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

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Note that this is an abridged edition of this title. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable 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: 416 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (June 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671890093
• ISBN-13: 978-0671890094
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #588,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 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.

6 of 6 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.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book - only wish there was more, March 4, 2000

By	"tjdigit" (Herndon, VA) - See all my reviews

Just finished reading George Takei's autobiography and enjoyed it immensely! George is a very talented & gifted writer who paints pictures with prose. He told very engaging stories about his family's triumphs & tribulations in America as well as his eventual rise to Sulu in the Star Trek juggernaut. His book provides a very honest & compelling view of his family's ordeal in the Japanese internment camps in the US during World War II. In spite of this awful abrogation of their constitutional rights by the US government, they still believed and never gave up on the American dream....simply amazing! The only reason I didn't give this book five stars is that his coverage of his days with Star Trek (both television series & movies) was a little thin. Given the colorful cast of characters within Star Trek as well as that dysfunctional bazaar called Hollywood, I have to believe there is more literary & comical gold to be mined from his life story.