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Just a Geek | 
 enlarge | Author: Wil Wheaton
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $10.85
You Save: $14.10 (57%)
New (30) Used (17) from $6.89
Avg. Customer Rating:  66 reviews
Sales Rank: 66814
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.6 x 1.1
ISBN: 059600768X
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45028092
EAN: 9780596007683
ASIN: 059600768X
Publication Date: June 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: NEW ! Hardback by Wil Wheaton with clean crisp pages - " Unflinchingly honest tales of the search for life, love and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise" - cover is also in new condition, showing only slight shelf rubbing - shipped within 48 hours
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Product Description
Wil Wheaton has never been one to take the conventional path to success. Despite early stardom through his childhood role in the motion picture "Stand By Me", and growing up on television as Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation", Wil left Hollywood in pursuit of happiness, purpose, and a viable means of paying the bills. In the oddest of places, Topeka, Kansas, Wil discovered that despite his claims to fame, he was at heart Just a Geek. In this, his newest book, Wil shares his deeply personal and difficult journey to find himself. You'll understand the rigors, and joys, of Wil's rediscovering of himself, as he comes to terms with what it means to be famous, or, ironically, famous for once having been famous. Writing with honesty and disarming humanity, Wil touches on the frustrations associated with his acting career, his inability to distance himself from Ensign Crusher in the public's eyes, the launch of his incredibly successful web site, wilwheaton.net, and the joy he's found in writing. Through all of this, Wil shares the ups and downs he encountered along the journey, along with the support and love he discovered from his friends and family. The stories in Just a Geek include: - Wil's plunge from teen star to struggling actor - Discovering the joys of HTML, blogging, Linux, and web design - The struggle between Wesley Crusher, Starfleet ensign, and Wil Wheaton, author and blogger - Gut-wrenching reactions to the 9-11 disaster - Moving tales of Wil's relationships with his wife, step-children, and extended family - The transition from a B-list actor to an A-list author Wil Wheaton--celebrity, blogger, and geek--writes for the geek in all of us. Engaging, witty, and pleasantly self-deprecating, Just a Geek will surprise you and make you laugh.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 61 more reviews...
 Just a Geek? Actually, I don't think so... September 27, 2008
I've never really thought too much about Wesley Crusher to tell the truth. Yes, enjoyed the heck out of Star Trek TNG (if you watch my home movies of when my son was small in the '90s always in the background is either STTNG or NASCAR, depending if my husband was home or not), but I was never a Trekkie inspired to dress up and go to conventions or pay more than passing interest in the fact that this character moved on to other things. However, from reading this book I guess Wesley's desertion of the Enterprise was a much bigger event, world changing even, to those who loved and/or hated the character respectively and particularly to Wil Wheaton, who has been emotionally reeling from his decision for all these many years. I never knew!
Although the title claims Unflinching honest tales of the search for life, love and fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise this is primarily a story of how Wil Wheaton has come to terms with the effect Star Trek has had on his life and really doesn't move very far past that. His blog, also featured here, is a large part of how Mr. Wheaton is accomplishing this. But, this is just fine with me because if it hadn't been for the Star Trek aspect I would have never picked this book up considering the thing I remember him for most other than the big 2 (STTNG and Stand by Me) is his appearance on The Weakest Link where he acted like the world's biggest a**hole. Frankly, in the part that touched upon his Weakest Link appearance I was shocked that he made no mention of this and I read through the rest of the book thinking, "if he doesn't realize how much of a jerk he was then, I can't really take this book at face value." Thankfully, in one of the Appendixes he addresses a question about the appearance, and said he was "acting" the part since the studio just wanted to make the host look good anyway *big sigh of relief* I was very happy about this considering how much I enjoyed the book.
I absolutely do not pity Mr. Wheaton for the decision he made that so irrevocably changed his life, he manages to do this quite well all on his own without my assistance. He does do a lot of bellyaching about being haunted by the ghosts of his consciousness, "Prove to Everyone That Quitting Star Trek Wasn't A Mistake" and "Self Doubt". Actually, considering the amount of complaining, you would think this memoir would be a miserable read. It Is Not. No, I didn't find it exceedingly hilarious (except for the part about Jonathan Frakes running into the door during a scene), but it was interesting. Mr. Wheaton managed to keep me hooked, the writing was smooth and entertaining and I loved his honest declarations of his feelings towards his fellow actors and the acting industry. In fact, I can totally empathize with a lot of what he's feeling. The pettyish overreactions to slights (real or imagined, will we ever know?) by ST producer Rick Berman rather mirror my own reactions in comparable situations and the resentfulness towards those who criticize you or worse, ignore you. I could totally feel for him.
Overall I thought this book was really "cool" :-) I read every last word right through the appendixes and into the acknowledgements, which I would usually never do with a biography. Although I probably won't be an avid daily reader of his blog as I found the other parts of this book more interesting than those entries, I wouldn't completely discount the possibility of a little look-see. I am now curious to see how things are going with this conflicted man, he is an interesting character in and of himself, even without a script.
 I just love this book April 10, 2008
Wheaton has an interesting perspective on things due to his experiences as an actor, writer, voice actor, parent, spouse, and unabashed Geek. He uses his entertaining story-telling skills to share his observations and lessons learned.
As a regular reader of WWdN:In Exile, Wheaton's writer's "voice" has a conversational tone that I really enjoy. I am submitting this review primarily to reply to what several other reviewers have said about his conversations with his brain/himself. Others have said they find these annoying, but they're a part of Wheaton's delivery that I really enjoy. If you aren't sure if you'll enjoy his writing style, pop over to his blog and read a bit.
Just Another Geek October 18, 2007
Wil is a great writer, learning to write about what he knows. This book provides a fascinating insight in the behind-the-scenes of Wil's life and of Star Trek TNG.
Not Just A Geek, but an Author, too! August 29, 2007
Like Mr. Wheaton's other book, I was very pleased with this one as well. I could relate to the "geekness", being a recovering geek myself.
Wonderful book.
A Peek Inside... May 13, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this book because I started reading Wil Wheaton's blog and some of the articles he's been writing for various internet sites and found them to be very funny. So, I thought I was going to get a funny, behind-the-scenes look at Star Trek:TNG. I didn't get that. What I got was excerps from his blog over the past 5 years or so. And it really wasn't all that funny. I actually cried (yes, cried) a lot more than I laughed. But you know what? I wasn't disappointed. It turns out to be a peek inside WW's head and his journey from seeing himself as a washed up actor to being happy being a writer, family man, and "Just a Geek." It's really a much more human story that the average person can relate to (I know I did!) instead of being a gossip-fest.
Wheaton writes in an easy, conversational style sprinkled with interesting, occasionally brilliant descriptive turns of phrase. Is he the next F. Scott Fitzgerald? Probably not. But it is an easy, enjoyable read about a guy coming to grips with his life taking a big left turn that he didn't intend to take. Even if you don't know Wil Wheaton from Adam and have never seen a Star Trek episode in your life, you will enjoy this book, because it's not about being a Trekker. It's about being a human.
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