To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu [Paperback]

George Takei (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1995

Best known as Mr. Sulu, helmsman of the Starship Enterprise and Captain of the Starship Excelsior, George Takei is beloved by millions as part of the command team that has taken audiences to new vistas of adventure in Star Trek - the unprecedented television and feature film phenomenon. From the program's death at the hands of the network to its rebirth in the hearts and minds of loyal fans, the Star Trek story has blazed its own path into our recent cultural history, leading to a series of blockbuster feature films and three new versions of Star Trek for television. While the public record of Star Trek is familiar to us all, much of the real story is not. Starting with Star Trek's inception and encompassing its breakneck production schedule, the show's cancellation and its renewed life in films, George Takei gives a unique firsthand account of the creative experiences, personalities, and egos behind the thirty-year Star Trek phenomenon. The Star Trek story is one of boundless hope and crushing disappointment, wrenching rivalries and incredible achievements. It is also the story of how, after nearly thirty years, the cast of characters from a unique but poorly rated television show have come to be known to millions of Americans and people around the world as family.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Note that this is an abridged edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Asian-American actor Takei attributes his success to his role as Mr. Sulu on the Star Trek TV series and in six full-length motion pictures (1966-1991). Starting with his Japanese-American family's internment in a WWII high-security camp in northern California, this lively memoir reveals the author's upbeat but pragmatic nature. The boy's early fascination with the theater, abetted by supportive parents and a B.A. and M.A. in theater from UCLA, led to his discovery when he was 27 by Gene Roddenberry, creator/producer of Star Trek. While Takei's film credits include Ice Palace, Green Berets and [Return from the River Kwai], most of the book, of major interest to Star Trek fans, deals with behind-the-scenes accounts of the series' filming and production.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon Spotlight Entertainment; Young adult ed edition (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671536230
• ISBN-13: 978-0671536237
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,133,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book from a very intriguing person, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (Paperback)

I've read most of the books from the Star Trek ensemble. I, by far, enjoy most the books that are written by the biographer his/herself, such as George Takei has done. This is a true life story, and not just another solilquy of Star Trek life. His account of his early life is particularly fascinating (to quote Mr. Spock!). His unique insight, experiences, and literary talents make this book among the best autobiographies of any type. To illustrate just how good this book is, my wife, who is not particularly a Star Trek fan, grapped up this book and read it before I could! You most definitely DO NOT need to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy this work of art.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Personal Favorite, January 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (Paperback)

I very much enjoyed Mr.Takei's autiobiography, which is actually the story of an Asian man's experience in America, from the time of his internment at the Manzanar concentration camp as a young child, to his student days at UCLA, and his subsequent struggle against ethnic stereotyping at a time of very few opportunities for Asian actors. He shares very painful and personal memories with us of his career and family; his autiobiography continues through his Star Trek days of course, up to the present, with many intriguing revelations. What makes this book my favorite is that it is extremely well-written, in his voice, without the help of a ghost-writer. I hope this will not be the last I see of his writing. I don't know why one reviewer harped on George's comments on William Shatner, saying "he couldn't even finish the book" - strange comment, considering George's feelings on Shatner come in the middle, and constitute a few pages out of the entire book.

This and Nichelle Nichol's are my two favorites from the cast, also written in her own voice, from the perspective of a minority actor in '50's America, and no less fascinating, in that she seems to have worked with or met almost every famous black performer at one time or another.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars He's Not Just Sulu., July 30, 2007

By 

Kevin T. McGuinness (Virginia, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (Paperback)

I just finished reading George Takei's autobiography the other night. This guy has led a fascinating life.

When he was younger, he met Eleanor Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. His first job in show business was helping to dub "Rodan" into English. Before "Star Trek", he did movies with Richard Burton and Alec Guinness. And during the run of the show, he did a movie with John Wayne.

Till I read this book, I also didn't know that he had spent 11 years on a commission in L.A. that was responsible for getting their subway system built.

Interestingly, he doesn't go into a huge amount of detail about the show, though he makes his (and other cast members') reasons clear for not liking Shatner. And given certain revelations about Takei's personal life over the last few years, any discussion about relationships outside of his family and career are strangely absent from the book. Still, it's a good read.

I do agree with other reviewers, however, that even with a length of 400 pages, this book seemed too short. Given that it came out in 1994, I would love to see Takei update and re-release it.