Just a Geek 1st Edition

by Wil Wheaton (Author)

179 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0596007683

ISBN-10: 059600768X

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Wil Wheaton has never been one to take the conventional path to success. Despite early stardom through his childhood role in the motion picture "Stand By Me", and growing up on television as Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Wil left Hollywood in pursuit of happiness, purpose, and a viable means of paying the bills. In the oddest of places, Topeka, Kansas, Wil discovered that despite his claims to fame, he was at heart Just a Geek.

In this bestselling book, Wil shares his deeply personal and difficult journey to find himself. You'll understand the rigors, and joys, of Wil's rediscovering of himself, as he comes to terms with what it means to be famous, or, ironically, famous for once having been famous. Writing with honesty and disarming humanity, Wil touches on the frustrations associated with his acting career, his inability to distance himself from Ensign Crusher in the public's eyes, the launch of his incredibly successful web site, wilwheaton.net, and the joy he's found in writing. Through all of this, Wil shares the ups and downs he encountered along the journey, along with the support and love he discovered from his friends and family.

The stories in Just a Geek include:

Wil's plunge from teen star to struggling actor
Discovering the joys of HTML, blogging, Linux, and web design
The struggle between Wesley Crusher, Starfleet ensign, and Wil Wheaton, author and blogger
Gut-wrenching reactions to the 9-11 disaster
Moving tales of Wil's relationships with his wife, step-children, and extended family
The transition from a B-list actor to an A-list author

Wil Wheaton--celebrity, blogger, and geek--writes for the geek in all of us. Engaging, witty, and pleasantly self-deprecating, Just a Geek will surprise you and make you laugh.

Just a Geek

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A cleverly constructed and vivid collection of memoirs with flashes of brilliant wit, this title betters even Dancing Barefoot." - Paul Hudson, Linux Format, Nov (top stuff award)

About the Author

Wil Wheaton may be one of the most unusual celebrities of our time. Born into stardom with the movie "Stand By Me", and then growing up on television as Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Wil was in the spotlight nearly his entire childhood. Instead of burning out as a child star, he left fame behind and became a computer specialist in what Hollywood might consider the middle of nowhere: Topeka, Kansas. Now, Wil considers himself "just a geek", and both Dancing Barefoot and the forthcoming biography Just a Geek are about his journey in rediscovering himself and coming to terms with what it means to be famous, or, ironically, famous for being previously famous.

Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (June 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 059600768X
ISBN-13: 978-0596007683
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
Average Customer Review: 179 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #105 in Books > Computers & Technology > Graphics & Design > Electronic Documents
- #183 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Computers & Technology
- #634 in Books > Computers & Technology > Operating Systems > Windows > Windows Desktop

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Unputdownable

ByTraceton July 30, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Let me get this out of the way: I hated Wesley Crusher. Deep and burning passion of loathing? I had it. Here was this kid, younger than I was, taking screen time away from the magnificent Captain Picard. Saving the ship. Putting the ship in danger and then saving it. Piloting the ship. There was apparently a group who were rooting for seeing him go out an airlock, and I would have joined it – and, yes, it was in some part jealousy, because I was a young and rabid Trekkie and here was this kid, younger than I was… But it was also some poor writing, of the sort that inevitably created antipathy for this kid. It had little if anything to do with Wil Wheaton's really quite adept portrayal, but there was no wonder that I was far from alone in hating Wesley Crusher.

Unfortunately, others in that group were more vocal than I ever was, and Wil Wheaton knew all about how much how many people loathed Wesley Crusher. And, even more unfortunately and nonsensically, him. That'll have an effect on anyone – and especially an intelligent, sensitive, earnest teenaged boy who sees his future as that-guy-who-used-to-be-on-that-show writ large in a kind of pathetic Star Trek font. It – and other factors – made him walk away from Hollywood for a few years, and from Trek for a decade.

What this book is all about, and why it kept me up till oh crap, is that the time?! and why my respect for Wil Wheaton is greater than I ever could have anticipated, is his (insert less clichéd word than "journey" here) from the bitterness and hurt and anger stemming from Being Wesley Crusher and trying (and painfully failing) to resuscitate his acting career … to a mature and rather joyful reconciliation with his past, and new and optimistic plan for the future.

