To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (book)

George Takei, best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, begins his autobiography by recounting his early childhood incarcerated at Rohwer concentration camp and then Tule Lake segregation center with his parents and his younger brother and sister. Because he was five years old when they were first incarcerated, his memories are those of a young child, and the episodes he describes are primarily those that left the greatest impression on him as a youth.

He also shares some of the emotional hardships his family endured, including their transfer to Tule Lake because his parents had decided to answer " no-no " on the loyalty questionnaire , and his mother's decision to renounce her citizenship. The family did not want to be repatriated to Japan and enlisted the help of attorney Wayne Collins who succeeded in preventing their repatriation and later, regaining his mother's citizenship.

The latter two-thirds of the autobiography focus on Takei's introduction to acting and his many years in the entertainment industry, as well as his dedication to public service, including his advocacy for better roles for Asian American actors and preserving the history of Japanese American wartime incarceration.

George Takei is an actor and celebrity best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu from the original Star Trek series. Also a longtime supporter of different political and social causes, he has advocated for the remembrance and preservation of the history of the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. More recently he has become an important advocate of LGBTQ+ rights since publicly coming out. He has also developed a substantial social media following. He is the creator of Allegiance , a musical telling the story of a Japanese American family's division while incarcerated during World War II, the first Broadway musical created, written, produced, and performed by Asian Americans.

To the Stars received positive reviews, with reviewers particularly noting the richness of Takei's personal anecdotes about his life besides his work with Star Trek . ^[1] One review in particular praised the memoir as possibly "the richest, most satisfying yet written on the Asian American experience." ^[2]