I Am Spock
by Leonard Nimoy
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An autobiography presenting anecdotes from the author's life as an actor and director and from his experiences playing Mr. Spock on Star Trek.Tags
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Contrary to what its title may suggests, this is more that merely about the relationship between Leonard Nimoy and Spock. Of course, for those interested, then there's that in length! For instance, the actor retells in details his complicated connection with the character and how, at times, such connection has been so deep that it has impacted even his own personality and personal life. But not only.
This book is, first and foremost, about Nimoy's careers both as an actor and as a director. For someone like me who is, otherwise, completely uninterested in TV culture and cinema (I came to this book only because I'm a fan of the Star Trek franchise...) then this was a great insight into his other achievements and ambitions. Will I delve show more into these other bodies of work? Maybe. Some left me curious, and (maybe) I will explore these other aspects of his career. The thing is...
The thing is that, again, I came to this book only because of Spock and the Start Trek franchise. As a Star Trek fan, then, if there's anything that I loved about this read is how Leonard Nimoy retells well-known anecdotes and facts (to Trekkies at least!) but from his own perspective (e.g. how Spock's personality developed thanks to the contrasting acting of William Shatner in regards to Captain Kirk's personality; the demanding workloads and working practices while doing the original series etc.). Another welcomed feature of the book was his positivity and gentlemanly grace. For instance, a lot of negative things have been said over the years regarding his relationship with Shatner during the show (e.g. their squabbles about who ought to have had the leading role; their jealousy in matter of paycheques etc.). Well (thankfully!) the actor clearly has no interest in delving into these and so, on the contrary, remains grateful and highly appreciative throughout, lauding praise not only upon Shatner but the whole cast and team too as a whole. It's a welcome positivity. Last but not least, I was really immersed into the titbits regarding Vulcanalia and how various aspects of the Vulcan culture were developed over various episodes, by him and others. His passion for the show also reveals itself when he is talking about his (very opiniated!) vision and directing. If you love Star Trek's trivia, then this is definitely a must read.
All in all, then, if I certainly didn't appreciate this autobiography due to my overall ignorance of his career outside Star Trek, as a Trekkie I surely loved his insights about the show and the developing of Spock. Nimoy's humility, enthusiasm, and humour throughout makes it all the more pleasant to read! show less
This book is, first and foremost, about Nimoy's careers both as an actor and as a director. For someone like me who is, otherwise, completely uninterested in TV culture and cinema (I came to this book only because I'm a fan of the Star Trek franchise...) then this was a great insight into his other achievements and ambitions. Will I delve show more into these other bodies of work? Maybe. Some left me curious, and (maybe) I will explore these other aspects of his career. The thing is...
The thing is that, again, I came to this book only because of Spock and the Start Trek franchise. As a Star Trek fan, then, if there's anything that I loved about this read is how Leonard Nimoy retells well-known anecdotes and facts (to Trekkies at least!) but from his own perspective (e.g. how Spock's personality developed thanks to the contrasting acting of William Shatner in regards to Captain Kirk's personality; the demanding workloads and working practices while doing the original series etc.). Another welcomed feature of the book was his positivity and gentlemanly grace. For instance, a lot of negative things have been said over the years regarding his relationship with Shatner during the show (e.g. their squabbles about who ought to have had the leading role; their jealousy in matter of paycheques etc.). Well (thankfully!) the actor clearly has no interest in delving into these and so, on the contrary, remains grateful and highly appreciative throughout, lauding praise not only upon Shatner but the whole cast and team too as a whole. It's a welcome positivity. Last but not least, I was really immersed into the titbits regarding Vulcanalia and how various aspects of the Vulcan culture were developed over various episodes, by him and others. His passion for the show also reveals itself when he is talking about his (very opiniated!) vision and directing. If you love Star Trek's trivia, then this is definitely a must read.
