MixedForwardThough there’s no real impropriety—or even many new stories—the book at times seems to be a response to allegations made elsewhere. Patrick McGilligan’s 2019 biography Funny Man painted a picture of Brooks with a fuse as short as his stature and an inveterate stealer of credit ... And so, Brooks’ own account at times becomes not much more than a list of credits—and not just his own ... Episodes of Melvin Kaminsky, the youngest of four boys raised by a single widowed mother, are the most vivid parts of the book, not weighed down by a litany of film and production dates or the onus of cameos at a studio commissary ... [His time in the Army] and the glimpses into Sid Caesar’s writing room make for the book’s best stuff, with the filmmaking largely resembling an IMDB trivia—or even quotes—page. The stuff that hasn’t been public, or at least is tough to find, makes the book worthwhile ... If you are interested in how Mel Brooks views himself, this book is indispensable. For the rest of us, the movies are enough.