the photos, and the captions that went along.....with the photos. I have to say, if you want to see what this man is like "in" the convention, then this book is for you. If you are a Shatner fan, you might find yourself unable to put the......book down! Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: To the editors at Pocket Books
Review: A fine book on a much written-on subject! But I hope that Mr Shatner didn't see the ugly job done by his publisher: I stopped counting after six (6!!) typo or orthographical errors and I hadn't reached half of the book then! Think about it: at the price of books today, and in this case a hardcover, we should be spared those silly mistakes that were so easy to spot. Maybe the combination of Star Trek, trekkers and hardcover is too much to bare for them. After all, the franchise is a good money provider, no? Congratulations to William Shatner for his book; Boo to Pocket Books...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Laugh out loud funny
Review: This is one of the most entertaining things I have listend to. Has lots of sound effects and is produced nicely. I enjoyed Shatner's storytelling technique. He is a funny funny guy. Heartwarming and touching. He's a regular guy and is not embarased to tell embarasing stories about himself. I recommand this audio book to all who enjoy good humor (reminded me a little of dave barry) and star trek. You learn some things also.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Beam me into a convention Scotty......
Review: Give William Shatner credit, despite millions of words written about him and Star Trek he has come up with a fresh, interesting, humorous and sometimes insightful look at the Star Trek convention scene and his part in it. Recommended reading for any true Trek fan.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The only Trek non-fiction you need to read
Review: William Shatner's humor and self-depredation shine through his latest non-fic. effort (shared with Chris Kreski). Worth the price of the book for the instructions on how to take off Shatner, by the man himself (who oughta know). Some of the anecdotes smack of having been told a tad too many times at conventions, but are entertaining if you haven't heard them before, and there are some new slants on Trek folklore. Most telling was the revelation that, until Kirk 'died' in the movie, Generations, conventions were work for William Shatner. Afterwards it was something he chose to do. I saw him in Sydney Australia, and the difference shows.


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