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I Am Spock

2024-06-03T19:28:55Z

2A0A:EF40:277:FF01:B090:1457:CF1B:6603:

{{short description|Leonard Nimoy's second autobiography}}
{{Infobox book
| name = I Am Spock
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = I Am Spock (Leonard Nimoy autobiography) cover.jpg
| caption =
| author = [[Leonard Nimoy]]
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country =
| language =
| series =
| subject =
| genre = [[Autobiography]]
| publisher = [[Hachette Books#Hyperion Books|Hyperion Books]]
| pub_date = October 1995
| english_pub_date =
| media_type = Print in [[hardcover]] and [[paperback]]; [[Audiobook]] on [[Audio Cassette|Cassette]]
| pages = 342 ([[First edition]] hardcover)
| isbn = 978-0-7868-6182-8
| isbn_note = (First Edition Hardcover)
| dewey = 791.45/028/092 B 20
| congress = PN2287.N55 A3 1995
| oclc = 32822493
| preceded_by = [[I Am Not Spock]]
| followed_by =
}}

'''''I Am Spock''''' is the second volume of actor and director [[Leonard Nimoy]]'s autobiography. The book was published in 1995, four years after the release of the last ''[[Star Trek]]'' motion picture starring the entire original cast, and covers the majority of Nimoy's time with ''Star Trek'' in general and [[Spock|Mr. Spock]] in particular. The book's title was a reference to the first volume of his autobiography, ''[[I Am Not Spock]]'', which had been published in 1975. At that time, Nimoy had sought to distance his own personality from that of the character of Spock, although he nonetheless remained proud of his time on the show. Negative fan reaction to the title gave Nimoy the idea for the title of the second volume.

==Synopsis==
In his second autobiography, Nimoy explains that the title of the first book had been his idea, over the objections of his publishers. He had not anticipated the problem of people reading the title without reading the book. In reality, his feelings toward Spock had not changed at all in the intervening years. On the contrary, Nimoy explains in this book that Spock has always been a part of him.

This duality is explored and taken to extremes throughout the book. Indeed, the book's foreword is written by Mr. Spock himself, in the form of a letter the [[Vulcan (Star Trek)|Vulcan]] writes to Leonard Nimoy, to express confusion over the highly illogical title. Throughout the book, Nimoy frequently has conversations with his other half, as he explores the choices and decisions he has made throughout his life, and how those choices have been affected by a certain calm logical voice in the back of his mind.

While the focus of the book is on Nimoy's ''Star Trek'' career, he also takes time to explore his other works, including directing and theatre acting. Memorable stories include his being forced to tell an actress she needed to redo a highly emotional scene because of a crew member's mistake, and how directing ''[[Star Trek III: The Search for Spock]]'' and ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' led to Hollywood giving him a shot at directing ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'' (1987), which went on to be the highest-grossing film in the United States of that year.<ref>[https://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1987&p=.htm Box Office Mojo: 1987 Yearly Box Office Results]</ref> He also mentions his work producing and directing the [[UPN]] television series ''[[Deadly Games (TV series)|Deadly Games]].''

On the topic of Spock's future, Nimoy notes that the ''Star Trek'' franchise shows no sign of dying, and that as far as he is concerned, Spock is still alive and well working on Romulus.{{Explanatory footnote|At the time of publication Spock was last seen on Romulus in the two-part episode "[[Unification (Star Trek: The Next Generation)|Unification]]" of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''}}{{Explanatory footnote|Nimoy played Spock again (alongside a younger Spock played by [[Zachary Quinto]]) in the 2009 film ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|Star Trek]]'' and the 2013 film ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]'', both directed by [[J. J. Abrams]].}}

==Reception==
Anita Gates of [[The New York Times]] praised his "pleasant, conversational writing style" and said "his affection for the Spock experience rings very true".<ref>{{cite web |date=5 November 1995 |last=Gates |first=Anita |author-link=Anita Gates |title=BOOKS IN BRIEF: NON FICTION |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/05/books/books-in-brief-non-fiction-011576.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304181208/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/05/books/books-in-brief-non-fiction-011576.html |archive-date=2015-03-04 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Publishers Weekly]] wrote: "Nimoy's admirers may find this fairly impersonal memoir disappointing; it touches only tangentially on the author's private life. But this is an intelligent and entertaining look at an actor's engagement with a character who "seemed to take on an existence of his own.""<ref>{{cite web |date=1995-02-10 |title=Nonfiction Book Review: I Am Spock by Leonard Nimoy, Author Hyperion Books $24.45 (342p) ISBN 978-0-7868-6182-8 |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-7868-6182-8 |website=[[Publishers Weekly]] }}</ref>

