Unlike a lot of his co-stars, I love William Shatner.

I always have, ever since I was a kid. From Star Trek, TV show and movies both, to his later years as an interviewer and TV show host, I just love the guy. He's Canadian, but I consider him a national treasure. And when he dies eventually, hopefully not for a long time, I expect it to hit me just as hard as the death of Stan Lee, another hero of mine, did a few years ago. But until then, we have BOLDLY GO: REFLECTIONS ON A LIFE OF AWE AND WONDER, in which Shatner pontificates on life, death, and everything that comes in between, in that unique Shatner voice of his.

I blew through this book in record time, no doubt due to the fact that it reads like you're you're sitting next to William Shatner having a friendly conversation.. The writing style is breezy and readable, and I often found myself thinking "Just a few more pages...". There's a lot of deep stuff here, as well as a lot of funny anecdotes and painfully personal stuff that I was unaware of.

Hopefully, Bill Shatner will live long(er) and prosper, and this won't be his last book. If it is, he will go out on a high note.....

I was very much looking forward to reading this book. I have always been a Star Trek fan and also a fan of William Shatner. I just wanted to sit back, relax, and enjoy being with an old friend. Didn't happen. I was disappointed that this book was just not interesting. Either the subject matter or the way it was written could not hold my interest. I made myself finish the book as I kept hoping it would get better and I felt as if I owed it to the author. I think I would have actually given this book two stars, but I can't do that to Captain Kirk.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the read.

It seems like, as people get older, they typically fit into two categories ... the cranky and the reflective. Here, actor/author/singer/songwriter William Shatner gets reflective. Philosophically reflective. And why not? Shatner has had a good, long life to look back on.
There's not much about William Shatner that we don't already know. A star from the classic, much-loved 1960's television show, Star Trek, trekkies and trekkers (fans of the show) often know more about the stars and their work and lives than the stars themselves (as Shatner mentions at one point in this book). But while there might be hundreds (or thousands?) of people following every moment of Shatner's life, the one thing we can't possibly know is: what is Shatner thinking?

Shatner, now in his 90's with a 70 year career on stage and screen, can look back and reflect on what has been, but perhaps more interestingly, what is yet to come. He waxes philosophic on his early life as an actor, but combines it with thoughts and concerns for his children and grandchildren who may want to seek the life of a performer.

He gets just a little maudlin on his brief trip to space (one of the all-time great marketing gimmicks in my mind) but surprisingly doesn't go where so many 'astronauts' have gone, talking about feeling so small and recognizing how fragile the earth is.

But for me, some of the most interesting parts of this brief, quick read, are his thoughts about music, singing, and songwriting.

As a fan of Star Trek myself, I am well aware of Shatner's horrific blunder into singing and the release of his first album back in the late 60's. Though I've never listened to the album, I've heard snippets, and I've rolled my eyes and laughed at the chutzpah of this man, to think he could sing.

But he explains it. He talks quite clearly about this, and his rather devastating appearance on a talk show that really doomed his early singing career (beyond his own voice, of course). And honestly, I now want to watch that clip and listen to the album. And possibly listen to one of his other EIGHT albums.

The narrative has a little bit of a random feel to it - more memoir than biography - but I appreciated that this wasn't strictly a Star Trek-related biography. In fact there's relatively little about Trek here, which is pretty appropriate because it was only three years of work for someone who's now 91!

I read this more out of curiosity than because I'm a Star Trek fan, and I enjoyed it much more than I thought I might.

Looking for a good book? Boldly Go is a memoir/biography by William Shatner (with a little help), it's a long life being reflected upon and it probably made me appreciate the actor/author a bit more.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through both Edelweiss and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

*3.5 stars*

Thoughts and stories well-written…

I’m a Trekkie. Have the convention ticket stub to prove it (and maybe an Enterprise keychain or two floating around). I have my favourite characters, stories, series and movies. While I may think I know a bit – both good and bad – about a number of on-screen personas, I surprisingly know little about the actors themselves. Or, at least, little from the usual entertainment headlines. From those snippets, I found myself going into this collection of essays with some (honestly, negative) pre-conceived ideas. I was curious though. William Shatner was in his nineties now and just actually went to space. All the respect and now, an insight into that headline and more…

