Once you get to a certain age --- if you’re lucky --- you still have the faculties to recall the high (and low) points of your life. There are fewer days ahead of you than behind you. You think about your legacy, what you want to leave behind to family, friends and, in the case of celebrities, fans.

William Shatner passed the 90-year mark and must have felt that the time was right to publish this cathartic exercise. The result is both fascinating and slightly dubious to the cynical among us.

In BOLDLY GO, Shatner engages in a good deal of humble bragging, which may or may not be your cup of tea. He talks about all the chances he has taken --- doing his own stunts, reaching out to colleagues with whom he has fallen out of favor --- despite fear or even common sense. No doubt he is trying to be supportive and instructive, but he also seeks to come across as brave and smart.

"William Shatner passed the 90-year mark and must have felt that the time was right to publish this cathartic exercise. The result is both fascinating and slightly dubious to the cynical among us."

Shatner wants us to see him as a Renaissance Man, a person of many interests: horses and animal rescue, writing, music, even traveling into outer space (which makes sense, though he was initially reluctant). One of a small group to see Earth from the heavens, it’s only natural to feel humbled, even lost in the overwhelming experience of realizing that one is such a small part of the universe. That would make anyone introspective. He shares his views on the sorry shape that the world is in, but he is hopeful that we can turn things around. He spends several chapters in a philosophical mindset. (Ever notice how “being philosophical” about something often means just accepting the situation?).

Shatner “overcame” the limitations of his upbringing in Montreal during the Depression, deciding early on that he wanted to go into acting rather than the family business. As with many starting out in such a challenging occupation, he struggled professionally and financially. But he obviously prevailed, which afforded him all sorts of opportunities. This, in turn, gave him the fame and fortune he desired.

He bounces back and forth between more amusing anecdotes and serious musings. Anyone who has reached an advanced age inevitably goes through a lot of loss. His wife, Nerine, a substance abuser, committed suicide by drowning in the pool at their California home. The death of his friend and “Star Trek” co-star, Leonard Nimoy, also plays a prominent role in the book. Of course, we have only Shatner’s version of the falling-out that was so painful to him; the same could be said of his relationships with other members of the “Trek” family.

There are those who exalt celebrities for no other reason than that status. No doubt, they will enjoy BOLDLY GO. There is the sense that Shatner wants to be perceived as thoughtful, wise in the ways of the world due to the accumulation of a long lifetime of experiences. But to this reviewer, it seems that there’s something just behind the curtain, just the tiniest bit off in the lessons he would have us learn.