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Review of "Just A Geek"

author: Wil Wheaton

reviewer: George Woolley

Short Review

Just a Geek
Unflinchingly honest tales
of the pursuit of life, love and
fulfillment beyond the Starship Enterprise
By Wil Wheaton
First Edition June 2004
ISBN: 0-596-00768-X
296 pages, $24.95 US, $36.95 CA, £15.95 UK

Notes:

Very good. :) :) :) :) of 5

As a child and as a teenager Wil Wheaton had a successful acting career. Many of us were aware of him as Ensign Wesley Crusher of the Starship Enterprise. But he abandoned his role as Wesley Crusher for reasons explained in the book. He remained stuck for many years, no longer a successful actor, but, at some level, wishing he could return to his former glory.

In "Just A Geek", Wil Wheaton does a very good job of relating his evolution from a self-absorbed childhood actor into a much more aware and happier human being and into a successful writer. The evolution is neither smooth nor easy.

Two big pluses in the book are the author's irreverent sense of humor and the glimpses behind the scenes of StarTrek: The Next Generation.

-- George Woolley of Oakland.pm & Camelot.pm

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Miscellaneous

Reading Tips

Here's two related tips for reading this book:

  • Keep reading. The book gets better as it goes on. The evolution serves the author's purpose.
  • Be sure to read the appendices.

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The Author

Notes:

Checkout Wil Wheaton's Website.

Also, you might want to look at these interviews with Wil Wheaton:

One place you can find Wil Wheaton's geek code is in the Slashdot interview. (Yep, I know it's not current.) If you are not fluent in Geek Code, you can use the link to the Geek Code decoder in the next section. Or, if you prefer, you can just look at the decoding here.

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Geeks

Note:

  • Click on cover image to see catalog entry.
  • Also, if you wish, see my review

Note:

  • Click on cover image to see catalog entry.
  • Also, if you wish, see my review

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Somewhat Longer Review

Contents of Review

What's A Geek?

OK. Here's my understanding of what a geek is.

A geek is a person who is so absorbed in some endeavor that they value involvement in it more than popularity or success. Most typically, the endeavor is some aspect of computing (e.g. programming. e.g. system administration.) Often a geek is inept socially, and often this is very painful -- especially when growing up.

For some other views of what a geek is, try the search define:geek on Google.

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About the Reviewer

oreilly: I'm a big fan of O'Reilly Media. I've read and use many of their books. I've also reviewed a number of their books.

geek: According to the Geek Test (see link in left column), I'm a geek. But, also according to the test, I'm just a vanilla geek and not a Super Geek, an Extreme Geek or any other kind of über geek.

My geek code is

-----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
Version 3.1
GO d-@ s+:-
C++@ UL++@ P+++ L+++@ W++@ w---@ PS+++@ PE
t+ R+++ !tv@ DI++@ G e++ h@ y++
------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------
my geek code decoded

inspiration: Some things that have inspired me are

  • the book "Mastering Regular Expressions" by Jeffrey Friedl
  • the dance meditation video "The Wave" by Gabrielle Roth
  • the quote that begins "There is a vitality" by Martha Graham

author: I'm a fan of Classic StarTrek and StarTrek: the Next Generation (TNG). (I never got into Deep Space Nine and Voyager.) While I often enjoyed the humor revolving around Wesley Crusher (the character the author played on TNG), the character never appealed to me much.

Earlier I read and reviewed "Dancing Barefoot" by the author.

aside: For many years, I belonged to the Next Generation Swing Dance Club. And I was a co-founder of the Intergalactic Lindy Society whose antics have been reported on by the New York Times.

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What Did I Expect?

geek: I expected the author to portray himself as a geek and to share his experiences as a geek.

inspiration: I expected, or at least hoped, to be inspired by the author telling it like it was.

humor: I'd heard the author was very funny. So I expected a lot of humor.

tng: I expected to get a peek into TNG behind the scenes.

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What Did I Get?

geek: The author does portray himself as a geek. He provides such geek credentials as:

  • his geek code
  • pseudo code embedded in text
  • accounts of painful geek social experiences

inspiration: The struggles of the author with his geekiness are somewhat inspiring, especially as the book progresses.

Why did I find the book only somewhat inspiring? I'm not sure. Possibly because in my experience the author has not fully transcended the self-absorption of his teen-age years.

humor: As the book progresses, the author gets funnier and funnier. By the end, he rocks.

tng: There are many fun glimpses behind the scenes of the TNG world.

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Final Thoughts

If two of the following things are true of you, this book is likely for you:

  • You are fascinated by TNG.
  • You are a Geek or are interested in Geeks.
  • You want a good laugh.

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Last Updated: 2004-07-11