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To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu

3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 · rating details · 607 ratings · 76 reviews
This is the autobiography of one of Star Trek's most popular stars, George Takei. It tells of his triumph over adversity and of his huge success, despite an inauspicious start in a wartime US Asian relocation camp. In his lifetime, he has become an actor, a successful businessman, a writer, and a man deeply involved in politics and the democratic process. His story also in ...more
Hardcover , 352 pages
Published October 17th 1994 by Simon & Schuster Ltd (first published 1994)
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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,528)
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Mauoijenn ~ *Mouthy Jenn* ~
Ohhh Myyy!


Loved this!! If you're a fan of Takei's, Star Trek, Sci-fi or just need a good laugh. Read this book. I bow to you sir!!
Dan
I thought about starting this review off with the sentence, “This book is the perfect reason I don’t go into bookstores any more”, but that might tease you into thinking I’m about to describe a terrible read.

Nothing could possibly be further from the truth!

I was walking around a local big box bookstore one evening with a friend and, knowing my propensity to buy books just for the thrill when I know I’ve got bookshelves filled with unread books, I gave in and bought the autobiography of George Ta
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Harry Concepcion
For me, the audiobook version is the only way to enjoy this book. What could be better than to hear George Takei tell his life story in his own voice? Oh myyy!!!!
Hilary
Like most people, I knew George Takei primarily as Mr. Sulu, the helmsman from the original Star Trek series, but reading this autobiography made it clear that he is so much more than that. (And if you love Star Trek, this book won't spoil anything for you but will instead enhance your appreciation.)

As a child, Takei was caught up in the anti-Japanese paranoia of WWII, so although he was born in Los Angeles he spent his younger childhood years in internment camps, first in Arkansas and then in o
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Blanche
Simply delightful. George Takei is a lovely, thoughtful man, with a delightfully personable writing style. Throughout his rich life -- he begins by describing his experiences as a small boy in the Japanese American internment camps -- he maintains a clear sense of joy, a belief in the potential of humanity, and a wonderful sense of humor. As a Trekkie, I also love seeing the same stories from yet another perspective. His perspectives on the show, and on his fellow actors, are fascinating windows ...more
Nick Gotch
I actually listened to the newly released audio book version read by Takei himself. An excellent insight into the man and some behind-the-scenes history of Star Trek.

The first few chapters are emotionally powerful, when he talks about his youth and time spent inside US internment camps with his family, but it does get lighter later on. Lots on his early acting career and even his brief dabbling with politics.
Grace
I enjoyed Mr. Takei's early childhood memories with his family, start into show business and Star Trek memoirs. Now I'm eagerly waiting for the "true" autobiography that explains how he handled his homosexuality in Hollywood during a time where you needed to stay "in the closet" just to work. I am such a George Takei fan!
Melissa McCauley
I learned so many things I did not know about George Takei by reading this thoroughly engaging autobiography. As a child he was interred in a WWII Japanese-American prison camp in Arkansas (my state!). He started college as an architecture major, but switched to theater and received both B.A. and M.A. degrees from UCLA. He spent a decade working on the board of directors for the Southern California Rapid Transit. He has been involved in politics since his junior high school days. He had many act ...more
Andy
A fascinating biography by George Takei. The biography actually has only a little to do with his stint as Sulu on Star Trek.

What fascinated me was his description of growing up in the internment camps in the US during WWII. I knew the US interned Americans of Japanese decent during the war (our neighbors when I was growing up are Japanese and were interned during the war), but I did not stop to think about what it was like until I read this book. Strangely enough I read this book during a trip
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Jim
One night in Sept 1966, I sat down in front of the old black-and-white TV in my bedroom to watch a new TV show called Star Trek. From the very first episode all the way until today, I am still proud to be a big fan of the whole Star Trek world!