All in all, then, if I certainly didn't appreciate this autobiography due to my overall ignorance of his career outside Star Trek, as a Trekkie I surely loved his insights about the show and the developing of Spock. Nimoy's humility, enthusiasm, and humour throughout makes it all the more pleasant to read! show less
The early parts are mostly the same Star Trek anecdotes you hear everywhere (although probably nice to have if you can't get I Am Not Spock which is now expensive and hard to find). There's new stuff about Nimoy's involvement with the Trek movies and his directing work though, and a small window into his relationship with the character of Spock. The book could've gone much more in-depth on basically any topic raised, but it's nice anyway.
This proved to be quite an interesting read, filled with intelligent and thoughtful analysis of the role of the actor and director, discussing both aspects of building a character and the consistency of message in a dramatic work, as well as the role of drama in contemporary culture. Of course there was plenty of the "I did this then" stuff that autobiography is all about, and about which I do not always have patience. I also acknowledge that this is basically inconsistent seeing as I write an "I did this then" kind of blog. Oh well. Contradictory impulses and inconsistencies are us.
In I Am Spock, Leonard Nimoy examines his career beginning before Star Trek through the completion of the sixth film. He explains what makes a character interesting to him, seeks to disabuse readers of the notion that he hates the character for whom he is most well-known (a result of his first autobiography, I Am Not Spock), and discusses the friendships that have made the work worthwhile for him.
I first encountered Nimoy's work through Star Trek and have since enjoyed his various other roles, either in drama, comedy, or different science fiction stories. Though I knew a great deal about him from interviews and documentaries, reading Nimoy's own self-reflection offered an enlightening look at the man and his craft. As I write, it is show more eleven months since Nimoy died and the hopeful note on which he ends his second autobiography takes on a more bittersweet quality. He will be missed. show less
I first encountered Nimoy's work through Star Trek and have since enjoyed his various other roles, either in drama, comedy, or different science fiction stories. Though I knew a great deal about him from interviews and documentaries, reading Nimoy's own self-reflection offered an enlightening look at the man and his craft. As I write, it is show more eleven months since Nimoy died and the hopeful note on which he ends his second autobiography takes on a more bittersweet quality. He will be missed. show less
This memoir by Leonard Nimoy focuses on his involvement with the Star Trek television series and the succeeding Star Trek movies. Of course he is well known for his portrayal of Spock in that TV series and those movies. However, he also directed Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and served as executive producer for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Nimoy provides much very interesting information about how the TV series and movies were conceived, developed and filmed. He provides much information about the writers, directors, producers, and actors with whom he worked. He discusses individual stories and scenes from TV episodes and movies, and provides his viewpoint of how he carried out his show more responsibilities as an actor and as a director. Of course, he also provides interesting information about the “Creator”, Gene Roddenberry. However, the relationship between Nimoy and Spock is the most important relationship in this book. The book continues a dialogue between Nimoy and Spock that began in his previous book, I Am Not Spock. He expresses regret about the title of that book, because it resulted in much animosity from fans and other problems for him. Many people thought he did not like portraying Spock or being part of the Star Trek phenomenon. As the title of this book confirms, Nimoy admits that he cares deeply about the character and indeed Spock is part of him and he is part of Spock. Conversations between the two of them appear throughout this book, as Nimoy hears Spock’s voice in his head and responds. I found these conversations to be “fascinating.” I also found them to be very informative about how an actor comes to respect and even love a character. Nimoy also discusses many other very significant acting roles, performances, and achievements that occurred between his Star Trek work periods. I enjoyed this book very much and I recommend it to anyone interested in TV, theatre, or movies. It should be required reading for Star Trek fans and for anyone who admires Nimoy’s work.
First Line: – “Let’s open this book with a couple of shattering confessions right up front: 1. I talk to myself; and 2. I hear voices in my head.”
Last Line: - “You’re Leonard Spock!” show less
First Line: – “Let’s open this book with a couple of shattering confessions right up front: 1. I talk to myself; and 2. I hear voices in my head.”
