Up Till Now by William Shatner

Up Till Now is a memoir, that covers pretty much all of Shatner's life to date, in short bursts. It's a funny, sad, heartfelt book and it feels exactly as though he's sitting across from you telling you the whole story.

He goes off on to tangents, tells stories in the middle of other stories and waxes on a variety of subjects that all have one thing in common: William Shatner. Yet he doesn't come across as egocentric. Instead he comes across as a man who gets the joke. Who has always got the joke and we are the ones left a little bewildered.

Up Till Now is fabulous. Funny, as I said _ especially when he starts listing all the Star Trek merchandise. He'll interrupt a perfectly good story about something completely unrelated and just start listing it again _ as though he can't quite believe it. As he puts it, to him, and presumably the other actors at the time, it was a job. They were grateful to be working in a shaky industry and had no idea Star Trek would become the phenomenon it is now.

And what I didn't know is how much Shatner has done in the field of acting. From starting out as a young man in Canadian theatre, to Broadway, to early TV, to Star Trek, T J Hooker and right up to Boston Legal, he has done a lot! I got the impression from the book that he just pretty much says yes to anything he's offered, which has led to a fascinating life.

Shatner is also reflective as he talks about his life, his works, and his loves. The most moving chapter of the book is the one that deals with the death of his third wife, Nerine, who drowned in their family swimming pool. It's heartfelt and incredibly moving.

Sigh ... I need to come up with some kind of rating system. Otherwise my reviews just sort of peter out.