I loved the easy writing style in these loosely connected chapters. Am not sure if that is due to the co-author, but each topic was tackled with warmth and a healthy dose of fatherly (grandfatherly?) advice. From his love of animals, his relationships with family and friends, to the reason he made the decision to go to space, there seemed an honest attempt to share the inner feelings he had about them. I enjoy reading auto-biographical books because they are a representation of the person even if it’s a (mostly) positive spin. There is a good dose of that here though the authors didn’t shy away from one or two of the negative…

All in all, I turned the last chapter with no earth-shattering revelations but glimpses into a life lived with ups and downs and a hope for much more to come. Inspiring stuff from one who has done so much and lived through many decades…

This series of essays had such a nice balance of fun (talking about that infamous album) and real thoughtful ad thought-provoking introspection. Very much enjoyed it.
Pleased to include this memoir in the Oct/Nov print edition, a spread highlighting the season’s most anticipated celebrity memoirs, for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see mini-review at link)

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for a copy of Boldly Go in exchange for an honest review.

The oddity of this well-known man is beloved by some and rubs others the wrong way. I feel that William Shatner in all his oddity is a kindred spirit. When I had the chance to review his newest memoir/essay collection, I felt a distinct honour. I have loved Star Trek deeply and completely for most of my life, and I am incredibly thankful to the actors and crew that put those shows together.

Full review on Lit&Leta! www.litandleta.ca

I love Captain Kirk but I couldn’t get into this book. Not sure what I expected but I think he was trying to be inspirational and wasn’t succeeding for me.

I've loved William Shatner since I was small girl watching Star Trek with my dad in the 60s. I'm so impressed with the career that he has managed. In the weirdest way, he was not the best actor and yet he was almost always such an appealing actor -- in every role he played, he was the whole self with no trace of self criticism.
In any event, I have enjoyed his writing as well -- he is open, he is interesting, and his style is very much like that of having a conversation with an entertaining and thoughtful man who has had a far wider range of experiences than most of us can ever hope to attain. His opening chapter on a swim with sharks as a 90 year old was classic and a great start to the book.

I like William Shatner in theory. I grew up a Trek fan, and have read other books by other Trek stars. So when I saw this pop up for grabs, I was really excited.

I shouldn’t have been.

There are a lot of words in this book for so little actually being said? I felt like any time the book veered into deep and meaningful territory, it took a sharp turn back to how wise and special William Shatner is?

It felt like a lot of useless navel gazing to me. And honestly, if that’s what I’m in the mood for I’ll just read one of Kevin Smith’s books because at least it’ll be funny.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new memoir by William Shatner, along with Joshua Brandon - 5 stars!

William Shatner, AKA Captain Kirk of Star Trek fame, imparts his thoughts about his life and life in general in his new book. No matter how much you may know about Shatner, there will be surprises to learn in this book. Plus, his signature wit comes through as he shares his thoughts about never saying no to opportunities and living life as large as possible.

In my household, Star Trek was like a religion. My husband had watched the original series when it was first shown on TV in the 1960s, but when our boys were growing up in the 1980s, it was the perfect thing to watch. We started with the original series and at that time, there was always a spinoff to watch. My kids were Star Trek characters every Halloween, their first email addresses were Star Trek related (my husband and I still use them!). So of course I had to read his latest book, just like I'll have to listen to his next album. But there's a lot of life lessons and positivity in this book - in fact, I dare you to find something negative here! A definite must read for Trekkers and everyone else!

Whether on TV—headlining shows like Star Trek, T.J. Hooker or Boston Legal or doing guest spots on shows like Psych or The Big Bang Theory—in movies such as …well again best known for Star Trek—as an author of…well again a number of Star Trek books as well as his TekWar series, heck even with his unique brand of music, William Shatner has been entertaining me one way or another for pretty much as long as I can remember, so when I saw Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder available on NetGalley I immediately requested it, and I’d like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me the opportunity to read an eARC of the book. I read through this much faster than I expected to, in only a matter of days in fact. While Bill shares various stories from his past, don’t let the word Reflection in the title fool you into thinking this is an autobiography, as he’s already put out a few of those already. No this is no biography, this is so much more. In Boldly Go he shares his thoughts on life in general. His passion for always learning, his beliefs on how the world works (or should work), how we should care about and care for the world and all the creatures that live in it, and of course the importance of family. Rambling is perhaps the best way to describe what he does here, and please understand that I do not mean that in a negative way at all. It’s actually quite amazing and highly entertaining. Take the first section (I may have these items listed out of order), Bill goes from talking about the interconnectivity of trees, to talking about his family and the difficulties of keeping in contact during the pandemic, to talking about filming a scene where he is running on the top of a moving train, to swimming with sharks, to the passing of one of his wives, and then bringing it back to the trees and the repairing of ecosystems. Sounds crazy? A wild flight of ideas, right? And yet while reading it all felt like a natural progression. The book is insightful, humorous, at times quite touching, and above all always entertaining. There is no question that Shatner has lead an absolutely amazing life and I truly appreciate him sharing the insights he’s gained during his 90+ years on this planet, and I have no doubt I will find myself rereading this book again in the future.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R32NZ2MS70X8JL/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boldly-go-william-shatner/1140975996?ean=9781668007327&bvnotificationId=89b4dacd-441b-11ed-bfdb-0aaf391d44eb&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/219149162

