Not bad but certainly not great. Jian means well but I think this book is pretty drawn out. A large portion of it is about the Police Picnic (the bandNot bad but certainly not great. Jian means well but I think this book is pretty drawn out. A large portion of it is about the Police Picnic (the band The Police plays). He recalls the event over several chapters and repeats about how his beloved Addidas bag was thrown by a punk at Joan Jett.
He also over explains things like everyone reading the book is under 15 years olds and have never heard of things like tape recorders, Walkmen, an era before Wikipedia, he also explains what life was like before e-mail. One of my pet peeves seems to be hipsters who overexplain "the good old days" (any era before the 2000s) because I also cringe when George Strombolopoulous does it. Maybe it reminds me too much of Baby Boomers who had to explain vinyl records and The Beatles to my generation. Although if we'd opened any book from that era we'd know exactly what they were talking about.
He fills the book with lists as well (because he likes lists and has since he was a kid). Okay, but I find lists in books to be lazy and a way to fill up an otherwise uninteresting book. They also repeat what the author has just stated in this case.
If I was born in 1970 instead of 1980 I may have liked this book more but the theme of confused youth, rebellion and finding a place are all pretty universal. Jian just doesn't do anything really special with these themes....more
Mine will likely be the only review of this book. The copy I picked up at a book sale was signed by the author. It's a pretty good book. I like books Mine will likely be the only review of this book. The copy I picked up at a book sale was signed by the author. It's a pretty good book. I like books which are about people travelling across Canada, from coast to coast. This one is about the author's trip from Victoria, BC to St. John's, Newfoundland by rickshaw. He meets some interesting characters along the way but for the most part people are in awe of what he's doing. He visits schools where children treat him like a hero. Definitely worth a look if you can find a copy. I think this is a self-published book. ...more
This is a pretty good autobiography. How much Shatner wrote and how much his ghost writer wrote will remain a mystery but I think this is pretty damneThis is a pretty good autobiography. How much Shatner wrote and how much his ghost writer wrote will remain a mystery but I think this is pretty damned good. The anecdotes about Star Trek were funny and interesting as was his time on other TV shows which I didn't necessarily watch. I never watched an episode of 'TJ Hooker' or 'Boston Legal' but Shatner still managed to capture my interest with details about life on the sets of those shows. I would almost consider watching them now. Shatner opens up about playing these characters. I think he'll always be remembered as Kirk. It doesn't matter what he does.
Shatner also recalls making the movie The Intruder. It sounded interesting. I didn't know about this movie and will probably check it out because of this book. In it Shatner plays a racist who incites violence in a small southern US town. Sounds intriguing. It's a departure from his previous work which up to that point included many TV shows, including the Twilight Zone.
I'm glad Twilight Zone was mentioned and how he gave credit to Richard Matheson who wrote the original short story to Terror at 20,000 feet. It's a classic. Shatner talks about how it was just another job for him at the time and no expected that they were making classic TV.
A lot of the book is about Star Trek, the TV show and subsequent movies. I knew most of the cast hated Shatner but Shatner apparently didn't at the time. He's pretty humble about the whole thing though and admits he could've treated his co-stars better. His marriages are detailed as is his friendship with Leonard Nimoy who apparently was an alcoholic for many years. I don't think this is a new detail but I still enjoyed hearing about how he helped Nimoy achieve sobriety.
Their relationship spans longer than most of Shatner's marriages. It was always a work in progress according to this book and Shatner and Nimoy never really got along until the making of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. They both hated the movie but agreed to do the sequels, one of which Shatner directed. It was really bad. Shatner also details the original script in which the crew of the Enterprise go to Hell. It sounds worse than the movie that got made.
I'd recommend this to Star Trek fans and non-fans. It's an interesting and funny book. I listened to the audiobook so I guess I had the bonus of Shatner's paternal voice. ...more
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