I Am Spock

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (May 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

I Am Spock
Author	Leonard Nimoy
Genre(s)	Autobiography
Publisher	Hyperion Books
Publication date	October, 1995
Media type	Print in Hardcover and Paperback; Audiobook on Cassette
Pages	342 (First Edition Hardcover)
ISBN	ISBN 9780786861828 (First Edition Hardcover)
Preceded by	I Am Not Spock by Leonard Nimoy

I Am Spock is the second autobiography written by Leonard Nimoy. The book was published in 1995, four years after the last Star Trek motion picture starring the original cast was produced. Thus, this book covers Nimoy's entire history with Trek in general and Mr. Spock in particular.

The title of this book is meant to atone for a past mistake. Twenty years previous, when the original Star Trek series had been cancelled and before Star Trek: The Motion Picture was created, Nimoy released his first auto-biography: I Am Not Spock. While the contents of the book had nothing negative to say about Star Trek nor Spock, many fans and critics could not get past the title. Nimoy was widely criticized by the fans for his apparent "hatred" of that which had made him so popular.

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 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 due to 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.

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 (as seen in one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation). In fact, it has just been announced that Nimoy will play a role in an upcoming Star Trek feature film directed by J.J. Abrams (to be released in May 2009) which will also introduce the world to a young Spock played by Zachary Quinto.