The Autobiography of Mr. Spock
{5/5} “The universe is a vast and wild place, and in this chaotic variety lies not disintegration, but the means to realize a fuller, more sustained unity of self. In embracing what is different in others, we become more fully ourselves.”
The Autobiography of Mr. Spock by Una McCormack, published in 2021
Before his mission to save Romulus from destruction, Spock writes his autobiography, his wisdom book, and sends it to his friend Jean-Luc Picard. When Spock was a child he thought he would follow in the footsteps of his father, Ambassador Sarek. But instead he joined Starfleet to forge his own path, serving under Captains Pike and Kirk. Of the two students he became the closest to, Saavik remained a close friend, while Valeris betrayed him and the Federation.
This is the 4th in a series of autobiographies — they are all superb. This one, though, is the autobiography of my favourite character. McCormack has risen to the occasion and created a masterpiece.
She brings events from Spock’s life from various series — all the way from TOS in 1966 to Picard in 2020 — and reconciles them into a unified whole.
The book proceeds mostly chronologically, but each chapter focuses on a particular person who is important to Spock. You will want to hear what Spock has to say about his father, the Prime Directive, Valeris, Romulus, and Jim Kirk.
There are a couple of tiny things I felt weren’t perfect, like Spock calling McCoy “Bones,” but they didn’t affect the larger story.
It’s about how to bring together the different parts of yourself, and how to approach the world as someone who believes in infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
One more quotation: “As I grew older, I became more easy, more confident, in the simple fact of my dual heritage, and I no longer experienced these parts of me as if they were conflict. Rather, I was coming to see that I was better served when both parts of me were allowed to co-exist, to nourish and succor the other so that the whole of me might flourish.”
I’ve read 8 books by McCormack. I previously reviewed The Autobiography of Kathryn Janeway.