Customer Reviews

Patrick Stewart: The Unauthorized Biography

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In deference to my longstanding crush on Patrick Stewart, my husband gave this to me as a joke, and a joke it is! If I were to gather up a pile of fanzines, tabloids and talk show video clips, I could have written this book (although I hope I would have proofread it a little better. The typos are legion.) The "authors" did nothing except cut and paste previously published material -- no additional research or interviews went into producing it. Faithfully repeating what Mr. Stewart said to Jay Leno is about as insightful as it gets. All my Amazon pals who gave this 5 stars might want to try reading a real biography some time!

Authors Hatfield and Burt sifted through mountains of press clippings and hours of interviews to give their readers a solid foundation of facts about the life of actor Patrick Stewart. These facts, however, are often couched in an "En-quiring minds want to know" writing style that does a great disservice, at times, to their subject as well as their own hard work. Tales of Stewart's violent childhood are harrowing enough without the Dickensian embellishments by Hatfield/Burt. The star's private life (an oxymoron?) as "documented" in tabloid headlines gets an extra dash of spice by the smirking account supplied by the authors. Stories of conflict with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry show Stewart as a canny operator not unlike some of the Shakepearean villians he has portrayed. Hatfield and Burt didn't need to resort to tabloidization; the truth is colorful and fascinating enough. Stewart fans hungry for information will find facts and documentatio! n in plenty here, and overlook the dramatizations.

I found the biographical information on Stewart very interesting and well done. Plus, the book gives a great look at the happenings behind the scenes during the making of the Next Generation television series. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down.

More than just the Star Trek years, this book really goes into Stewart's youth. It is very focused on his personal life. The photos are nice and the tone of the book is respectful, but it does pry very deeply into Stewart's personal life.

Even if you're not a Star Trek fan, you will enjoy this book. It details Stewart's abusive childhood, his heartache, his struggle to become a classically-trained Shakespearean actor, and how he came to fame through the cultural phenomenon known as STAR TREK. I highly recommend this book. Well-written, fair and highly addictive. I read it in one sitting

Oh, sure, there have been several Shatner biographies, but this is the ONE and ONLY Patrick Stewart biography. Wow! This is no quickie, celebrity bio. This is in-depth: His violent childhood at the hands of an alcoholic father, his years spent with the RSC and why he took roles in some rather "forgettable B-movies," what really went on between Shatner and Stewart on the set of Generations, but more importantly, if you are a diehard Trekker then the chapters detailing his fights with Roddenberry over the development of the Picard role and his influence on scripts, etc. was a GREAT reading. Fantastic pictures inside, too, from school plays in England (when he had hair), etc. The epilogue ends with on-location filming in Arizona for First Contact. I know this is an old, worn-out line, but I couldn't put it down. Check it out!!

I am a businessman who doesn't have much time to read books outside of his profession, but I do enjoy listening to a good book on tape when I'm in traffic or on a plane. I have always enjoyed THE NEXT GENERATION because it requires you to use your gray cells. In other words, it is not mind candy like some other shows on TV. And, of course, my favorite actor on the series was Patrick Stewart. Biographies answer the questions we all want to know about a person and this interesting audio version of the biography certainly does. I highly recommend it

Personally, I haven't bought the book. But I wouldn't buy it because it is an UNAUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY. Usually, the information from these books comes from TV shows, magazines, tabloids, etc. I'm a fan of Patrick Stewart and even if I wasn't, I wouldn't buy the book because most of it is probably not true or allegedly true. When Mr. Stewart rights his own biography or gives someone permission to write it for him, then I'll believe it.