Customer Reviews (17)

see me after class
I don't think I've ever read a memoir or autobiography that didn't shine most in its early pages, when recounting the author's childhood. It's certainly true of this one, though perhaps I'm biased, because I too grew up in NYC, attending public schools that, even 15 years after Mr. Koenig's experience, bore a spooky resemblance to his, down to the sadistic second-grade and mannish fifth-grade teachers. On the other hand, I'm not sure I've read another autobiography that began to fray quite as quickly as this one did. My complaints, briefly:

1) The edition of Warped Factors I read was published in 1997 by Taylor Publishing Company. Let's hope Taylor has a fantastic distribution system; that, or it took absolutely no cut from the income on this book other than printing costs--because I can't see that it did anything else that publishers ordinarily do, such as discuss coherence and continuity with the author, correct errors in grammar and vocabulary, or even read through page proofs. (There are lines in the book which lose their flush right margin all of a sudden, for no reason that I can see.) While the jumpy margins are just a strange printing phenomenon that might cause a reader to question an author's judgment but not literacy, literacy does become an issue over things like misspellings ("wildlife," not "wild life"), word choice ("formidable," not "formative," personality) and misquotes (I won't embarrass anyone here because I'm sure both the author and the publisher have had it pointed out already; if not: it's the quote that starts out Shakespeare and ends Robert Burns, and if that's still not enough, see me after class). Is it Los Angeles (see more below)? Is it that on The Coast, away from New York's literary elite, Mr. Koenig could not find anyone--a writer for the Simpson's, maybe?--who'd zip through his oeuvre and point out errors and awkwardness? Or, a more ominous thought, did he just want to do it his own way?

2) This leads to the more dismaying point--the author himself. And here I have to confess to being one of those 12-year-old girls who thought Mr. Chekov was the cutest thing since Davy Jones. I continue to be impressed with his wit and humor. However, I am left with the strong impression that he is too smart for Hollywood, and his book--deliberately, I think--gives no clues to why he stayed, except to keep insisting that he's neurotic and loves the craft of acting. Another reviewer made a comparison of Mr. Koenig to Woody Allen, and there's some truth there. I grew up with boys like Woody and Walter in the back of my classroom (that would be PS 169); they were kids who'd today be zonked out on ritalin or the equivalent; they were funny (to the kind of girl who appreciated the Three Stooges) and smart, even if they were underachievers--Bart Simpson with brains. Of course they were neurotic kids; the world and their mothers didn't know what to do with them. But most of them figured things out. By high school they were hitting their stride and maturing. That's what it boils down to: A 6-year-old boy is cute; a 46-year-old boy is . . . not cute. I read the autobiography of Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Janice Rand; she had bigger problems and fewer advantages, and yet she seems to have made some forward motion towards growing up. (Yes, I know Woody Allen's line: "I used to be a heroin addict; now I'm a methadone addict.")

I'm going to give Mr. Koenig the benefit of the doubt here. I'm going to assume that in private he's just as thoughtful, solid, grounded, and wise as any other man nearing retirement age. He made a decision in writing this book to eliminate information that would embarrass his family and friends but that might give the reader a clue to his personality and motivation as an adult. The result is a frolic of wacky anecdotes about a hapless, non-observant Jewish actor from New York who finds himself in Hollywood and who just never learns his lesson.

It sounds like a life in sitcom form. Maybe it's time for the Koenigs to relocate somewhere where if life is going to imitate anything, it will be art, not TV.

Neurotic is the word
Everybody knows that all the actors in Star Trek did their autobiographies, so , I thought, why not read this one? I was in for a surprise! I usually don't comment a book I didn't finish but maybe Mr Koenig should have seen a psychiatrist longer than in his youth. Why write something like that? Jokes are cheap, writing is erring at best, thoughts are at random (an editor,please!!!!) not much to say, really... He does have an interesting career but must he explain all his doubts and neuroses too? It is honest , I know, but I prefer to read about Career & Life...
I got fed up ... I would have read DeForrest Kelley instead...
If you want something really interesting to read about the less "principal" characters in Star Trek OS, go to Takei's or Nichols books: THAT is worth it!

