LIVE LONG and...WHAT I LEARNED ALONG the WAY (audiobook) by William Shatner and David Fisher

Published by Macmillan Audion in 2018.
Read by the author, William Shatner.
Duration: 5 hours, 11 minutes.
Unabridged

William Shatner gets personal in this look back at his life. He offers advice, although to be fair you have to know his first piece of advice - don't take his advice. Why not? Because his life is his life and you are you and the situations are different.

That being said, he does offer one really good piece of advice - say "yes" to new opportunities.

Besides the advice, he fills the book with stories of his life and discussions of situations he faced and how he dealt with them. He is brutally honest about his childhood and his lifelong inability to make real friends. Leonard Nimoy was one of his few friends, but at the end of his life Nimoy had refused to talk with him for five years.

The author, undoubtedly being overly
dramatic - and also interesting.

Sometimes he drifts into sort "old man" ramblings about life in general and repeats himself, but most of the book is quite interesting. Say what you want about William Shatner - he's never boring for very long. His stories of his career right after the cancellation of Star Trek tell something about how badly he wanted to be an actor. His story of his drive from New York City to Chicago in a blizzard is worth the price of the book all by itself, in my opinion.

Shatner read this audiobook himself. Did you expect anything less?

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: LIVE LONG and...WHAT I LEARNED ALONG the WAY (audiobook) by William Shatner.

Shatner Rules: Your Key to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large (audiobook) by William Shatner with Chris Regan

Published by Penguin Audio in 2011
Read by the author, William Shatner
Duration: 4 hours, 27 minutes
Non-fiction, biography

If you are a fan of William Shatner, Shatner Rules is a must-read, or a must-listen if you prefer to listen to the audiobook version like I did.

Shatner is unique and if you do not appreciate his odd blend of storytelling, self-promotion and urge to stroke his own ego then please skip this book. But, if you think a little self-promotion (actually, a lot of it) is okay and are willing to tolerate Shatner's ego trips for the sake of a good story than this short audiobook should please.

Most of the book covers the last 5 years or so of his career under the guise of explaining several rules that he  has followed throughout his career. The most important rule and the most consistently followed is his admonition to say yes to opportunity. Throughout the book he talks about the positives that he has had in his career due to his willingness to say yes, including a rather long convoluted story about how his willingness to make the almost universally panned The Transformed Man album in the late 1960's led to his getting the part of Denny Crane and receiving two Emmy Awards in the 2000's.

By and large, though, this book could easily be considered a tongue-in-cheek promo for William Shatner, Inc. He talks about his roles on The Twilight Zone , Star Trek , T.J. Hooker , The Practice , the Star Trek movies, his TekWar books, his current cable shows, his disputes with other members of the Star Trek cast and his part in the Vancouver Winter Olympics closing ceremonies.

I enjoyed it although I could have done without the 5 minutes and 20 seconds of narration in the made up language of Esperanto (he made a movie filmed entirely in Esperanto in 1965). I suggest the audio version so you can get the full Shatner experience.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Shatner Rules.

Reviewed on December 29, 2012.

Star Trek: The Return (abridged audiobook) by William Shatner, Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

It's Star Trek. It's William Shatner. What More Can You Ask For?

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2001.
Read by William Shatner
Duration: 3 hours, 6 minutes
Abridged

The audiobook lasts about 3 hours and is read by William Shatner, who is also one of the authors.

I admit, I picked Star Trek: The Return on a whim - the fact that it was read by Shatner himself was a big plus. Shatner is nothing, if not interesting. His book is much like the man himself (at least his well-known public persona) - lots of action, bluster, bravado, noise and Shatner's well-known and unique speaking style.

This book takes place immediately after the events of the Star Trek: Generations movie. If you haven't seen the movie lately, don't fret. Shatner uses it as a launching point only and goes on his own way. 

William Shatner in
Star Trek: Generations

At the end of Star Trek: Generations, Kirk has been killed by sacrificing himself to save a planet and possibly the entire Federation. Jean-Luc Picard respectfully buries him under a pile of rocks. Star Trek : The Return has the Romulans and the Borg coming to find Kirk's body so that they can re-animate his brain and learn all of his secrets. Kirk cannot be contained by the Borg or the Romulans and soon enough he's off saving the galaxy again.

Of course, William Shatner's Kirk is featured prominently throughout, which helps to make it an entertaining listen. Any armchair psychologist can have a field day with William Shatner's apparent need to keep his hand in the Star Trek franchise, especially by bringing Kirk back (again...he was presumed dead and definitely gone at the beginning of the Star Trek: Generations as well). This is hardly great literature but I had fun.

Three of the movies are tied together in a neat little bundle (Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: First Contact) I enjoyed this audiobook during my commute for a few days. An entertaining diversion.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Star Trek: The Return.

Reviewed on January 23, 2009.