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

In TO THE STARS, George Takei (rhymes with "okay") starts off with a dynamite anecdote about the STAR TREK cast and Hollywood's Chinese Theater. Immediately thereafter he quotes Mary Henderson, the curator of the STAR TREK exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum, who delivers an outstanding apologia for the exhibit and for STAR TREK`s existence and contribution to humanity.It would have been impossible for him to maintain that literary quality for the entire book, but moments here and there compare well to the beginning. Strangely for an autobiography, the most detailed coverage concerns his childhood. From four to nine years old, he was interned with his parents in World War II Japanese internment camps in Arkansas and California. That detailed description has historical value, and I welcomed it. Succeeding years, however, when his family lived in the Latino barrio of East Los Angeles, became less interesting. But maybe that's because I was born and raised in Southern California, and tacos and fiestas are ordinary.He goes on to earn a B.A. and an M.A. from UCLA, and he pursues a career as an actor. He has good times and bad times, and meets luminaries like Richard Burton and Cary Grant. I daresay that for some readers the description of the acquaintance with Richard might alone justify the book's price (the acquaintance was NOT sexual). George's biggest break came when Gene Roddenberry hired him for STAR TREK, giving George a steady income and emerging him in original drama with a progressive message. If you are a STAR TREK fan, do not worry; there is a wholesome helping of STAR TREK material here.George was also a political activist, supporting liberals, though his run for L.A. city councilman failed, possibly because of a screwy "Equal Time" law, which STAR TREK played an innocent part in. (Is that wretched law still on the books?)Why only a four-star rating? The narrative pace is all right, and the prose is fine, even better than that of BEYOND UHURA, where Nichelle Nichols uses too many superlatives like "wonderful" and "beautiful." And like Nichelle, George gives us a nice portfolio of photo plates. Unfortunately, with all the information that George provides--historical as well as gossipy--which readers might want to refer back to, this book should have an index.Since 1994 (date of this book's publication):Wikipedia has George Takei listed for a few films after 1994, though the only one I recognize is LARRY CROWNE (2011), starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. George was in a number of miscellaneous TV episodes. For me, here are the three most interesting parts of George's life since this book was published:1) STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994): George says nothing about this movie. So I am assuming that it had neither begun production, nor been released before George had finished writing. But I do not know. According to IMDB trivia for STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, George declined to be in it because Sulu's rank of captain--his rank in the preceding movie, STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY--would have been reduced. At least Sulu's daughter Demora is in it.2) In 2007 George began appearing in HEROES. Do you remember that super-hero series that stampeded through audiences initially, but pooped out within a few years? He played Kaito Nakamura, the wealthy father of hero Hiro Nakamura (the teleporterer).3) In 2005 George announced that he was gay, and in 2008 he married a male. He has spoken out strongly and courageously against homophobic hostility.

George Takei has been one of my favorite celebrities, and I have to admit I have not watched much of his generation of Star Trek, but seeing the activism work he does and the person he is I was compelled to read his book. There is more to this man than meets the eye and after reading this I realized so much more about him than I thought for example I didn't know he campaigned for better scenes with Mr. Sulu. He is one of the actors who paved the way for Asian actors to make their name in show business. He fought for his role and fought for his rights as an actor and it's so commendable. Watching the shows or movies, one doesn't realize the struggles he went through as well as the things that happened behind the scenes.Throughout his novel not only does he display the record of his life, but also the life of Asian Americans through the 20th century. He opens with his time in the internment camps and it grips at your soul that anyone would have to endure such a thing. Not only is he an amazing actor, but he is an amazing author. He writes as if he's talking to you and telling you verbally his story. I loved it.

As long as I remember, I watched Star Trek. Back in Germany, late 70ies, the reruns of the classic show and then later on all the spin offs to this day.Since the Internet become more and more popular and it became easier to follow “my” stars, I learned a lot about Mr Takei. What a remarkable person.A few weeks ago I had a little meet & greet at a convention and I was super impressed. So I decided to read this book after I met him. Too bad, so many things have changed for him since the release of this book, it would’ve been interesting to ask him about a few things.Nevertheless, this is a great book and I am glad that I invested the time in it. If you are a Star Trek fan or not, Mr Takei’s journey is worth following.

Wow! What a fantastic piece of writing about George Takei! IOnce I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I had heard rumors about Bill Shatner, butdidn't know if they were true or not. Now that I know what kind of person Bill was , it's pretty sad that his ego kept him from being a good person. As for George, reading about him, and all the hardships he had to endure was excellent to read. And the rest of the cast, knowing just how much a total jerk , and not carrying one once of sympathy for the man who made Bill what he is is disappointing!! I can only imagine what kind of a person Bill Shatner was. Now that I know, it really says a lot of a person. I can now hold on the highest esteem for the cast that had to put up with a terrible person. The book was excellent and well written!! My thanks to George Takei!!

I learned so many things I did not know about George Takei by reading this thoroughly engaging autobiography. As a child he was interred in a WWII Japanese-American prison camp in Arkansas (my state!). He started college as an architecture major, but switched to theater and received both B.A. and M.A. degrees from UCLA. He spent a decade working on the board of directors for the Southern California Rapid Transit. He has been involved in politics since his junior high school days. He had many acting roles besides Star Trek's Mr. Sulu and deeply regrets the times he was desperate for work and played a stereotyped Asian character.Throughout the book, Mr. Takei maintains an upbeat attitude - always showing his deep concern for the equality of all people and his lifelong focus on advancing the cause of Japanese Americans. He gives glimpses of behind-the-scenes Star Trek, but does not engage in any tattle-telling or bad-mouthing that many people will want to read, so if this is what you are looking for, look elsewhere. (Although it is pretty obvious he doesn't care for William Shatner, and says that he basically feels sorry for him) I kept asking myself if he could really be such a nice guy, but after hearing him speak in person... You know what? I think maybe he IS.

Delivered on time, good condition, great price. Just as described.

A very happy boyfriend got this for Christmas! Looking forward to reading it.

Just as described and quick delivery

A Good read

Item arrived in good condition and even better it was a first edition.