Well written and insightful!
Walter Koenig writes candidly about his experiences with Star Trek and many other topics regarding his career as an actor and writer.His recollections of his years on the TOS is quite interesting and provides quite a bit of "behind the scene" glimpses of certain episodes..Being a die hard Trekkie, I found this book to be a very enjoyable read!I have also read the other supporting cast member's books and feel that Walter's is one of the most articulate and amusing..some of his recollections of his "life on the road" with James Doohan and George Takei making video store appearances are hilarious!

Walter also write deeply about his feelings toward William Shatner and reveals how hurt he felt on a couple of occasions..
After reading the other cast member's books you can't help but feel that there was "something" going on there...It's kind of like if you worked for a company for many years and are treated as if you were "nothing" and just a body to kick around..

I'm sure in life there are many who are placed into this role who feel extremely stressed and down..it's no different with actors I'm sure..However, Walter seemed to maintain his dignity throughout..sometimes in life you just have to live by "the golden rule"..Treat others as you would like to be treated.."I think if everyone followed this simple principle life would be grand!

Star Trek has given pleasure to many fans around the world and it is quite interesting to read the memoirs of cast members to truly see how the show has affected their lives and to laugh at their interesting anecdotes!There are plenty to be found in this book and asides from talking about Star Trek, Walter talks about his career as a struggling actor in the beginning and his later career as a writer.Walter writes very well and I feel he should write more books on other topics!He definitely has a talent in this area!

I've never watched Babylon 5 so I'm not familiar with his role as Alfred Bester but I have seen all 79 TOS episodes and all 6 of the films so I am quite aware of his work as Chekhov..It would be interesting to see Walter in some of his other work..As an example..I recently saw George Takei in "The Encounter"..a classic Twilite Zone spisode and was blown away by his acting!George's role was very powerful however, you were never really able to witness it much in Star Trek..I think that's why some of the other supporting cast members held some resentment towards Shatner because they felt that he was trying to minimize their contributions..hearing Shatner's take on it in the wonderful documentary, "Mind Meld" with Leonard Nimoy..you feel as if Shatner felt these claims were trivial and that he truly did not understand what these actors were going through..I really have a hard time believing that...Walter, although hurt by Shatner's behavior over the years still has a begrudging respect for him as do the others with the exception of perhaps..James Doohan.

Anyways, if you are a Trekkie this book is a must read and an important one to have in your collection!It's very entertaining and insightful!

This is NOT a Star Trek book
While a decent portion of the book focuses on Star Trek, most of it does not.This is a book about Walter Koenig, a self-admittedly neurotic actor.For me, this difference made the book very enjoyable.Here you will get a humorous look into the actor's life, complete with looking for work, working as a hotel package boy, dealing with agent's lies, and more.This book was a lot of fun.

Great book
I've just got into Star Trek and decided to read some of the books the cast wrote.The first book I read was Walter's book.He told some hilarious stories, but yet he told about the serious stuff too.

I've heard that some, if not all of the cast had issues with William Shatner.Walter could've made this a dirt book and tell about every dirty thing Shatner ever did to him.Walter didn't do that.He let it be known that he wasn't happy with some of the things Shatner did it on the set, but the whole book wasn't about that.I've read other books where stars and costars just let out all the bad feelings and the book turns out negative because it turns into 'I hate him because he did this and that, this and that, this and that- etc'I repeat that Walter's book ISN'T like that.It's worth a read if you are a Star Trek fan. ... Read more

