Captain Quirk/The Unauthorized Biography of William Shatner

This is a must for any Star Trek fan. It is a completely unauthorized biography of William Shatner, or "Captain Quirk," as the camera crew called him behind his back. Here are the elements of Shatner's career we've all been hearing about: the arrogance, the humanity, the overacting, the fine acting, the hairpiece. To be fair, William Shatner does not get to tell his side of the story, so this book has to be judged in that light. Yet only an unauthorized bio could have such pithy quotes from George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols and Jimmy Doohan about Shatner's line-stealing, scene-cutting, and personal abrasiveness. Another advantage of an unauthorized bio is it praises Shatner in ways a personal account might not have. Did you know that for his early stage work, one critic said Shatner would be the next Olivier? And how about that black and white movie in which Shatner spoke only in Esperanto, which stunned the critics? And, as the book points out, some of his Star Trek work is undeniably brilliant. All in all, this is a well-rounded biography, covering Shatner's early work, the Star Trek series, his down-on-his-luck times after the series, the Star Trek movies, and his more recent successes. This is all interwoven with his personal life, making for an interesting, if complicated, portrait.

I think anyone who has read this book from cover to cover will find it to be a moving portrayal of a fascinating man. I'm no Trekker and I do not worship Shatner like a lot of people, but I feel I understand him much better now. The author worked with him and interviewed the entire cast and crew of Star Trek and TJ Hooker. I am not so naive to think that celebrities never realize the politics of show business after their run-ins with fellow actors and deny anything really happened. I heartily recommend this book -- but only for people who don't give a damn about Star Trek and want to read an in-depth and multifaceted biography of a modern icon. After reading this book I have come to see the human side of Shatner and the tragedies and disappointments of his life.