Monday, December 19, 2016

Leonard

Leonard: My Fifty Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner  278 pp.

Leonard Nimoy was more than an actor, he was a Renaissance Man. He was well educated in multiple disciplines, a stage, screen, and movie actor, acting teacher, writer, poet, photographer, and motion picture director. Shatner reflects all that in this book. However, Shatner also desperately tries to show that the similarities in their early lives make them alike when he pales in comparison to Nimoy. They didn't actually become friends until after the end of the Star Trek series when they both began making the rounds of the Star Trek conventions. I made the mistake of listening to the audiobook version read very unevenly by the author. At times the narration was rushed. Other times Shatner lapsed into his "Kirk-ish" way of reciting his lines. However, Shatner is honest about their disagreements, problems in the filming of the various incarnations of Star Trek, and he and Nimoy's problems with alcohol. I also enjoyed the nice things Shatner had to say about DeForest Kelley (Dr. "Bones" McCoy). While I can recommend the book for fans of Leonard Nimoy and/or Star Trek, I can't recommend the audio version.

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