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Business Stationary Mart - Up Till Now: The Autobiography
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List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $9.80
Your Save: $ 16.15 ( 62% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45028092
EAN: 9780312372651
ISBN: 0312372655
Label: Thomas Dunne Books
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 368
Publication Date: 2008-05-13
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Release Date: 2008-05-13
Studio: Thomas Dunne Books
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Entertaining Book Even for Those Who Don't Love Shatner
Comment: This book is a great way for Shatner to avoid opening up too much while taking readers on an entertaining journey through his life. Even those who don't rate as Shatner fans will love the inside-Hollywood stories. But be warned--you never know if what he's telling you is true!
I am not a Star Trek fan and have seen Shatner in only few things. I know his reputation is that of pompous, arrogant jerk who takes himself way too seriously. But being interested in the entertainment business I gave him a chance and I'm glad I did.
From the start Shatner and his co-author write in a ADHD style that starts to tell a story, then in the middle of the story skips ahead 30 years to another story, before returning to the original story. Then in the middle of a chapter he will suddenly pause in the middle of a story to do a commercial for his website or a movie he wants you to rent. At first it's a little odd, but then you realize that this is pure Shatner humor. He doesn't want to just write another tell-all book; he wants to entertain you in an offbeat way.
Everything about the book is humorous, even his serious stories. He refuses to reveal too much about himself or his family or his emotions, but he lets the reader in on just enough to catch glimpses the public has never seen before. His ego is on every page, but it's mixed with a self-deprecation that is appealing.
The only caution is that he is an admitted fabricator and it's difficult to know when he's just pulling your leg. At one point he even has to write, "That's the true story of how I made up a story."
In the end it doesn't make much difference whether what he tells you is the complete, accurate story. His point is to make you laugh and to mock the traditional autobiography. By that measure the book is a complete success.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Shatner Is Thoroughly Enjoyable!
Comment: I have never been a "Trekkie," although like the rest of the world, I have enjoyed watching Star Trek over the years. However, William Shatner has that rare ability to make others like him. Readers have mentioned that Shatner frequently interupts himself throughout UP TILL NOW. I absolutely LOVED this as it is like having him in your living room. I especially liked how he went on and on about the Star Trek merchandise! Pages and pages of it!
There were many instances where I just laughed out loud (somewhat rare for me) while reading this book. It was so enjoyable! And yet, I came away from it knowing how William Shatner really paid his dues and such respect for his tremendous work ethic.
One of my favorite and endearing stories was how William Shatner's mother used to announce to EVERYONE that "I'm William Shatner's mother." How tremendously proud of him she must have been! Kind of reminds me of exactly how Denny Crane's mother must have been!
Excellent book. And yes. I DID proceed to williamshatner.com (which he shamelessly promotes LOL) and purchased several hundred dollars worth of products for my best friend's Christmas. She IS a Trekkie. Now my next stop will have to be Priceline...
Customer Rating: 
Summary: For 342 pages it went fast, and I'm not a Trekkie!
Comment: This is a thick book but the reading went fast because of the author's writing style.
I appreciated his honesty and self-deprecation (a trait he is know for). He lays it all out, his upbringing, his romantic relationships, his relationships with the cast and crew of his various TV shows and movies. Because I dabbled in the Esperanto artificial language years ago, and own his Incubus movie (all done in Esperanto), I liked hearing the details about the making of that movie.
I'm always admire people who enjoy what they do and you can tell by his writing that he is definitely in that group! He has always wanted to be an actor and stuck to his guns. I was amazed by all the twists and turns that his career took. He really puts his all into his craft.
Above all, I think William Shatner is a master storyteller. There are many stories in the book, and that is the main reason the reading went so quick. I was actually disappointed when I was done - I wanted more stories!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wish I could give this one five stars...
Comment: I've been a huge Shatner fan for so many years so I knew I had to read this book. Let me start off by saying that Shatner has his fans and he has his critics. You might have people in group one that thinks he's a terrific actor and group 2 consists of the people that thinks he's a ham, can't act at all, he's an egomaniac, etc. I think both of these groups can at least agree on one thing: Shatner's been around for a long time. He's had/still has staying power. He easily could've been a flash in the pan but he has lasted for so long. He's a legendary icon.You gotta give him props on that.
