The great man himself has just been in Melbourne, appearing at a local Star Trek convention as well as performing his one-man show to an audience of adoring fans. Which made me wonder about the “Shatneriana” (sic) that we have in our collection……

Has been by William Shatner

Front and centre, one of my favourite albums of recent times; seriously! This is a bit of a knockout and caught lots of people by surprise when it first came out; Shatner had achieved somewhat mixed success with his earlier musical outings! But this album is kind of wonderful, with Shatner reading the song lyrics like poems, supported by musicians such as Ben Folds, Henry Rollins, Brad Paisley and Joe Jackson. If you don’t believe me, just listen to the opening track, Common People, wild! Makes me long for an album of the good Captain reading the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, that would be something else again.

Get a life! by William Shatner with Chris Kreski

Shatner spent quite a lot of his post Star Trek time attempting to avoid the colossal fan base that had grown up around himself and the series, and was seen by many as (shall we say) unappreciative of the loyalty being displayed by so many of his fans. This book charts his gradual change of heart as he embarks on a series of promotional speaking engagements at Trek conventions across the country and, as the blurb puts it, he “can finally come to grips with his past, his fans, their love, and his own intergalactic legacy”.

Up till now : the autobiography by William Shatner ; with David Fisher

Bringing the story pretty much up to date, and bringing into focus his life before and after Star Trek, this autobiography gives lie to the notion that William Shatner didn’t exist before Star Trek, and certainly demonstrates that their is life (Jim) well beyond it!

Live long and prosper!