William Shatner gets the joke about William Shatner. In fact, most of the time he's the one telling it. His self-effacing attitude, so perfectly parodied in the bombastic character he now plays on Boston Legal, Denny Crane, is one of the reasons for his huge popularity. While best known for his creation of Captain James T Kirk, commander of the starship Enterprise on Star Trek, William Shatner has been a working actor for more than half a century. He has experienced all the ups – the awards and acclaim – and the downs – having to live for a time in the truck bed of his camper when he couldn't get work – that are a part of the actor's world.

Now in Up Till Now, he tells us about his remarkable life, from training as a Shakespearean actor under Sir Tyrone Guthrie to his time on Broadway, his movie career and, of course, his successful TV series. He has worked with an extraordinary range of actors, among them Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland, Walter Matthau, Sandra Bullock, Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro. He also writes, with glee, about some of his less successful ventures, including Incubus, the only feature ever made entirely in Esperanto. As funny, charming and self-deprecating as the man himself, this book will delight his many fans of all ages.

Estimated despatch 14-20 days after ordering.