Review by Booklist Review
Acting legend Shatner, now a vibrant 91, looks back at his adventures, including a recent trip into space on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, and ahead to what's still to come in this collection of essays penned with Brandon. Shatner covers a variety of topics, from literally swimming with sharks to his post-Star Trek and post-divorce financial struggles to his adventures on the TV show, The American Sportsman. He lays bare his grief over the death of his wife Nerine and the estrangement that rose up between him and Leonard Nimoy. And he details his trip into space, which didn't make him gape in wonder at the vastness of the universe but rather caused him to turn towards Earth, realizing how fragile and precious our home planet is. Those familiar with Shatner's writing will recognize his stream-of-consciousness style as he gleefully moves from topic to topic and addresses the reader directly. 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.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
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
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