Last Line: - “You’re Leonard Spock!” show less
Good autobiography of Leonard Nimoy (and in the audiobook, read by the author!) focusing on his involvement with Star Trek and role as Spock. Answers a lot of questions about his thoughts on the movies, background dealings with the studios, etc. A short book and easy read (but better as an audiobook in this case, definitely.)
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Having read the first one, this one greatly expands upon it. I remember the rumors of Leonard Nimoy hating the Spock character and deciding after Spock was killed off that he changed his mind. Patently not true. I never got a sense that he hated Spock, even from the first book. Nimoy had an amazing career and it was great to see how much more he had done outside of Star Trek.
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Leonard Nimoy was born Boston, Massachusetts on March 26, 1931. As a child, he acted in local productions. After taking a summer course at Boston College in 1949, he traveled to Hollywood. In 1951, he landed small parts in two movies, Queen for a Day and Rhubarb. His first starring movie role came in 1952 with Kid Monk Baroni. He was teaching show more Method acting at his own studio when he was cast as Mr. Spock in the original Star Trek television series in the mid-1960s. He continued to play the role in several Star Trek movies. He directed and helped write Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He was the executive producer and a writer of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. He also directed Three Men and a Baby. He made records, singing pop songs as well as original songs about Star Trek, and gave spoken-word performances. His first album was called Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock's Music from Outer Space. He also provided voice overs for movies, television series, and computer games including the Ancient Mysteries series on the History Channel, Transformers: The Movie, The Pagemaster, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and the computer game Civilization IV. During his lifetime, he wrote two autobiographies entitled I Am Not Spock and I Am Spock and a collection of poetry entitled A Lifetime of Love: Poems on the Passages of Life. He also published books of his photography including Shekhina and The Full Body Project. He died from end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on February 27, 2015 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Is a (non-series) sequel to
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- I Am Spock
- Original title
- I Am Spock
- Original publication date
- 1995
- People/Characters
- Leonard Nimoy; William Shatner; Gene Roddenberry; Spock; F. Murray Abraham; Kirstie Alley (show all 242); Amanda Grayson; Dame Judith Anderson; Roseanne Arnold; Isaac Asimov; Barbara Bain; Majel Barrett; Harry Belafonte; Harve Bennett; Ingrid Bergman; Rick Berman; Elmer Bernstein; Eando Binder; John D.F. Black; Merritt Blake; Charles Bluhdorn; Ray Bradbury; Marlon Brando; Alex Brewis; Charles Bronson; Richard Brooks; Yul Brynner; Nathan Butler; Merritt Buttrick; James Calvert; Albert Camus; David Carson; Kim Cattrall; Miguel de Cervantes; John Chambers; César Chávez; Dabney Coleman; Margaret Colin; Richard Colla; Gene Coon; Jeff Corey; Robert Cort; Kevin Costner; Alexander Courage; Bill Cox; Doug Cramer; Richard Crenna; Jim Cruickshank; Robin Curtis; Roy Danchik; Marc Daniels; Blythe Danner; Ted Danson; Judy Davis; John De Lancie; Pasqualino De Santis; Rosanna DeSoto; Scott De Venney; Colleen Dewhurst; Anatoly Dubrynin; Jimmy Doohan; Kirk Douglas; Frank Drake; Marj Dusay; Michael Eisner; Harlan Ellison; Fabian; Mark Ferrari; Debbie Ferrari; Paul Fix; Denny Martin Flinn; Henry Fonda; D. C. Fontana (Dorothy Fontana); Robert Foxworth; Bernie Francis; Pat Frank; Fred Freiberger; John Garfield; David Gautreaux; Phil Gersh; Arnold Glimcher; Mikail Gorbachev; Peter Graves; Adam Greenberg; Lee Greenway; Tracy Griffith; Red Groom; Steve Guttenberg; Phillipe Halsman; Marvin Hamlisch; Mariette Hartley; Catherine Hicks; Colin Higgins; Arthur Hiller; Hal Holbrook; Celeste Holm; James Horner; Paul Horowitz; John Hoyt; Victor Hugo; Jeffrey Hunter; Iman; Jill Ireland; Sam Jaffee; Steven-Charles Jaffee; Bob Justman; Jeffrey Katzenberg; Danny Kaye; Diane Keaton; Sally Kellerman; Carolyn Kelley; DeForest Kelley; Deborah Kerr; Persis Khambatta; Charles Kimbrough; Martin Luther King, Jr.; James T. Kirk; Henry Kissinger; Mona Knox; Walter Koenig; Peter Krikes; Vincenzo LaBella; Christine Lahti; Martin Landau; Peter Larkin; John Larroquette; Charles Laughton; Mark Lenard; Joanne Linville; Harold Livingston; Christopher Lloyd; Euan Lloyd; Gary Lockwood; Jack Lord; Peter Lorre; David Loughery; Celia Lovsky; George Lucas; Laurence Luckinbill; Peter Lupus; David McCallum; Eugene McCarthy; Maura McGivney; James McKeechan; Frank Mancuso; W. Somerset Maugham; Steve Meerson; Edie Mermelstein; Mel Mermelstein; Nicholas Meyer; Ed Milkis; Ray Milland; Arthur Miller; Sue Miller; Ricardo Montalban; Giuliano Montalban; Greg Morris; Philip Morrison; Vic Morrow; Eddie Murphy; Gary Nardino; Liam Neeson; Nichelle Nichols; Adam Nimoy; Boris Nimoy; Julie Nimoy; Susan Nimoy; Clifford Odets; Maureen O'Hara; Laurence Olivier; Edward James Olmos; James Orr; Mike Ovitz; Roger Payne; Sam Peeples; Leo Penn; Ed Perlstein; Joe Pevney; Fred Phillips; Michael Piller; Christopher Plummer; Robert Radnitz; Ken Ralston; Michael Rennie; Ernest Reynaud; Jason Robards; Nilo Rodis; Ronald Rubin; Ying Ruoshen; Mark Rydell; Rafael Sabatini; Anwar el-Sadat; Sarek; Joseph Sargent; Eric Schepard; George Slatter; Tom Selleck (as Tom Sellick); Coline Serreau; Joan Severance; William Shakespeare; Ben Shaktman; Sid Sheinberg; Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; Armin Shimmerman; Nevil Shute; Elliott Silverstein; Stephen Slane; Jerry Sohl; Herb Solow; Brent Spiner; Benjamin Spock; Phillip Stephens; Jan Sterling; Patrick Stewart; Theodore "Ted" Sturgeon; Barry Sullivan; George Takei; Ned Tanen; Dave Tebet; Norman Thagard; Kirk Thatcher; T'Lar; T'Pau; Bjo Trimble; Theo van Gogh; Robert Vaughn; Teresa Victor; Erich von Däniken; Sam Wanamaker; David Warner; Lesley Anne Warren; David Watkin; Grace Lee Whitney; Gene Wilder; Edmund Wilson; Paul Winfield; Ralph Winter; Robert Wise; Morgan Woodward; Steve Wozniak; Jane Wyatt; Teddy Zee
- Important places
- Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Dedication
- To Stoots,
For the love
and laughter.
A Stoots,
Per l'amore
e le risate. - First words
- Let's open this book with a couple of shattering confessions right up front:
1. I talk to myself; and
2. I hear voices in my head. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And she reached out to shake my hand. "You're Leonard Spock!"
- Original language*
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 791.45028092 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Television Acting Biography
- LCC
- PN2287 .N55 .A3 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 1,393
- Popularity
- 16,986
- Reviews
- 24
- Rating
- (3.82)
- Languages
- 5 — English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal)
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook
- ISBNs
- 18
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 5