Beaming Up and Getting Off -
Life Before and Beyond Star Trek
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Beaming Up and Getting Off: Life Before and Beyond Star Trek returns Walter Koenig’s 1998 memoir Warped Factors: A Neurotic's Guide to the Universe to print after too long an absence. But this is no mere reprint – Walter has dusted off the material and expanded it by nearly 100 pages, taking us into 2020 with his unique candor, disarming humor, and surprising revelations about life in and out of Star Trek.
Beaming Up and Getting Off details Walter's childhood during World War II, his youth during the 1950s Red Scare, with personal triumphs and tragedies revealed. Never shy to share candid revelations about his professional and personal life, Walter takes the reader from New York's Neighborhood Playhouse to his early TV roles on Mr. Novak and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and on to “the final frontier.”
Originally cast as Ensign Pavel Chekov, Star Trek's answer to the Monkees’ Davy Jones, Walter has also amassed writing credits for science fiction,
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graphics novels, screenplays, and books, as well as producing several films. Later cast as the evil Alfred Bester on Babylon 5, a new generation of sci-fi fans were exposed to a less benign facet of his acting personality.
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Beyond his onstage roles, with parts ranging from Tom Sawyer and Ebenezer Scrooge to God, as well as directing live theater, Walter also shares moving tales and delightful surprises stemming from his non-profit and charitable works which have taken him to places where -- even somewhere as remote as the jungles of Burma -- many still know all about Ensign Chekov.
Beaming Up and Getting Off is full of Walter's wry, insightful, and sometimes off-kilter reminiscences of life.
It is a chronicle of fan conventions, behind-the-scenes Star Trek experiences, and the fascinating musings of an artist who delights in exploring avenues of interest where no one has gone before. |
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Reviews |
“Koenig’s honesty, humor and obvious intelligence do much to enliven the book (one of several intros hilariously sends up the entire crew), as do flashes of terrific writing.”
- Publishers Weekly
“[Koenig] recounts his ups and downs with objectivity and wit, making this tale of a struggling actor worthwhile.” -- Entertainment Weekly
“Koenig offers a candid, insightful, irreverent, witty, refreshingly honest account of his life.”
– Jewish Times
“A satisfying read for both Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans, as well as those curious about the life and struggles of an actor.”
– Feathered Quill
“Any reader interested in an autobiography well-told that is guaranteed to be entertaining should give this one a try, whether or not you’re a fan of sci-fi television. There’s so much to the life and times of Walter Koenig and so much surprising wisdom to enjoy.”
– Dr. Wes Britton, Bookpleasures.com
- Publishers Weekly
“[Koenig] recounts his ups and downs with objectivity and wit, making this tale of a struggling actor worthwhile.” -- Entertainment Weekly
“Koenig offers a candid, insightful, irreverent, witty, refreshingly honest account of his life.”
– Jewish Times
“A satisfying read for both Star Trek and Babylon 5 fans, as well as those curious about the life and struggles of an actor.”
– Feathered Quill
“Any reader interested in an autobiography well-told that is guaranteed to be entertaining should give this one a try, whether or not you’re a fan of sci-fi television. There’s so much to the life and times of Walter Koenig and so much surprising wisdom to enjoy.”
– Dr. Wes Britton, Bookpleasures.com
Also Available on Apple Books, and as a Paperback and E-book on BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon:
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