Get a Life!

Rating:
Summary: It was wonderful and stimulating
Review: This book was a GREAT read for those of us who don't get to conventions and see the other trekkies out there in the world. Also great for the convention go-ers too. The stories and the interviews with the other actors about their star-meets-fan adventures is a treat. The book talks about the start of the convention craze and where it is now. Shatner is funny throughout the book with behind the scene tales and will be very serious about some things also. One serious moment is an interview with a young lady that has multiple personalities, but used Star Trek to cope. Three of the personalities are Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. She was abused as a child and grew up on Star Trek. Its a wonderful story that relates to all people about courage and the influence Star Trek has to help people cope with tough times, to meet new friends, and look to a peaceful future. I recommend this book to all trekkies. Is a tribute to the fans of the shows. I also recommend it to people who don't understand the reasons why people love Star Trek. Get it and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Get This Book!
Review: When somebody writes about personal experience, you can usually tell how honest they are in the reading. Shatner's Get A Life! is wonderfully honest, painting a portrait of a man who is very down-to-earth and family oriented, who is aware he's blessed and does his best to stay humble about it, who has a delightfully prickly sense of humor and all the curiosity of an adolescent raccoon. And he thought he was writing a book about the phenomena of Star Trek Conventions! The book is funny, it's almost uncomfortably weird in places, it's heartfelt, it's as pleasant to read as it is to attend one of these conventions yourself and really observe all the goings-on rather than just browse for souvenirs. You don't have to be a big Star Trek or William Shatner fan to enjoy this read. It's a psychologically fascinating glimpse into fan phenomena as told by a guy with a big smile and even bigger heart.

Rating:
Summary: A personal memoir of the Trek phenomenon
Review: William Shatner is always an entertaining figure, whether it's his acting, his promotional interviews, or, especially, his personal memoirs. This is the third in a sort of series - this book follows logically from Star Trek Memories and Star Trek Movie Memories. Now that James T. Kirk is dead, Shatner's connection with the Star Trek universe is primarily as an author and conference attendee. This book gives a personal and inside look at the Trek phenomenon from the man most responsible for the success of the franchise.

Shatner prowled the floor of many conventions, met fans and merchandise dealers, and quizzed organisers and his castmates. It is all arranged in a series of short chapters, each telling a specific story about a fan, an actor, etc. Shatner (and coauthor Kreski) keep the pace moving, and each individual story is amusing, entertaining, and/or informative, shedding a little more light on the extended Star Trek family.

I wanted to hear more from his fellow actors - the emphasis is certainly on the fans and stories about/from them. Shatner's position at the heart of Trek's mythology gave him a special position to reveal the thoughts and stories of his fellow cast members, but there are precious few of those. All the original cast members (save Doohan) contributed to his Star Trek Memories books, but for this book, only Nimoy has any presence from his old "crew" (Voyager's Jeri Ryan and DS9's Terry Farrell round out the actors' contributions). However, this is a minor quibble, and overall the book is illuminating, entertaining, and very enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: A personal memoir of the Trek phenomenon
Review: William Shatner is always an entertaining figure, whether it's his acting, his promotional interviews, or, especially, his personal memoirs. This is the third in a sort of series - this book follows logically from Star Trek Memories and Star Trek Movie Memories. Now that James T. Kirk is dead, Shatner's connection with the Star Trek universe is primarily as an author and conference attendee. This book gives a personal and inside look at the Trek phenomenon from the man most responsible for the success of the franchise.

Shatner prowled the floor of many conventions, met fans and merchandise dealers, and quizzed organisers and his castmates. It is all arranged in a series of short chapters, each telling a specific story about a fan, an actor, etc. Shatner (and coauthor Kreski) keep the pace moving, and each individual story is amusing, entertaining, and/or informative, shedding a little more light on the extended Star Trek family.

I wanted to hear more from his fellow actors - the emphasis is certainly on the fans and stories about/from them. Shatner's position at the heart of Trek's mythology gave him a special position to reveal the thoughts and stories of his fellow cast members, but there are precious few of those. All the original cast members (save Doohan) contributed to his Star Trek Memories books, but for this book, only Nimoy has any presence from his old "crew" (Voyager's Jeri Ryan and DS9's Terry Farrell round out the actors' contributions). However, this is a minor quibble, and overall the book is illuminating, entertaining, and very enjoyable.

Rating:
Summary: Funny book about facing reality
Review: William Shatner's love hate relationship with the show that made him famous or notorious depending on his mood under went a strange metamorphic change that came ironically after his character was killed off in Generations movie (Star Trek VII).

Shatner's book tell that story of his changing attitude toward Star Trek, its fanatic fans and the phenomenon that the show created all over the world. Its well written, often filled with humor as he reflects on what he have learned since his changed of heart. It also a great book since it deal with coming to terms with his past and how it was all catching up to him. I think Shatner finally began to realized that no matter what he does for the rest of his life, he will always be connected with Star Trek, always be known as "Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise" and that the way it will be long after he's dead and buried.

So with that in mind, this book comes recommended. Its story of William Shatner and not Star Trek in general. He writes on his experiences regarding the phenomenon he helped create over 37 years ago and how he think about it when he wrote the book. (I thought his impression on autographs was very interesting.)