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Up Till Now: The Autobiography | 
| Authors: William Shatner, David Fisher Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Category: Book
List Price: $25.95 Buy Used: $1.00 You Save: $24.95 (96%)
New (40) Used (59) Collectible (2) from $1.00
Rating: 65 reviews Sales Rank: 112634
Media: Hardcover Edition: 1 Pages: 368 Number Of Items: 1 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3 Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 6.1 x 1
ISBN: 0312372655 Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45028092 EAN: 9780312372651 ASIN: 0312372655
Publication Date: May 13, 2008 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
“It is now Bill Shatner’s universe---we just live in it.”---New York Daily News After almost sixty years as an actor, William Shatner has become one of the most beloved entertainers in the world. And it seems as if Shatner is everywhere. Winning an Emmy for his role on Boston Legal. Doing commercials for Priceline.com. In the movie theaters. Singing with Ben Folds. He’s sitting next to Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s practically a regular on Howard Stern’s show. He was recently honored with election to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He was a target on a Comedy Central’s Celebrity Roast entitled “The Shat Hits the Fan.” In Up Till Now, Shatner sits down with readers and offers the remarkable, full story of his life and explains how he got to be, well, everywhere. It was the original Star Trek series, and later its films, that made Shatner instantly recognizable, called by name---or at least by Captain Kirk’s name---across the globe. But Shatner neither began nor has ended his career with that role. From the very start, he took his skills as an actor and put them to use wherever he could. He straddled the classic world of the theater and the new world of television, whether stepping in for Christopher Plummer in Shakespeare’s Henry V or staring at “something on the wing” in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. And since then, he’s gone on to star in numerous successful shows, such as T.J. Hooker, Rescue 911, and most recently Boston Legal. William Shatner has always been willing to take risks for his art. What other actor would star in history’s first---and probably only---all-Esperanto-language film? Who else would share the screen with thousands of tarantulas, release an album called Has Been, or film a racially incendiary film in the Deep South during the height of the civil rights era? And who else would willingly paramotor into a field of waiting fans armed with paintball guns, all waiting for a chance to stun Captain…er, Shatner? In this touching and very funny autobiography, William Shatner reveals the man behind these unforgettable moments, and how he’s become the worldwide star and experienced actor he is today. |
| Customer Reviews: Read 60 more reviews...
Jobbing actor June 21, 2009 N. Brett (Wiltshire, England) First I must confess to being a bit of a Trekkie (or Trekker as some prefer to be called). So I loved the series and the books etc and thought Kirk was a great character and Shatner played him very well. Then as I crunched through the cast biographies (and, ahem, attended the odd convention) it became apparent that William Shatner was not well liked by his fellow cast members and this cast a bit of a shadow on him as an individual. But I watched some of his work, read some of his books and even the comic series Tek World, and formed the view that he had a massive ego but was also able to laugh at himself.... So before I picked up this book, I did have an opinion.... The book is a proper autobiography taking us from his youth to Boston Legal and the production of the latest Star Trek film (in which we know he does not appear). A true jobbing actor he does get over the philosophy of the need to work and even I was surprised how much `proper' acting he has done. He wisely resists the temptation to focus on Star Trek (he's done that in Star Trek Memories) so we dip into all of his work and his private life. He tells it in his own way, often going off piste and with a degree of forthright honesty. Much has been made of how entertaining and funny this book is, but I have to confess that while it held my interest and did a decent job, it was never more then `okay'. Having said that, it is an interesting life view of the man, perhaps fewer anecdotes then I was expecting and I would have liked a few more amusing tales. This is a quick and easy read and you will be surprised how much of a varied career Shatner has had, but you do wonder at times if he has evolved into his own caricature, or he is very very clever at giving people exactly what they want. Certainly, by the end of this I liked and understood him a little more.
Funny, insightful and self-effacing June 13, 2009 Robin N. Uncapher (Bethesda, MD) William Shatner is so much more than StarTrek! William Shatner had a fascinating career on the stage and in the days of live television. He's a guy who loves to tell a story, and he tells it very, very well. He's got a ton of great stories about everything from Koko the guerilla, to working with Walter Mathieu on Broadway. Most of these stories are hilarious, but Shatner pulls no punches about his ups and downs and mistakes he has made. He is generous to his colleagues and makes himself the butt of most of his jokes. My favorite story was about his making an entire movie in Experanto, a language which was invented and has no native speakers. As Shatner says, this is a story that no one could make up. Many Hollywood autobiographies have me coming away thinking, "I never knew that guy was so dumb." This book is the opposite. I came away thinking about how smart Shatner is, how generous and how clever. If you can, get the audio version! Shatner narrates the book himself. When you listen to it you feel that you are in his living room, listening to him tell you about his life.
Fantastic Stuff! May 29, 2009 Coincidence Vs Fate (Warwickshire, UK) Like a lot of people I only really bought this book as I'm a fan of the original Star Trek series. However, I must also admit to being a bit of a fan of his music. "Has Been" was great, but if you can, try and track down "In Love" - it's brilliant. I really enjoyed this book and I avoided doing what I do with many biographies by actors, musicians, etc, I didn't skip any bits. I did buy this with an attitude: I'll read about the Star Trek period, but miss out the rest, but I didn't. The book is easy to read and it's refreshing to read about a star (as that's what Our William is) who doesn't take himself too seriously. For example there's a great line about a review he'd had when Star Trek was first aired, he'd been called 'wooden'. Bill writes in the book that this didn't bother him at the time and it's continued not to bother him for the last forty years! I would heartily recommend this book, it can be sad, touching and laugh-out-loud funny. William, you are really something!
Jim Herrin's review for www.thejaneellen.com May 8, 2009 J. HERRIN (Tennessee) Up Till Now: The Autobiography by William Shatner Even if you're not a fan of Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal or Rescue 911, you may still find this retrospective on the life and career of the man who brought "Captain Kirk" to life to be intriguing. William Shatner has already written a number of books, including two previous memoirs. And by "written" I mean he has allowed his image to be used to sell books under his name. And, as he acknowledges here, most of those opportunities came his way as a result of Star Trek. I mean, really, how many people remember that he was also in a show called The Barbary Coast? Or that he made several really bad movies? The charm of this book is that Shatner acknowledges the good work he's done along with the bad, all the while keeping a sense of humor about it all. For Trekkies, there's probably not enough minutiae about the Star Trek years, although there is a funny sequence about how Shatner's grand plans for directing Star Trek V didn't come together exactly as he had hoped. The book also has a bit of a frenetic pace as Shatner begins telling a story and then abruptly takes a side trip to a completely unrelated one. But while this would be annoying in a straight biography, in an autobiography, it gives you the sense of how his mind probably works -- unable to concentrate on any one thing for very long. As with all people who tell their own stories, Shatner's views on his failed marriages and his disgruntled co-stars are a bit myopic, but the charisma he has shown through a lifetime of acting does come across and makes this book worth a look.
I enjoyed it April 19, 2009 J. E. Caldwell I found the story fascinating. To truly appreciate the style and humour you may have to be Canadian. Also, i am probably in the target audience: I have still watch the old star trek series when it's on and i remember TJ Hooker. In any case, Shatner has led an interesting life and i think there are lessons for all of us.
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