Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry [Hardcover]

David Alexander (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1994

This is the book Star Trek fans have been waiting for! The one and only authorized biography of Gene Roddenberry, the creative force behind the classic and increasingly popular science fiction show. 16-page insert.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Alexander was editor of the Humanist when Roddenberry (1921-1991) chose him as his biographer. The result is a panegyric in the sharpest possible contrast to Joel Engel's Gene Roddenberry (Nonfiction Forecasts, Mar. 21). In tracing his subject's career in the Army Air Corps in WW II, as a Pan Am pilot and member of the Los Angeles Police Department, the author shows Roddenberry as a brave and adventurous man who proved to be hardworking and tenacious as well. While the original Star Trek series lasted for three years and lost money every year until 1969, when it was cancelled, by 1972 it was a huge hit in syndication. Then followed a series of movies starting in 1979 and another TV series, Star Trek: The Next Generation , beginning in 1987, followed by Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . As for "warts," Alexander treats Roddenberry's compulsive womanizing as a lovable idiosyncrasy; he also presents without details a list of six science fiction writers who worked for Roddenberry on Star Trek but would no longer do so. Exhaustive but exhausting. Filmography. Photos not seen by PW. 100,000 first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The authorized biography of Star Trek's mastermind is a monumentally documented work, drawing largely from Roddenberry's papers as well as the papers of and interviews with those close to him. It portrays an ambitious and talented man, restless and unsettled in his personal life yet fixed on his career goals. Roddenberry's family, his experiences as a World War II bomber pilot in the South Pacific and an airline pilot after the war, and his relatively short but eventful career in the Los Angeles Police Department all helped shape him. Although sometimes the sheer mass of detail makes the narrative difficult to follow, that same wealth of information provides fascinating insights into not only Roddenberry and his correspondents but also the worlds of sf and its fandom and the making of TV and movies. The many letters between Roddenberry and Isaac Asimov constitute a particularly interesting bonanza, and the appended Roddenberry filmography is useful. All in all, Alexander makes a significant contribution to the understanding of an enigmatic man and his creations. (See also Engel's Gene Roddenberry.) Dennis Winters

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Roc; 1St Edition edition (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451454189
• ISBN-13: 978-0451454188
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The usual problems of "authorized" biographies:, September 24, 2000

By 

"snopes" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (Hardcover)

1) This is a hagiography written by a friend, not an objective biography. Roddenberry's character flaws (and there were many) are barely touched upon or completely glossed over. (The one-sided, multi-page attempt to discredit detractor David Gerrold is embarrassingly silly, for example.)

2) For a book written by someone who was supposedly Robbenberry's friend, precious little of the story comes from the man himself. Nearly half the book (and almost all of the latter sections) consists of transcripts of memos and letters written by Roddenberry.

3) The editing is sloppy; typos abound, most frequently in people's names. Usually they're just annoying, but when you see uncorrected misspellings such as "Harland Ellison" and "Leslie Nielson," you have to wonder just how well the author knew the details of what he was writing about, and whether he was simply parroting material given to him by others.

I'd recommend sticking with Joel Engel's biography of Roddenberry as an antidote. It too has its slant, but it's nonetheless a far more rounded effort than this volume.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revealing to those who wish to become TV Screenwriters, December 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (Paperback)

While I agree with one of the previous reviewers, that Roddenberry could have chosen a more experienced chronicler, I understand why he did not. Still, despite its shortcommings, Star Trek Creator should be applauded for going beyond what a "Trekkie" would necessarily want to hear to becomming a book about one man's journey into making a living in Hollywood. DR.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great and enjoyable, July 11, 2003

By 

Eric P. Medlock (Charlotte, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Trek Creator: The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry (Hardcover)

The other reviewer was overly harsh. This book was a wonderful telling of Gene Rodenburry's life. Was it perfect? No, but I do feel that I have a greater appreciation for the man and his life. I have a much better understanding of what motivated him and his ideas. This book is so cheap that you can't lose.