I wish I could say that this book deserves 5 stars. Unfortunately I can't do that/say that. Truth of the matter is that he did a couple of things in this book that left me scratching my head. The advertising space was something that should've been left out or moved to the back of the book. I kinda got annoyed by the fact that I'm reading something interesting and the story pauses for him to plug his website/merchandise on website. I don't think I would've been as bothered if he'd had waited until the book was over and the last few pages showed pictures of some of the stuff you can find on his website. I wouldn't have been bothered. It makes me wonder why he chose that route to begin with? You have to admit it's a strange way of doing it. Advertise in the back and you'll still get people to maybe go to your site and purchase things. He'll make money. I'm not sure if it was some clever commentary on his part--you know how you're watching an interesting tv show or movie and you're on the edge of your seat and then whatever you're watching goes to commercial. You let out a groan and sit back down in your seat because you know it'll be 5 or 6 minutes before the action picks up again. He might've been thinking: "Okay, it won't take you 5 or 6 minutes to read my plug but I've got you hooked enough that you'll want to read the plug as fast as possible so you can pick back up reading the story." I'm just not sure.
Second thing I didn't like was the way he interrupted some of the stories. This is different from the advertising space issue. I prefer to read one story before jumping onto another story. I have to admit I got to the first part where he lists a lot of Star Trek memorabilia and I just thought it was ridiculous. It made me think of something that was popular when I was a kid. You've got white space on a page and somebody will write "I'm just writing this to take up space." And the person will write one word at a time for each line and add a word for the next line. Example: (Line 1) I'm. (Line 2) I'm just. (Line 3) I'm just writing. You get my point. It seemed bizarre to me. You're 77 years old and you've lived a long life and had a long career. You don't have to resort to filling your book up with mumbo jumbo in order to fill up space. I don't have ADD/ADHD but it drove me nuts when he'd interrupt a story to tell another story. Expect jumping around anytime you see (...) in the book.
I know it might seem like I have a lot of complaints. I apparently disliked the book to complain about anything at all. That's not true. I thought the book was very interesting and I don't regret reading it. I'll definitely skip the plugs the next time I read it though. I'll finish reading one story before turning back and reading the interruption story. I'd recommend this book to diehard Shatner fans. I don't think you're gonna be interested at all if you are a casual fan or you dislike him at all. I'd recommend checking it out through the library before buying it. Just a heads up on that. I don't want anybody regretting the fact they bought it.
One more thing: I kinda wish he had two sections for pictures. This book only has one section. The picture section looks nice. He chose some nice pictures to go along with the book. It just left me wanting more in that department.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Gave as a gift.
Comment: I have to admit I haven't yet read this myself, but I feel like I have! I gave this book to my Grandfather and he would e-mail me passages from it that were absolutly hysterical. He loved the book and has been recomending it to everyone. He is a fan of Boston Legal and William Shatner is his favorite actor on the show, so I felt this would be something he would enjoy. He said he couldn't put it down!
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Editorial Reviews:
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“It is now Bill Shatner’s universe---we just live in it.”---New York Daily News After almost sixty years as an actor, William Shatner has become one of the most beloved entertainers in the world. And it seems as if Shatner is everywhere. Winning an Emmy for his role on Boston Legal. Doing commercials for Priceline.com. In the movie theaters. Singing with Ben Folds. He’s sitting next to Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel, and he’s practically a regular on Howard Stern’s show. He was recently honored with election to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He was a target on a Comedy Central’s Celebrity Roast entitled “The Shat Hits the Fan.” In Up Till Now, Shatner sits down with readers and offers the remarkable, full story of his life and explains how he got to be, well, everywhere. It was the original Star Trek series, and later its films, that made Shatner instantly recognizable, called by name---or at least by Captain Kirk’s name---across the globe. But Shatner neither began nor has ended his career with that role. From the very start, he took his skills as an actor and put them to use wherever he could. He straddled the classic world of the theater and the new world of television, whether stepping in for Christopher Plummer in Shakespeare’s Henry V or staring at “something on the wing” in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. And since then, he’s gone on to star in numerous successful shows, such as T.J. Hooker, Rescue 911, and most recently Boston Legal. William Shatner has always been willing to take risks for his art. What other actor would star in history’s first---and probably only---all-Esperanto-language film? Who else would share the screen with thousands of tarantulas, release an album called Has Been, or film a racially incendiary film in the Deep South during the height of the civil rights era? And who else would willingly paramotor into a field of waiting fans armed with paintball guns, all waiting for a chance to stun Captain…er, Shatner? In this touching and very funny autobiography, William Shatner reveals the man behind these unforgettable moments, and how he’s become the worldwide star and experienced actor he is today.
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