Library Journal - Audio
12/01/2022
At 91 years old, Shatner narrates with vitality and the same wry humor fans have loved for decades. There's no mistaking his strong and distinct voice. He keeps listeners alert with his pacing—a great gush of words followed by a slower cadence that accentuates specific phrases. Classic Shatner. This is Shatner's 11th nonfiction book, and it's a mix of memoir and ruminations about life, regrets, and his quest to make himself a better person even in his ninth decade. The audiobook opens with Shatner swimming with sharks after his 90th birthday. "I have an inverted instinct for danger," he says. "My mind doesn't run screaming away from it; it somehow forces me to run toward danger." Essays range from attending Star Trek conventions, grappling with the death of Leonard Nimoy while they were estranged, the importance of family, and his spiritual (rather than religious) beliefs. He also discusses how he and his fourth wife of more than 20 years divorced in 2020. "But only on paper," he explains—for inheritance purposes. "Some may call it modern," he says. "Others may call it strange." VERDICT Shatner's upbeat collections of thoughtful musings is read with verve and good humor.—Kevin Howell
Publishers Weekly
07/18/2022
The 91-year-old Hollywood legend returns with more diverting anecdotes and musings about his earthly life and beyond. In an assemblage of essays covering everything from his historic spaceflight in 2021 to his deep reverence for the natural world, Shatner’s curiosity shines through as he leavens the seriousness of his lifelong quest for meaning with his signature self-effacing humor (“Some say I have... my own... style... of pausing”). He opens with a literal dive into the deep end, sharing his decision, at 90 years old, to go swimming with sharks in the Bahamas for Shark Week. He attributes his longevity and prosperity to activities such as this, noting that, at a minimum, allowing oneself to be open to being “awed by life” can facilitate finding happiness. There are ample confidences that will delight Trekkies—while on set with the late Leonard Nimoy, Shatner writes in “Pieces of Humanity,” “a constant refrain was ‘Spock wouldn’t do that,’ sometimes with a wink, sometimes not”—in addition to embarrassing moments, as when Shatner read poetry to a crowd of dismayed bikers at a performance that was mistakenly advertised as a heavy metal concert. The result is a refreshingly self-aware portrait of a man determined to live every moment to the fullest. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
[Shatner] taps into his joy of exploration and sense of wonder as he reflects back on his extraordinary life.” —USA Today
“Even those who aren't fans of Shatner's acting or his music will find much to appreciate in the insights he's gleaned over his long, productive life.” —Booklist
"Shatner’s curiosity shines through as he leavens the seriousness of his lifelong quest for meaning with his signature self-effacing humor...the result is a refreshingly self-aware portrait of a man determined to live every moment to the fullest." –Publishers Weekly
Library Journal
★ 10/01/2022
Shatner (Live Long and…: What I Learned Along the Way) is a pop culture icon and celebrity who needs little introduction, particularly among Star Trek fans. At the age of 91, he, with the help of director/producer/writer Brandon (Friend Me), wrote this book in the form of a collection of reflective essays. Outside the celebrity bubble, his life is full of useful anecdotes that most readers will find relatable. Although he's achieved great things in acting, music recording, and writing, he has also suffered tragedy tinged with painful despair. His thoughts on overcoming suffering and dealing with the inevitable pain that life brings is both practical and inspirational. Shatner has used his life experiences to strive to learn more, to be better, and to fulfill the promise of his existence here on earth. He expresses his love of life on every page and reminds readers of the mathematical odds that each person has overcome in order to be born. Readers will really connect to these inspiring essays. VERDICT This is not just for dedicated Star Trek fans. Shatner is an inspiring figure with valuable life lessons to share.—Gary Medina
Kirkus Reviews
2022-07-07
The latest collection of essays from an actor who has lived well and prospered.
It’s clear that Shatner (b. 1931) takes himself and his work seriously, but he knows that much of his appeal to younger generations is ironic, that his often exaggerated oratory has an element of self-caricature in it. Even in his 90s, he shows few signs of backing off or slowing down, and he ends this book with the lyric to a spoken-word song he has written for his next album, a piece with funeral instructions: “I Want To Be a Tree.” Despite the more-misses-than-hits nature of the author’s many attempts at humor, he has somehow found a way to be in on the joke rather than an object of derision—for the most part, at least—making this book very much in the same vein as Live Long And…, his previous middling collection. Here, the author writes about his plans to extend his legacy as a hologram, taking and answering questions from beyond the grave, and he mixes innocence and pompous profundity when he intones, “I am never so thrilled as when the word wow escapes my mouth.” Much of the text conveys the author’s fairly shallow viewpoints on the marvel of existence, how everything is connected, and how the universe has taken care of a man who has no clear sense of the divine but who has his finger on the pulse of something cosmic. “We are often reminded to stop and smell the roses,” he writes. “I have to go further. Stop and smell everything.” These essays sometimes loosely connect in the fashion of a memoir, covering plenty of the Star Trek oeuvre (which he treats as if it were Shakespeare) and the multidimensional career that has followed, as well as his four marriages and his love of dogs, horses, and all living things.
A series of pieces that are not only all over the map, but all over the galaxy.
