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Leonard Nimoy: I Was Spock
On Friday, 27 February 2015, Leonard Simon Nimoy died at his home in the Bel-Air district of Los Angles. He was aged eighty-three.
His artistic talents included poetry, photography and music and stretched far beyond the United Federation of Planets, but it was as Spock that Leonard became a cultural icon. He created and brought to life one of the most enduring characters of the last half century. A logical and emotionless pointy-eared half-Vulcan, half-human with a signature salute and a customary farewell of: “Live long and prosper.”
After Leonard’s final performance in Star Trek: Into Darkness, he had portrayed the same role on television and in films from 1966 until 2013. For forty-seven years, he was Spock.
This review gives an insight into Leonard Nimoy’s life and career. It is fully illustrated.
Other e-books available on KDP by the same author:
Sheldon Cooper’s Universe
Women of Star Trek
His artistic talents included poetry, photography and music and stretched far beyond the United Federation of Planets, but it was as Spock that Leonard became a cultural icon. He created and brought to life one of the most enduring characters of the last half century. A logical and emotionless pointy-eared half-Vulcan, half-human with a signature salute and a customary farewell of: “Live long and prosper.”
After Leonard’s final performance in Star Trek: Into Darkness, he had portrayed the same role on television and in films from 1966 until 2013. For forty-seven years, he was Spock.
This review gives an insight into Leonard Nimoy’s life and career. It is fully illustrated.
Other e-books available on KDP by the same author:
Sheldon Cooper’s Universe
Women of Star Trek
43 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 10, 2015
23 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 17, 2016
The short version first . . .
I have several biographers that I read on a fairly regular basis mainly because they have impressed me with their research, attention to detail, and story telling. Several of these cherished books are found in my reviews, and I have written my share, but mostly I have been really impressed with the depth and breadth of research contemporary biographers are bringing to their newest works. Truly they are masters of the language and their ability to bring the days of yesteryear to life in such a way as you feel you are propelled there for the length of time you are embraced by their guidance through the world of back when.
Occasionally, though, I am drawn to shorter, punchier reads in biography particularly if the subject has been treated with some depth by others, or in some cases, themselves as autobiographers. The persona about whom the current review is focused is Leonard Nimoy, perhaps better known as his character of the past 50 years or so, Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise . As the half Vulcan, half human science/first officer of the United Federation of Planets flagship, the heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701), Mr. Spock was propelled with many others on 3 seasons of what was to have been a 5 year mission back in the mid-1960’s (1966-1968). Every week the mission would be fraught with danger, violence, mystery, mayhem, and sometimes intrigue, and in most cases the countenance of Mr. Spock was one of logical stoicism, the only giveaway at something “fascinating” was a right eyebrow that would arise in a clear instance of response. One of my favorite relatives is a past master at this Spock “look.”
Mr. Nimoy passed away a handful of weeks ago, now, and Andrew Alexander devoted some research time and writing effort to bring a concise though quite comprehensive biography of Mr. Nimoy to press with Amazon’s Kindle Book Store supporting its MOBI format e-reader, Kindle, as well as the various web and app versions of the reader that are available for free on just about every device available in the Apple, Android, or Windows on-line stores. There were numerous illustrations, photographs, and other visual content to accompany closely the text with which each element was associated. Any links to on-line material were appropriately denoted as hypertext links, which delivered excellent results in fairly fast order using standard WiFi networking in our house in Central Texas. His was clear and clean with evidence of excellent editorial work and rewrites which were unnoticeable to anyone who read the finished product as did I in this case.
Mr. Alexander’s account covered not only Mr. Nimoy’s early life and interests, but also spent a considerable amount of space to his careers on both large and small screen as well as his work in the legitimate theatre, radio, photography, and in special appearances. Mr. Alexander’s writing style is clear and concise with an economy of word usage delivering an incredibly articulate, reasoned, and cogent expression of his topics. I was especially pleased with the depth of information about Mr. Nimoy’s small screen appearances in areas other than Star Trek. The only missing links that I found in this discussion was the fact that Mr. Nimoy was an extra in episodes of the original The Twilight Zone in the early 1960s black and white presentation as well as several minor roles in some of the western programs such as Wagon Train. In addition to Star Trek, Mr. Nimoy also was a regular character in the Mission Impossible television series, where his character was replacing the one played by Martin Landau, who left the series due to contract issues according to the information at The Internet Movie Database .
While continuing to play other roles on the small screen, the Star Trek franchise moved first into animation where Mr. Nimoy provide the voice for Mr. Spock’s in the animated series. In addition he worked in dozens of shows into the 1990’s. After the animated series wrapped, the Star Trek franchise branched out into the large cinematic venues with, at first, Star Trek: The Motion Picture followed by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock where he also served as the Director of the picture, a job he was also asked to perform for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He also played roles in remaining movies based on the Roddenberry “Trekverse.”
