Ebook: Up Till Now: The Autobiography

It is now Bill Shatners 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. Hes sitting next to Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel, and hes practically a regular on Howard Sterns show. He was recently honored with election to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. He was a target on a Comedy Centrals 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 Kirks 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 Shakespeares Henry V or staring at something on the wing in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone. And since then, hes 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 historys 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 hes become the worldwide star and experienced actor he is today.

From Publishers Weekly

Working with various collaborators, Shatner has previously written science fiction (the TekWar series) and science fact (I'm Working on That), and ventured into memoir with Star Trek Memories. Embarking on a full-scale autobiography, he begins with his Montreal childhood doing children's theater, then covers comedies with the Canadian National Repertory Theatre, lead roles with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and live TV in New York City in 1956: I became one of the busiest actors in the city. At that point Shatner opens a Pandora's box of self-deprecating humor and fascinating anecdotes about the hilarious goofs, on-camera accidents and stage fright during the live TV era. Obsessed with work, Shatner took any job that came his way, from dog shows to reality TV. Some of his tales are quite funny, such as doing an entire feature film, Incubus (1965), in Esperanto: No one understood their lines. Covering his multiple careers of acting, writing and directing, he never pulls his punches, describing humiliations as well as triumphs. Shatner's sincerity, honesty and heightened sense of humor all come across at warp speed in this entertaining memoir. (May 13)
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High SchoolToday's teens may know Shatner from his role as Denny Crane in Boston Legal, or as the pitchman for Priceline.com, or as a character in several Brad Paisley music videos. They are probably also aware of his enduring role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek television show and movies. In this autobiography, he takes a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at his long acting career, starting with performing in the Montreal Children's Theatre, moving on to the Canadian Rep, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and, ultimately, just about every television drama that was on the air in the 1950s. Over the years, he clearly learned to laugh at himself, which makes this book an entertaining read as he talks about his career, his four wives, three daughters, horses, love of risk-taking, eternal quest for financial security, and lots of people, famous and otherwise, whom he met along the way. Although the narrative is roughly chronological, Shatner never hesitates to stop in the middle of one story to tell another, or to refer to something that happened much later. There is some repetition-he clearly has favorite stories-but his lighthearted approach makes readers willing to be indulgent of his vagaries and excesses.Sarah Flowers, Santa Clara County Library, CA
Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.