I just listened to the Audible audiobook version of Leonard Nimoy’s I Am Spock .*
What did I like about it?
- I liked hearing the story of Star Trek and of Nimoy’s career as Spock told in his own voice. He has a very nice voice and hearing him unfold the tale of his involvement with Star Trek over the course of several hours of audiobook listening was like sitting down with an interesting friend over coffee. (Full disclosure: I can be a talker, but I much prefer to be a listener when anyone has a set of great anecdotes to tell – and Nimoy does.)
- This book was written in October of 1995, at the height of Nimoy’s career. What comes across in his narration is an engaging gratitude to, and affection for, all the Trekkies who helped make his stellar (hmm, accidental pun – but it works) career possible. He’s clearly an artist who’s known what it is to struggle, who’s worked very hard to achieve his stardom, and who – once having achieved it through the unique phenomenon of Trekkiedom – totally appreciated his luck.
I Am Spock is very much a story about luck. Leonard Nimoy knows he was lucky to land the role of Spock.
But it’s not just a story about luck. It’s also a story about dedication to a chosen craft.
I have never been a Trekkie and have regarded Trekkies with a sort of fond amusement. (I love the idea of people getting enthused about just about anything that is cool/wholesome and that doesn’t raise taxes or scare the horses.) But, after reading I Am Spock, I sought out a Netflix episode of Star Trek. In particular, an episode Nimoy spoke glowingly of: “Amok Time” (Season 2, Episode 1). What came across was the absolute conviction with which Nimoy and his co-stars acted their roles, creating a world of the future peopled by flawed but charismatic characters, with good minds guided by noble values (friendship and integrity among them).
The amazing longevity of Star Trek was born of fan loyalty, but the fan loyalty was engendered by actors totally respecting their audiences and their material. Nimoy was lucky, but – together with his co-stars and his fans – he created the luck that gave Star Trek a life of its own that is still going strong.
* (Hyperion. October 1995).