It should be no surprise that when I discovered "To The Stars" by George Takei (Mr Sulu to you), I downloaded it from audible.com and listened. A relatively short book (about 3+ hours of audio) it covered the life story of our favorite helmsman. From growi
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Chasia Lloyd
This was a fun autobiography to read for a lot of reasons. Published over 20 years ago, well before George Takei stole the hearts of millions over social media, the book offers many details over George Takei's life before and during STAR TREK. I've been trying to write a coherent review, but I'm clearly suffering from some kind of mental block, so I'm just going to list the things I liked and then the thing I didn't like.

LIKE:
- Child point of view of Japanese internment during WWII. George Takei
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E. VanZwoll
I originally read the hardcover book, checked out from my library, but the publisher is now offering an e-book version so I am basing my review on the new e-book, released March 10, 2015. I was able to read this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This autobiography of George Takei is a great look at one of the most famous Asian actors during his early career, as well as an in-depth look at how it was to be on Star Trek, TOS (The Original Series). Takei's personality shines t
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Kathleen
As a veteran of the American internment camps during WWII and an aspiring actor during a time when the parts for Asian leads in movies were still going to the likes of Sir Alec Guinness, George Takei's perspective on race relations in the US is fascinating. This would be a worthwhile story from any author, but it carries special interest coming from someone who portrayed such a famous, groundbreaking character.

Plus, there are awesome behind the scenes Star Trek stories.
Lindea
The autobiography of George Takei, better know as the helmsman Mr. Sulu, is obviously a must read for any Trekkie out there. Though this book doesn’t require the reader to be overly familiar with the StarTrek universe. Takei’s story is a captivating, engaging adventure. Through his eyes we can see the issues he had to deal with for being a Japanese American, he grew up facing the anti-Japanese paranoia of WWII. He shares his memories from the camps, though retrospectively as he adds in adult ela ...more
Bookworm
Enjoyable read for a 'Star Trek' fan. As like many others, I really only know George Takei as Sulu (I don't even follow his social media although I know he's relatively popular on that forum). However, it was really worth the read to find out a lot more about the man.

For instance, he actually spent a few years as a child in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. His experiences were probably buffeted by that he was just a child, but it was still a sad and depressing read. After the end
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Lisa
Of all the casts' memoirs, Takei's autobiography is the most poignant. He spent several years with his family (his father a former doctor in San Francisco) in an American "internment camp" during WWII and their family lost everything.

I appreciated his honesty and ability to delve into such painful memories to bring to life that atrocity, but more importantly his conquest over racial prejudices that marred that period of history
Laura
3.5 Stars.

Takei has a very interesting life story, and I really enjoyed this book overall, especially the earlier parts about his life in the internment camps and his journey to becoming an actor. The book was written before he came out, so I do think a follow up memoir or an addition to this book could be interesting since I'm sure he has some interesting insight on being a double minority in Hollywood.
I had two major complaints that kept me from loving this book. First of all, the writing was
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Joy
This appears to be the 2015 ebook release of the previously published 1995 biography of Mr. Takei. To my knowledge there haven't been any changes or additions, which is a shame because it means there is no mention of the activist work surrounding equal marriage or his coming out as gay. The book does make a nice companion piece with the movie To Be Takei as the print narrative fleshes out some of the events they don't have time to more than mention in the film.

As Takei has proven with his Faceb
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Kristine
To the Stars by George Takei is a free NetGalley ebook that I began reading in mid-March (one might even say the ides of March). I had really adored the autobio documentary, To Be Takei, a whole lot, so choosing this book was an easy choice.