When I was a kid we had one TV. And my dad loved Star Trek. Not only did I find Star Trek to be horribly boring, but it kept us from watching other shows that us kids would have enjoyed a lot more. I never knew William Shatner except as part of that show that robbed me of the complete television education that so many of my peers received while growing up in the 1900's. So I didn't like the guy. Fair? Not at all. But as my dad so often said, life isn't fair.

Fast forward a few years (just a few) and I began seeing William Shatner all over the place. He was in TV commercials, he was on the show Psych (where he plays Shawn Spencer's love interest's father, a really fun character), and then we discovered the show Brown Bag Wine Tasting. Turns out William Shatner is kind of a fascinating guy. He's got a well-rounded knowledge of a million different topics (which he can discuss without sounding like a pompous ass) and he has a genuine interest in learning about people and what they do.

While Brown Bag Wine Tasting focuses more on the guests and on the wines, Boldly Go focuses entirely on Shatner. And it's fascinating. He's done so many different things and had so many amazing experiences and despite being into his 90's he's still approaching life like a child, in awe of the world around him and ready to jump right in. I've always been fascinated by longevity and although Shatner doesn't address that much in this book I think that's part of his secret. He doesn't talk about getting old, he doesn't think about getting old, he still approaches life the same way he did at 10, the same way he did at 30, etc. He hasn't allowed himself to become an old man (we all know them, set in their ways, married to their routine, not interested in learning or doing anything new, that's what makes us "old"!)

This book is pretty special. I think it would be a good read for someone who was a Shatner fan and just wanted to read about his life. But this book is also a good read for someone who wants to know how a person should approach life to live more years and have more life in their years. It's given me a lot of food for thought, and I think it will for you too.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

I boldly went into this book, and found nothing of much interest to me. i'm sure there are many fans out there who will find it compelling.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Atria Books for an advanced copy of this collection of essays about getting older, but not aging, always going boldly after new things and never settling for being a has been.

I have always been a fan of Star Trek, especially the classic adventures. I always caught the reruns on WPIX in New York when visiting my grandparents, with my brother and my father. Good times. As a kid I always wanted to be Captain James T. Kirk. Or Spock. However I think as a grown-up I want the attitude and joie de vivre of the man that played Kirk, William Shatner. Here's a man who spends everyday living life, learning something new, making shows, making music, making memories for himself and those around him. In his latest book a collection of essays entitled Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder written with Joshua Brandon, Shatner discusses life, the universe and just about everything else that interests him, and how wonderful it all is.

The book begins with a discussion on the curiosity that has always filled him, his love of just seeing something that makes him go "Wow". The book goes into his humble upbringings his discovery of music and the arts, and how it drove him to succeed in both acting and in life. Shatner is also quick to discuss things like the loneliness that always seemed to surround him, the drive to become big and successful, something he thought was lost after Star Trek was canceled and he and his first wife divorced. Music was something he found he loved, though he will be the first to admit that singing, was not his forte, but still have a quirky charm, and a real strong sense of feeling. And he discusses those things that might have made him unpopular with some of his co- stars, things that he lacked the maturity to understand at the time, but that prospering to the age of 91 he can look at and go, hmm that is not a good look.

Swimming with the sharks, to going for real up into space, the book is filled with the actions and thoughts of a man who refuses to accept limitations. And he is the first to mention that being a beloved actor has made many of these feats easy to both set up and execute. The writing is quite good with a nice flow, the words come off the page in many ways sounding like Shatner would sound. And while I enjoyed reading about all the things he has done, it is the brain and the curiosity that I most enjoyed and would like to think that is how I want to approach the world. Not as ugh it was better in my day, more, huh not my thing but lets give it chance and see what happens. A very healthy way to look at things, and something I am going to try and do.

