The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy

by Grace Lee Whitney, Jim Denney, Leonard Nimoy, et al.

Book Overview

She opened for jazz great Billie Holiday, shared the set with Marilyn Monroe, and flirted on-screen with Jack Lemmon. In her dream role, Gene Roddenberry beamed her aboard the Starship Enterprise as... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1884956033
• ISBN13: 9781884956034
• Release Date: July 1998
• Publisher: Quill Driver Books
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A study in addiction

Grace Lee Whitney writes this book for "Star Trek" fans, certainly, but what she says to addicts -- and those whose lives are affected by them -- is far more powerful. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Whitney and reviewing this autobiography for The Detroit News when the book was first released. I was struck by her graciousness and kindness, but I was also struck by the gritty strength she conveys in this book. Frankly describing incidents like her hit-and-run on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, and her guarding the bathroom door of a Chicago club while the heroin-addicted Billie Holiday was getting shot-up inside, she just puts it out there, none too concerned what her cult-TV fans will think of her. You've got to appreciate that. And it's pretty clear, throughout the book, that her motives are not to make herself look good, or bad, but to shine a light on the effects of a gruesome and very common illness.

What a Trek!

Grace Lee Whitney was a large part of Star Trek in the beginning and I always wondered why she just disappeared from the series..Well, this very insightful autobiography tells you, along with other very interesting anecdotes about her involvement with the series. Yeoman Rand was an interesting character and it would have been neat to see where Grace would have taken this character if she had been allowed to continue in the role. It's quite revealing how Grace plunged into the depths of alcoholism and other addictions and how she literally "ruined" her career in Hollywood with a bad reputation. However, it's quite inspiring to read how she pulled herself out of this hole and gradually came in touch with her religion and the realization that she needed to change her aberrant behavior and start respecting herself again..For anyone who has experienced great lows in their life, they should read this book and be inspired! Of all the autobiographies written by former castmembers this is the one that is most heartbreaking..however it does have a happy ending! For all you Trekkies out there this is a must read!!

A moving and inspiring book

I am a long time Star Trek fan who bought this book because I have had the honor of meeting Ms. Whitney at a couple of conventions, and she has impressed me with her warmth and wit. I read this book in a single sitting because I could not put it down. Unlike the other Trek memoirs I've read, this one focuses not on a TV series, but on the incredible story of a woman's fight to find peace with God and herself. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever experienced tragedy, loss of self esteem, or addiction. The one thing that concerns me most is that I feel too many people will look on this as just another Star Trek book when its audience should be far greater than just Trek fans. The author has bared her soul in an attempt to help others, and the courage that must have taken is awe-inspiring. Bravo, Grace Lee!

Excellent book

Miss Whitney did a wonderful job on this book. She tells more of what went on behind the scenes than most of the other characters did in their books. She is so open in writing this book that it really should not go unread.

A happy ending to a grim life

This book, essentially a biography, deals with the life and struggles of singer/songwriter/actress Grace Lee Whitney who played a memorable STAR TREK character ( Yeoman Janice Rand ) for a short time until being written out of the series after years of bit parts a "Dream Role" finally had come her way that is until a terrifying rape and a story character/script problem put an end to the short~lived happiness of the Authoress the traumatic experience aggravated long standing personality problems which resulted in addictions to alcohol and drugs after suffering for years (it was only a matter of time before she would die as a result of the addictions) she was rescued by a new found faith and the "Twelve Steps" approach originally pioneered by Alcholics Anonymous and today, when not enjoying the peace and serenity of her home near Yosemite National Park Grace Lee Whitney shares the message of hope and sobriety at STAR TREK conventions, in prisons and jails, and on talk shows This biography is in no way a lurid potboiler and contains a number of photographs of Ms.Whitney at various times and places and with Star Trek players and has a true life happy ending instead of a tragic one.