Fascinating: The Life of Leonard Nimoy by Richard Michelson (review)

This is a story America is proud to tell: an immigrant couple move to the United States, give their all so that their children can enjoy a better life, and see their offspring become a noted and respected . . . politician? scientist? professor? business magnate? In this case, the Nimoys from Russia raised an actor—not, perhaps, the career they would have chosen for him. In fact, Max Nimoy advised his son Leonard, “Learn to play the accordion. Actors starve, but at least musicians can eke out a living.” Thankfully Leonard followed his own path, but as Michelson demonstrates in this neatly crafted picture-book account, his experiences outside of performing did, in fact, shape the actor’s signature role of Mr. Spock in the Star Trek series, from the way he learned to read character as an amateur photographer, to honing his acting skills as a door-to-door vacuum salesman, to drawing upon his family’s outsider experience to develop the role of an alien amid the human crew aboard the Enterprise. Even the iconic split-fingered Vulcan greeting derived from a ritual religious gesture signifying the initial letter shin in shalom, respectfully reparsed as “Live long and prosper.” Rodriguez’s muted blue and earthtoned artwork, slightly blotched and distressed, evoke timeworn prints, emphasizing that while this is a backstory of a beloved fictional character and his creator, it is also a story of connection between a past wave of immigration and a continuing mission to imagine the future. This is a perfect fit for intergenerational Trekker sharing.