==References==
{{Notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Memory Alpha}}

{{Leonard Nimoy}}

[[Category:1995 books]]
[[Category:Show business memoirs]]
[[Category:Books by Leonard Nimoy]]
[[Category:Books about Star Trek]]
[[Category:Hyperion Books books]]

The Star Trek Encyclopedia

2024-06-02T06:56:50Z

2A0A:EF40:277:FF01:B090:1457:CF1B:6603:

{{short description|Book by Michael Okuda}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox book
| name = The Star Trek Encyclopedia
| image = Starterkenc.jpg
| alt = Six different space ships from Star Trek. In the background the underside of a globe with sunlight breaking over the lower edge. The globe is made up of many screens showing scenes from Star Trek.
| caption = Cover of Version 3.0
| author = [[Michael Okuda]], [[Denise Okuda]], Debbie Mirek
| illustrator = [[Doug Drexler]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| subject = [[Star Trek]]
| genre = [[Reference work|Reference]] encyclopedia
| publisher = [[Pocket Books]]
| published = 1994 (1st edition)
| release_date =
| media_type = Hardback, Paperback, CD ROM editions
| pages = 396
| awards =
| isbn = 0671869051
| isbn_note = (1st edition)
| dewey =
| congress =
| oclc = 30144117
| wikisource =
}}

'''''The Star Trek Encyclopedia: A Reference Guide to the Future''''' is a 1994 [[encyclopedia]] of [[in-universe]] information from the ''[[Star Trek]]'' television series and films. It was written by [[Michael Okuda]] and [[Denise Okuda]], who were production staff on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'' and Debbie Mirek. It was illustrated by [[Doug Drexler]].

==Overview==
The ''Encyclopedia'' features highly detailed information about characters, [[planet]]s, [[technology|technologies]] and [[starship|ships]] of the ''Star Trek'' franchise as well as brief episode and film synopses. It is organised alphabetically and is replete with illustrations, many of which are in color in later editions.

The ''Encyclopedia'' mostly covers material from the ''Star Trek'' television series and the [[Star Trek films|''Star Trek'' motion pictures]]. It is an officially licensed publication and includes some completely original information not included in any ''Star Trek'' movie or television episode. According to [[Gene Roddenberry]], television series and the films are the extent of the [[Star Trek canon|''Star Trek'' canon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html |date=2003-07-10 |title=What is considered Star Trek "canon"? |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628174255/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/help/faqs/faq/676.html |archive-date=2010-06-28 |quote= Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was accustomed to making statements about canon, but even he was known to change his mind. |access-date=2021-05-04 }}</ref>

Some entries in the ''Encyclopedia'' contain behind-the-scenes information, presented in italicized text.

Unlike the ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual]]'', the ''Encyclopedia'' makes no detailed speculations about [[Treknobabble|''Star Trek'' technology]].

==Publication history==
The ''Encyclopedia'' was inspired by a previous book by the same writing team, ''The Star Trek Chronology'', which had been directly commissioned by Gene Roddenberry as a way of ensuring continuity on ''Star Trek''. Michael Okuda developed a "worksheet" on which to record episode titles, episode production numbers, [[stardate]]s, and any new ships, characters or technology.<ref>{{cite web |date=2004 |author=Greg Tyler | title=Debbie Mirek |url=http://www.trekplace.com/debbiemirek.html |work=TrekPlace.com |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041027211406/http://www.trekplace.com/debbiemirek.html |archive-date=2004-10-27 }}</ref>

Four print editions have been published to date, in both [[hardcover]] and [[paperback]]: the first edition ({{ISBN|0-671-88684-3}}) was published in 1994; the second (ISBN {{ISBN|0-671-53607-9|plainlink=yes}}) in 1997. The third edition (ISBN {{ISBN|0-671-53609-5|plainlink=yes}}), published in 1999, includes material through the end of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', the fifth season of ''[[Star Trek: Voyager]]'', and the movie ''[[Star Trek: Insurrection]]''—but as a non-collated addendum. The fourth edition ({{ISBN|978-0062371324}}) was published in 2016.