Mr. Nimoy also worked in the legitimate theatre even serving with The Royal Shakespeare Company for a time. His later life was filled with writing and photography, a skill of his youth which he reconstituted in his later years. He passed away from complications with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmoary Disorder) in February, 2015
Mr. Alexander’s work included various illustrations and photographs supporting the various stages of Mr. Nimoy’s career in show business. He wrapped his work with the information regarding Mr. Nimoy’s passing, presenting all information in factual style using extant resources and information available both online and via other resource outlets. His family life is also included in Mr. Alexander’s work with brevity and factual data conveyed.
Recommendations: This work is clearly worth 5 stars for his concise, factual reporting as well as his depth of research into the iconic roles Mr. Nimoy played principally on the small screen format of television, where the bulk of his work was performed. There is only factual reporting relying on respected sources both print and on-line with no apparent bias or errors of fact. Mr. Alexander’s work is readable by even younger readers who understand the vocabulary and basics of biography as well as interest in the character or the subject matter. There were no obvious issues with things that normally constitute a parental cautionary statement on this reviewer’s part. The work should be seen as a complementary part of the study of Mr. Nimoy’s life from the outside looking in whereas most of the biographical work up to this time was primarily his own autobiographical volumes from the periods just after wrap of the original Star Trek series in 1969. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Mr. Nimoy’s life in all of its various, interesting phases. I really enjoyed it.
Review of Leonard Nimoy: I Was Spock by Richard Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25173669-leonard-nimoy.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at permissions@hholt.com.
I have several biographers that I read on a fairly regular basis mainly because they have impressed me with their research, attention to detail, and story telling. Several of these cherished books are found in my reviews, and I have written my share, but mostly I have been really impressed with the depth and breadth of research contemporary biographers are bringing to their newest works. Truly they are masters of the language and their ability to bring the days of yesteryear to life in such a way as you feel you are propelled there for the length of time you are embraced by their guidance through the world of back when.
Occasionally, though, I am drawn to shorter, punchier reads in biography particularly if the subject has been treated with some depth by others, or in some cases, themselves as autobiographers. The persona about whom the current review is focused is Leonard Nimoy, perhaps better known as his character of the past 50 years or so, Mr. Spock of the Star Trek franchise . As the half Vulcan, half human science/first officer of the United Federation of Planets flagship, the heavy cruiser, U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701), Mr. Spock was propelled with many others on 3 seasons of what was to have been a 5 year mission back in the mid-1960’s (1966-1968). Every week the mission would be fraught with danger, violence, mystery, mayhem, and sometimes intrigue, and in most cases the countenance of Mr. Spock was one of logical stoicism, the only giveaway at something “fascinating” was a right eyebrow that would arise in a clear instance of response. One of my favorite relatives is a past master at this Spock “look.”
Mr. Nimoy passed away a handful of weeks ago, now, and Andrew Alexander devoted some research time and writing effort to bring a concise though quite comprehensive biography of Mr. Nimoy to press with Amazon’s Kindle Book Store supporting its MOBI format e-reader, Kindle, as well as the various web and app versions of the reader that are available for free on just about every device available in the Apple, Android, or Windows on-line stores. There were numerous illustrations, photographs, and other visual content to accompany closely the text with which each element was associated. Any links to on-line material were appropriately denoted as hypertext links, which delivered excellent results in fairly fast order using standard WiFi networking in our house in Central Texas. His was clear and clean with evidence of excellent editorial work and rewrites which were unnoticeable to anyone who read the finished product as did I in this case.
Mr. Alexander’s account covered not only Mr. Nimoy’s early life and interests, but also spent a considerable amount of space to his careers on both large and small screen as well as his work in the legitimate theatre, radio, photography, and in special appearances. Mr. Alexander’s writing style is clear and concise with an economy of word usage delivering an incredibly articulate, reasoned, and cogent expression of his topics. I was especially pleased with the depth of information about Mr. Nimoy’s small screen appearances in areas other than Star Trek. The only missing links that I found in this discussion was the fact that Mr. Nimoy was an extra in episodes of the original The Twilight Zone in the early 1960s black and white presentation as well as several minor roles in some of the western programs such as Wagon Train. In addition to Star Trek, Mr. Nimoy also was a regular character in the Mission Impossible television series, where his character was replacing the one played by Martin Landau, who left the series due to contract issues according to the information at The Internet Movie Database .
While continuing to play other roles on the small screen, the Star Trek franchise moved first into animation where Mr. Nimoy provide the voice for Mr. Spock’s in the animated series. In addition he worked in dozens of shows into the 1990’s. After the animated series wrapped, the Star Trek franchise branched out into the large cinematic venues with, at first, Star Trek: The Motion Picture followed by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock where he also served as the Director of the picture, a job he was also asked to perform for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He also played roles in remaining movies based on the Roddenberry “Trekverse.”
