The World According to Tom Hanks is THE book that fans of the actor deserve ... The stories are funny and sad and inspiring...and often all three at once ... And before you begin to think that Tom Hanks has been an angel his entire life… you’ll discover that he’s just as human as the next person. The World According to Tom Hanks covers the good and the bad, but with Tom Hanks...the bad is seen more as a teaching/learning lesson and less of a blemish on his image as an icon ... the book will also serve as the evidence fans can provide to anyone arguing that Tom Hanks doesn’t deserve the title of Nicest Guy in Hollywood.
The author is very aware that decency and 'niceness' don't sell books. He says our culture rewards those who 'troll the hardest and snark the most.' Except for Tom Hanks ... It's an intensely readable book, in large part because Hanks is a genuinely likable guy ... Forgive me if I get a little weepy. I guess there is crying in baseball after all.
What new material Edwards gleans from his communications with lesser-known people essentially reiterates what the more famous ones already have said about the beloved leading man ... Edwards ... isn’t a great writer, but he is thorough ... Edwards would have done well to limit his narrative to films of significance. Nobody is going to learn much about Hanks from Toy Story 2, let alone Toy Story 3 ... Whether he is writing about Hanks’ life or his movies, Edwards finds it hard to be selective. He’s rather like a fanboy, too carried away by the object of his adoration to focus on what’s most relevant ... In the end, maybe all Edwards wanted to do is redefine 'nice,' as he writes in his preface, 'The Nice Manifesto.'