I remember reading an interview once with William Shatner, I'm not sure where, it could have been Esquire, it was probably Starlog, where Shatner said once I turned a certain age, that is when I decided to stop getting older. And I believe he has kept this promise. 91, writing books, working on his album, going into space, hosting television shows. Staying relevant and inspiring others. Not a bad legacy. A very enjoyable book, one that is perfect for fans, or for people who need a little inspiration in their lives as this world gets dumber and dumber. Be a Shatner, always try to learn something new, and always try to find something that makes ou go "Wow!".

I enjoyed hearing Mr. Shatner speak at a fan convention this summer, so I was excited to read this book. It gives numerous stories of interactions with former friends, cast members and colleagues of all sorts. At times, the name dropping is a bit overdone, and I found myself wishing that there was more detail about fewer people. I appreciated how it definitely reads authentically like you are listening to him speak, though. You should read this book if you want to be encouraged about how we fit into the world and universe around us. Mortality is a common theme throughout. LLAP!

I was very impressed by this book. So much so that it will probably be my gift giving title for 2022 holiday season.

91 y.o. William Shatner's newest book made me think about life from a different perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed Boldly Go. Each chapter presented a new focal point and his philosophical approach. Whether you are a Star Trek fan or not, William Shatner has had an interesting life beyond that short period of time. I now have a 'new to me' author to search out.

I watched  William Shatner on  television giving an interview a few years back, and I have to say, I was impressed by his attitude about life. When I saw this book, I was immediately drawn to it,desiring to know more about his thoughts on  connectivity.. 

I always thought Shatner was probably a sex symbol while on Star Trek. From the few reviews I've read about him online, I noticed there are those who think he is a bit of a diva. And yet, the man in these pages cared about the people he worked with, and was disappointed to find some didn't like him. Instead of sweeping comments like those under the rug, he openly admits that yes, he may have done things, unknowingly, that upset others and he tried to work things out with them later. What a wonderful thing to do. 

Some of the things he has done in his life border almost on daredevil. He walks the reader through what it's like to have done some of these things such as:  white water rafting that left him  in a precarious situation and flying a stunt plane alone without enough training on how to land it. He is a true story teller, and the wonderful descriptions made me feel as if I was there with him. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed how he talked about the connectivity of life and how everything is connected. He tells us his trip into space made him really think about how small our planet is and how fragile life is. If you have never seen something in nature that brought to your mind how amazing life is, you should definitely read this book! 

I absolutely loved this!

Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder by William Shatner is an excellent memoir that is full of reflections, essays, memories, and wonderful stories of a fascinating and impressive life.

I have enjoyed, admired, and respected Mr. Shatner for many decades. He is intelligent, feisty, witty, and entertaining. This memoir had all of that and more. As I read it, I felt as if his voice was lifting right off the page into my auditory canals. I flew through it in less than two days. I just loved it!

I can’t wait until the audiobook is released. (Hopefully there is one with the author as the narrator. It would be awesome!)

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Atria Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my NG account only and will post it to my GR, Bookbub, Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 10/4/22 per publisher request.

I received an ARC of, Boldly Go, by William Shatner. Famous actor William Shatner has written essays, and compiled them into a very interesting book. I did not know he recorded eight albums, I learned a lot of new things from this book.

Boldly Go: Reflections On a Life of Awe and Wonder will be released on October 4, 2022; Atria Books provided me an early galley to review.

Shatner, at age 91, is a sage elder - beloved and revered - especially for someone who grew up in the nerd sphere like myself. This book is very much in kind like that of sitting down with a grandparent and just listening to them impart wisdom on a variety of topics. Sure, Shatner goes on, veering off onto tangents and then returning back to main point, but he does it in his own unique style - of wit and drama and wonder. I suspect the audiobook version will be an even more delightful experience.

What I was very much looking forward to reading was Shatner's personal account of going into space last year. This chapter alone was worth checking the book out alone. It did not disappoint.

Given the past two years of our worlds being rocked by a pandemic, Boldly Go is perfectly timed. Shatner has used it to reflect on his life, and he shares those stories with readers in hopes that they too can reflect upon their own and recognize the blessings and gifts that have come to them that might have been forgotten over time.