The subtitle promises that the book is unflinchingly honest - and it feels like it is. Wil made an ass of himself on several occasions, and he owns to it - and owns it. He is scathing about those who have hurt him (sometimes, diplomatically, without naming names, but really how hard is it to look up the fact that Stuart Baird was the "dick" who directed Star Trek: Nemesis?), and unstinting with his affection for his family and his Trek "family" (though I can't help feeling the latter don't deserve it. At all). He's snarky, and funny, and not afraid to admit that even some of the trolls who anonymously email wilwheaton.net might not be wrong. And when they are wrong, his phaser is set to k- ... no, I can't.

The book was originally published in, I believe, 2004 (before his deeply creepy appearance on Criminal Minds), so it's especially nice to read it knowing that Wil Wheaton is not only a staple of "Big Bang Theory" but also the perpetual president of OASIS, and deservedly so. "Just a Geek"? Nah, honey. You're King of the Geeks (or at least the Vice President). And it's great.

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Great life lessons in a well-written package

ByElizabeth Taion November 2, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Read this book in just two days - it was that good. What I love about Wheaton's writing is his raw honesty. I'm not sure if I can bare my soul like that, but Wheaton did, and we are the better for it.

How frightening it is that a few decisions in our youth - done out of immaturity and lack of experience - could push into a course that we never would have expected? How many of us was in Wheaton's position? How many of us lived what he lived?

By sharing his story, Wheaton teaches us that we should never take anything for granted (family, health, career, tiny blessings), and that despite crushing defeat and reaching the lowest point in your life, you can bounce back AND discover a talent you never knew you had. For Wheaton, it was writing.

Some reviewers complain that he whines about his trials and tribulations in Hollywood too much. When it comes to reading memoirs, one of the most important approaches I take is not to judge the writer's journey. The writer's interpretation of life events could differ from yours and that's the point - we learn from different views. And even if I were to judge Wheaton's journey, I would say that he had every right to be upset about how things turned out. Acting was his life, passion and reason for being and the gatekeepers are keeping him away from it because of (what I could see from the book anyway) rather frivolous and unfair reasons. But the crucial difference with Wheaton was that instead of sitting back and wallowing in his misery, he did something about it. He started a now-wildly-popular website, honed his writing and learned from his mistakes.

I'm glad that things have improved for Wheaton since the writing of this book. He's acted on several shows since then (the crazy popular Big Bang Theory, for one), has become a cultural icon, and continue to improve in his writing.

Well, done, Mr. Wheaton!

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This is a great book....

ByJim L Mavromatison August 4, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I was never a fan of the character of Wesley Crusher to start of with for the first couple of seasons of the ST - The Next Generation. Don't know quite why but after reading "Just a Geek" I actually realised that Wil Wheaton and I viewed the character in the same way. Specifically, that he was under-developed and not utilised in such a way as to be a meaningful member of the Star Trek universe until the later seasons just before leaving the series. In many ways it is a shame as the scope of the character could have developed in such a way as to show the vital importance of the cross-generational role of families in the Star Trek universe.

Wil Wheaton's gut wrenching and honest account of his experiences in Star Trek and after the series are hysterical, tragic and inspiring all at the same time. I have new-found respect for the individual and actor who played Wesley and realised that there is more to Wil Wheaton - than just the guy from Star Trek.

Highly recommended read. Even for those not a fan of Star Trek.

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Just a Geek

ByKCon June 6, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I love it I love Wil Wheaton and I love Wesley Crusher I have been fan of both of them for thirty years and many more I have to get sign Picture of Wil wheaton To Cadet Casey Martin My Academy sweetheart your Imzadi Forever Cadet Wesley Crusher .

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Geekalicious

ByVirginia Woofon September 26, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I am a Star Trek fan; any series, every episode, although TNG and DS9 are my favs. I was thrilled to see Wil Wheaton and other scifi actors show up on the Big Bang Theory. I was happy to read Wheaton's book, which is frank, funny, heart warming and very well written. The network screwed up when they canceled The Wil Wheaton Project. Buy this book