The print version was complemented by a similar electronic version, the ''Star Trek Omnipedia'' released in 1995. The [[CD-ROM]] medium allowed the [[Simon & Schuster]] publishers to include video clips.
It was released for both [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] and [[Macintosh]] (ISBN {{ISBN|0-684-87413-X|plainlink=yes}}), which was published by [[Simon & Schuster Interactive]]. This was the only version of the encyclopedia not to be published by [[Pocket Books]]. [[Paramount Pictures]] is the owner of the copyright.

==Fourth edition==
In the years since its 1999 publication, the ''Encyclopedia'' gradually became extremely out of date, containing no information from subsequent ''Star Trek'' films (''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'', ''[[Star Trek (2009 film)|Star Trek]]'', ''[[Star Trek Into Darkness]]''), the last two seasons of ''Star Trek: Voyager'' or ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]''. There had long been no plans to release an updated version of the ''Encyclopedia'', as it had been superseded by online resources such as the [[wiki]]-based encyclopedia [[Memory Alpha]].

During the August 2015 annual ''Star Trek'' convention in Las Vegas, an updated version of the ''Encyclopedia'' was announced for publication in 2016, the 50th Anniversary of ''Star Trek''. The total pages for this updated version is 1,056 pages.<ref>{{Cite web |url = http://beckermayer.com/titles/the-star-trek-encyclopedia/ |title = The Star Trek Encyclopedia A Reference Guide for the Future |access-date = August 14, 2015 |archive-date = October 13, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161013144712/http://beckermayer.com/titles/the-star-trek-encyclopedia/ |url-status = dead }}</ref> It was announced that the updated version would have "300 new pages" and cover ''Star Trek: Voyager'' Seasons 4–7, ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' Seasons 1–4, ''Star Trek: Nemesis'' and would contain information regarding J.J. Abrams' ''Star Trek'' movie reboot. The version came out as a "two-volume hardcover edition".<ref>{{Cite news |url = http://www.startrek.com/article/star-trek-encyclopedia-getting-massive-update |title = Star Trek Encyclopedia Getting Massive Update |date = August 8, 2015 |access-date = August 14, 2021 }}</ref> The 2016 revised edition was published by Harper Design on October 18, 2016, for $150.<ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062371324/the-star-trek-encyclopedia-revised-and-expanded-edition |title = The Star Trek Encyclopedia, Revised and Expanded Edition }}</ref>

Denise Okuda stated that there is "two, maybe three times as much text in the 2016 edition as in the original, and way more than three times as many photos and illustrations."<ref>{{cite web |title=Encyclopedic Knowledge — An Interview with Star Trek Encyclopedia Authors Michael and Denise Okuda |work=Geek Speak Magazine |url=http://geekspeakmagazine.com/encyclopedic-knowledge-an-interview-with-star-trek-encyclopedia-authors-michael-and-denise-okuda/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013143858/http://geekspeakmagazine.com/encyclopedic-knowledge-an-interview-with-star-trek-encyclopedia-authors-michael-and-denise-okuda/ |archive-date=October 13, 2016 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Memory Alpha]], a [[wiki]] with the aim of producing "the most definitive, accurate and accessible encyclopedic reference for topics related to the canon ''Star Trek'' fictional universe."

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |date=2011-05-17 |edition=3rd |last=Okuda |first=Michael |title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia |last2=Okuda |first2=Denise |last3=Mirek |first3=Debbie |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4516-4688-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbYf2l7gczUC |via=Google Books }}
* {{Cite book |year=1994 |edition=1st |last=Okuda |first=Michael |title=The Star Trek Encyclopedia |last2=Okuda |first2=Denise |last3=Mirek |first3=Debbie |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=0-671-86905-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/startrekencyclop00okud |via=[[Internet Archive]] |url-access=registration }}
{{Refend}}

{{Star Trek publications|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Star Trek Encyclopedia}}
[[Category:Star Trek reference books|Encyclopedia]]
[[Category:1994 books]]
[[Category:Pocket Books books]]