It seems like this book was written in the 1980s, which is both an advantage and disadvantage - it makes it easier for Takei to recall his early career in greater detail (and it's a whole lot of detail) and for newer fans to hear stories that they may not ha
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Steve
A surprisingly OK read, from start to finish. I read this primarily to learn more about George Takei's experience as one of 120,000+ Japanese Americans held behind barbed wire in internment camps by the United States during World War II, and imagined that I'd put the book down when that part of his story was over. But Takei is a good enough story-teller that I kept reading 'til the end, learning much more about Star Trek in the process than I ever imagined knowing. Note to potential readers: thi ...more
Alexa
I was surprisingly lukewarm on this book. I didn't feel compelled to come back to this book. Once I was reading it, I enjoyed it but I never really wanted to get back to it. I’m not really sure why, either. I don’t think it is what I expected but that’s not George’s fault. It seems plenty of people have enjoyed the book. I wonder if maybe his style just wasn't right for me. The most interesting parts to me were George’s time spent in the internment camps and his experiences with Star Trek, espec ...more
Thomas
This is an excellent read that focuses on the life of George Takei. It spends less than half of the book on his Star Trek career, and instead focuses on his childhood and acting education. I really appreciated his insight into the life of a Japanese-American during and post-WWII, even though he was just a child when the war occurred.

He seems to harbor a bit of a grudge against William Shatner, which may be justified based on what I've read about the man.

One thing that I found absolutely fascinat
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kimberly
george takei is fan-freaking-tastic.

really enjoyable autobiography - well written and concise. definitely not gritty or juicy - george is far too circumspect for that. it was fascinating to read about his early family life in the internment camps, about how his father dealt with his desire to go into the arts, and what he felt his role was in furthering asian americans in theater and film.

i'd also never realized that he was so much into politics - he loved the democratic process and ideals. it
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Debbie
I was hopeful I would enjoy this book more than I did. Initially I was drawn in by the personal story of George's childhood. His family spent time in one of the Japanese camps our federal government so cruelly established during WWII. This led me to believe the book would be a more revealing story of his personal life, but it quickly turned to a focus on the Star Trek adventures more than anything.

My admiration of Mr. Takei is less about Sulu than it is his warm humor, his convictions about what
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Mallory
I really enjoyed this book. As a Trek fan, I've made it my personal business to read all the books about the history of Trek that I possibly can, and I'd say so far, this one has been my favorite. Mr. Takei speaks very eloquently about his time in Japanese internment camps, his parent's sacrifices to him and his siblings and to their country. He writes with a heartbreaking sense of openness about some things that I'm sure a lot of people in America would like to forget, but he doesn't do it with ...more
John
it was fun to read, but definitely not a great work of literature. but then again, who would have expected it to be? it was excellent in its first-person revelation of the reality of the American concentration camps where our citizens of Japanese ancestry were interned during World War II for the "crime" of belonging to a race that it was "OK" to hate. More humorous was the hostility and barbs slung at his former co-star, William Shattner.
Roxanne
This was a good book. He was on the original Star Trek and the movies that followed. He did not have kind words to say about William Shatner who he said was pompous, arrogant and tried to hog all the lines for himself. I do not think they remained friends. He also recently married his longtime boyfriend. He was on the William Roast where he said some funny stuff.
Tabby
An engaging autobiography of an admirable actor and activist. The recollection of his time spent in one of the Japanese American Internment camps and the anecdotes about the filming of Star Trek were the most intriguing parts for me, but really, the whole book is interesting (even the occasional digs about William Shatner). Mr. George Takei has led such a exceptional life, both on and off screen. I just wish there was info included since 1994! Perfect for Star Trek fans and biography readers.

Net
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Kathy
I really liked it. Was different from what I was expecting. He was 4 when his family was placed in an internment camp for being Japanese during WWII. That experience shaped him, for the good, and has made him an advocate for all sorts of minority groups. Clean language and no sex! Unlike many a Hollywood tale.
Rena Sherwood
Mr. Sulu only plays a small part in the life of George "Oh MY" Takei. He's the most eloquent writer of the Star Trek family and has the most compelling biography. However, this book never touches on Takei's homosexuality. The book is rich enough not to need sexual spice, though. Highly recommended!
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George Hosato Takei is an American actor best known for his role in the TV series Star Trek , in which he played the helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the USS Enterprise, as well as his dreamy voice and upbeat country singing. Most recently, he played Hiro Nakamura's father Kaito Nakamura on the NBC television show Heroes .

Takei is also known for his baritone voice and catch phrase, "Oh my!" Consequently, Tak
...more
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