Product Description
Stacey and Koenig discuss the phenomenon of cooperative breeding among birds, an unusual kind of social behavior common to only a few hundred species worldwide, in which individuals other than the male-female pairs help to raise the young of a single nest or den. Because certain individuals aid in raising offspring which are not their own, cooperative breeding gives rise to some of the clearest examples of altruism among animals. This unique breeding behavior is of interest to evolutionary biologists and behavioral ecologists since such species exhibit some of the most unusual and bizarre social behavior observed anywhere in the animal kingdom. The studies are all long term and consequently the book summarizes some of the most extensive studies of the behavior of marked individuals ever undertaken. Graduate students and research workers in ornithology, sociobiology, behavioral ecology and evolutionary biology will find much of value in this book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Cooperative breeders are species in which more than two individuals participate in raising young at a single nest. Although relatively rare, this behavior entails dramatic forms of cooperation and competition, and provides important insights into many areas, including sexual selection, incest avoidance and other subjects. This book will be of interest to students and professionals interested in bird behavior and ecology. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Medizin müßte eigentlich nicht Heilkunde, sondern Unheilkunde genannt werden: die Kunst, mit dem "Unheilsein" umzugehen. Immer mehr sind wir gefordert, mit dem "Unheil" in Beziehung zu treten und es so zu wenden, daß neue Beziehungen entstehen: zum Krebspatienten ebenso wie zu seinen Angehörigen, zum Gesundheitssystem und im Team der Gesundheitsberufe untereinander. Autoren unterschiedlichster Berufsgruppen vermitteln die Zugangsweisen in leicht verständlicher Sprache. Neben Patienten kommen namhafte Krebsspezialisten, Psychotherapeuten und Ethiker zu Wort, ebenso wie Vertreter von Selbsthilfegruppen und des Pflegepersonals. Die Zukunft der Krebsbehandlung muß eine "Integrierte Beziehungsmedizin" sein, die Konzepte aus naturwissenschaftlicher Medizin mit denen der Sozialmedizin und Psychosomatik zusammenführt. Die dafür nötige Information findet sich in diesem Handbuch ebenso wie Anleitungen zur Förderung der individuellen Lebensqualität der Betreuer. ... Read more

Product Description
The Milliginians. From a distant world they came, a race not unlike our own but technologically superior enough to impose their genocidal interests upon our Mother Earth with a force so catastrophic it reduces the global human population to a small handful of survivors while the surface of the planet is blanketed by a white powder. .a science fiction writer with presidential aspirations, a schizophrenic, an actor convinced he's the robot he'd portrayed on a television series in pre-invasion times, a self-proclaimed Son of God, a girl chosen to bear the children of a new civilization in the last known settlement of humanity. From the mind of Walter Koenig comes Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot, where insanity and survival strive to come to terms with a human condition stripped down to primal instinct, betrayal and social disarray, for a read matched only by the best the world of science fiction has to offer! (From back cover text by Nicholas Grabowsky) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Random Acts of Good Writing
I had never read anything by Koenig before, hopefully there is nothing else to read by him. He has taken a very good concept, human actions after most of the earth is destroyed by aliens, and reduced it to an almost incomprehensible story. Here and there in the book he actually made enough sense that you kept reading thinking that he may have finally settled down only to be disappointed a few paragraphs later. ... Read more

Product Description
From the mind of Walter Koenig (Star Trek: The Original Series, Babylon 5) comes Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot - a science-fiction comedy unlike anything you've ever heard before!When an alien invasion annihilates most of humanity, it's up to a small pocket of survivors to restart civilization.There's just one problem: they're all losers.

From an Irish pub to the Florida Everglades, from the outermost reaches of space to the innermost regions of the mind, join a rag-tag group of humans and aliens as they face the end of one way of life and the beginning of another.
Packed with absurdity, pathos, wry observations about human nature, and a story that will keep you on your toes until the final word, Buck Alice is an emotional journey you'll want to take again and again.

With a full-cast, a sweeping original music score, and thousands of sound effects, the award winning Colonial Radio Theatre On The Air proudly presents a black comedy with a heart that pumps slightly acidic blood.Grab a manhole cover and prepare yourself for a story that begins when all others end - Buck Alice and the Actor-Robot!
... Read more

Product Description
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Walter Marvin Koenig (pronounced /ˈkeɪnɪɡ/; born September 14, 1936) is an American actor, writer, teacher and director, known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in Star Trek and Alfred Bester in Babylon 5. Most recently, he wrote the script for the 2008 sci-fi thriller / legal drama InAlienable.Koenig was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Sarah (née Strauss) and Isadore Koenig, who was a businessman. Koenig's parents were Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union; his family lived in Lithuania when they emigrated and shortened their surname from "Königsberg" to "Koenig".Koenig's father was a communist who was investigated by the FBI during the McCarthyite era. Koenig attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa with a pre-med major. He transferred to UCLA and received a BA in psychology. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was written for the purpose of paying Tribute to Walter Koenig. There are several trivia and episode questions within this book as well as bios and interviews. ... Read more