Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man

Fans of TV shows might wonder if the people who portray the characters are friends in real life. As Shatner explains in this biography of Leonard Nimoy, actors form close bonds when working together and swear their undying friendship when it's over but more likely never see one another again. That was not the case with Shatner and Nimoy, who starred in three seasons of cult favorite Star Trek as Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock respectively, though Shatner reveals that they were wary of each other at first. He tells stories about the show, such as Nimoy's creation of the iconic Vulcan salute and nerve pinch, yet also shares little-known personal information, such as Nimoy's alcoholism and the price of celebrity. However, the heart of this book is Shatner's description of their friendship that grew from the Star Trek movies and the Trekkie conventions they attended as a pair. Shatner discusses his own life and the parallels in Nimoy's, but he does not upstage his friend, rather giving him center stage with his usual Shatner self-deprecating humor.