Mr. Nimoy also worked in the legitimate theatre even serving with The Royal Shakespeare Company for a time. His later life was filled with writing and photography, a skill of his youth which he reconstituted in his later years. He passed away from complications with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmoary Disorder) in February, 2015
Mr. Alexander’s work included various illustrations and photographs supporting the various stages of Mr. Nimoy’s career in show business. He wrapped his work with the information regarding Mr. Nimoy’s passing, presenting all information in factual style using extant resources and information available both online and via other resource outlets. His family life is also included in Mr. Alexander’s work with brevity and factual data conveyed.
Recommendations: This work is clearly worth 5 stars for his concise, factual reporting as well as his depth of research into the iconic roles Mr. Nimoy played principally on the small screen format of television, where the bulk of his work was performed. There is only factual reporting relying on respected sources both print and on-line with no apparent bias or errors of fact. Mr. Alexander’s work is readable by even younger readers who understand the vocabulary and basics of biography as well as interest in the character or the subject matter. There were no obvious issues with things that normally constitute a parental cautionary statement on this reviewer’s part. The work should be seen as a complementary part of the study of Mr. Nimoy’s life from the outside looking in whereas most of the biographical work up to this time was primarily his own autobiographical volumes from the periods just after wrap of the original Star Trek series in 1969. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Mr. Nimoy’s life in all of its various, interesting phases. I really enjoyed it.
Review of Leonard Nimoy: I Was Spock by Richard Buro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25173669-leonard-nimoy.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at permissions@hholt.com.
August 23, 2025
short but sweet
Well written, obviously well researched, great pictures, and the life story of a man who was one of the most recognizable and famous TV stars of his day. It was good to learn more about his career after Star Trek. I could wish it went into a bit more depth about his relations with his fellow crew mates on the SS Enterprise, but I respect the need to be circumspect. I enjoyed it and look forward to other books by this author.
Well written, obviously well researched, great pictures, and the life story of a man who was one of the most recognizable and famous TV stars of his day. It was good to learn more about his career after Star Trek. I could wish it went into a bit more depth about his relations with his fellow crew mates on the SS Enterprise, but I respect the need to be circumspect. I enjoyed it and look forward to other books by this author.
April 9, 2018
This was very short and almost identical to William Shatner's writings. the pictures were good to see. This may be worth checking out from the library, but not to buy since ill probably never read it again. Nimoy
This was a short over view of only a few prices of Lenoard Nimoy the man and actor. I would like to know more about him outside of the Spock character.
This was a short over view of only a few prices of Lenoard Nimoy the man and actor. I would like to know more about him outside of the Spock character.
July 23, 2017
Pretty Baby
Can you tell I'm an adoring fan? I loved walking down all those memory lanes. I'm still in love with the man and I always will be. He gave us all so very much. All that he had to give. All his very best.
Can you tell I'm an adoring fan? I loved walking down all those memory lanes. I'm still in love with the man and I always will be. He gave us all so very much. All that he had to give. All his very best.
September 20, 2017
Spock did outshined Kirk.
Leonard Nimoy made Star Trek the most interesting show that it was. While Qintos did a good job portraying Mr. Spock. To me Leonard Nimoy will always be Mr. Spock to me.
Leonard Nimoy made Star Trek the most interesting show that it was. While Qintos did a good job portraying Mr. Spock. To me Leonard Nimoy will always be Mr. Spock to me.
January 2, 2017
.
No real insights into a great man. A lazy effort. No interviews with friends or fellow actors. Not worth rd adding. Better to watch the film his son did.
No real insights into a great man. A lazy effort. No interviews with friends or fellow actors. Not worth rd adding. Better to watch the film his son did.
March 1, 2018
The book was very detailed, and had numerous photos which detailed Mr Nimoy's life.
March 18, 2017
My Hero
LLAP to a who really did live long and prosper. He was so much more than an actor. I was in the fifth grade when I first became a "trekked", and even told my family, I would grow up to marry Mr. Spock. Obviously, that didn't come to pass. All the same, Leonard has been my hero, all these years. I miss him.
LLAP to a who really did live long and prosper. He was so much more than an actor. I was in the fifth grade when I first became a "trekked", and even told my family, I would grow up to marry Mr. Spock. Obviously, that didn't come to pass. All the same, Leonard has been my hero, all these years. I miss him.
June 16, 2016
Live Long And Prosper in the after life that you now exist.
I grew up with Star Trek. The action and the diversity were a main reason why I was attracted to the show. I also loved the characters including Spock, Kirk and Dr. Bones McCoy. Today and as long as the shows run on TV and the Internet.
I grew up with Star Trek. The action and the diversity were a main reason why I was attracted to the show. I also loved the characters including Spock, Kirk and Dr. Bones McCoy. Today and as long as the shows run on TV and the Internet.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews