Book Review: Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner and David Fisher

About:

Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner and David Fisher is a memoir of the famous actor and his up and down relationship with his co-star Leonard Nimoy. Mr. Shatner needs no introduction, he is a successful actor and author. Mr. Fisher is the author and co-author of more than twenty New York Times bestsellers.

• 288 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250083311

My rating for Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man – 4
Buy Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man from Amazon.com*
More Books by William Shatner*
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Books by Leonard Nimoy*

Thoughts:

I remember when I discovered Star Trek, I was about 10 and fascinated with all things “space”. The show, even though was simply “new to me” was fascinating, fresh, and original even though I certainly didn’t get all the social commentary.

Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man by William Shatner and David Fisher is a touching homage, Mr. Shatner obviously cared deeply for Mr. Nimoy and it comes through. This is by no means a biography of either actor, and if you go in with the preconceived notion, then you are bound to be somewhat disappointed.

What is really surprising about the book is how honest and frank it is. Mr. Shatner talks about his relationship with Mr. Nimoy with openness, especially about the feuds they had. Regardless, it is clear that the author clearly loved Mr. Nimoy and admired him as a human being and a superb actor.

I didn’t think that the parallel biographies of the two actors worked, it felt awkward and the attempts to show how they grew up separate but almost on the same track felt forced. At some point the two stopped speaking, and it’s clear that Mr. Shatner regrets that they didn’t get closer as time went by. Whether this regret was posthumously or not is not clear from the narrative.

As the book goes on, it I felt that Mr. Shatner was almost trying to apologize to Mr. Nimoy as he realized what their friendship meant (”until Leonard and I had developed our relationship… I didn’t even know what a friend was.”) and how special the relationship was. Like many friendships, professional or otherwise, there are highs and lows, and saw both actors achieve solid careers, Mr. Shatner in acting and Mr. Nimoy as an actor and director.

The book certainly achieved its goal, a wonderful tribute to a good friend. Even though it was certain evident how much Mr. Shatner likes himself, it was toned down and constituted an engrossing read.

Buy Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man from Amazon.com*
More Books by William Shatner*
More Books by David Fisher*
Books by Leonard Nimoy*

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book from the local library.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account