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Ballantine Books

All About Me!: My Remarkable Life in Show Business

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now he shares his story for the first time in “a wonderful addition to a seminal career” (San Francisco Chronicle), “infused with nostalgia and his signature hilarity” (Parade). ONE OF THE NEW YORK POST’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • “Laugh-out-loud hilarious and always fascinating, from the great Mel Brooks. What else do you expect from the man who knew Jesus and dated Joan of Arc?”—Billy Crystal For anyone who loves American comedy, the long wait is over. Here are the never- before-told, behind-the-scenes anecdotes and remembrances from a master storyteller, filmmaker, and creator of all things funny. All About Me! charts Mel Brooks’s meteoric rise from a Depression-era kid in Brooklyn to the recipient of the National Medal of Arts. Whether serving in the United States Army in World War II, or during his burgeoning career as a teenage comedian in the Catskills, Mel was always mining his experiences for material, always looking for the perfect joke. His iconic career began with Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows, where he was part of the greatest writers’ room in history, which included Carl Reiner, Neil Simon, and Larry Gelbart. After co-creating both the mega-hit 2000 Year Old Man comedy albums and the classic television series Get Smart, Brooks’s stellar film career took off. He would go on to write, direct, and star in The Producers, The Twelve Chairs, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs, as well as produce groundbreaking and eclectic films, including The Elephant Man, The Fly, and My Favorite Year. Brooks then went on to conquer Broadway with his record-breaking, Tony-winning musical, The Producers. All About Me! offers fans insight into the inspiration behind the ideas for his outstanding collection of boundary-breaking work, and offers details about the many close friendships and collaborations Brooks had, including those with Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Gene Wilder, Madeleine Kahn, Alfred Hitchcock, and the great love of his life, Anne Bancroft. Filled with tales of struggle, achievement, and camaraderie (and dozens of photographs), readers will gain a more personal and deeper understanding of the incredible body of work behind one of the most accomplished and beloved entertainers in history. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books


Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 1, 2022


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 480 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593159136


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 32


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 1.02 x 8.31 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #56,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #4 in Comedy Movies #25 in Movie Director Biographies #108 in Performing Arts (Books)


#4 in Comedy Movies:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • A must read for Mel Brooks fans!
Format: Kindle
I grew up seeing Mel Brooks movies and loved each one. His book gives people like me a behind the scenes view of each one and how they came to the big screen.
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2026 by PJ Shives
    • An extraordinary story about an extraordinary man
Format: Kindle
The name Mel Brooks to me has always meant I was in for a great treat when I watched his movies or saw him on TV. I am just old enough to remember watching some of the original Show of Shows back in the early days of television, and have fond memories of it being the best thing going. It was years later that I learned that Mel Brooks had been one of the writers for the show, but that fact never surprised me. His zanny wit fit right into what the show was all about. This book, in which Mr. Brooks graciously shares his life with the reader, is astounding in the plethora of reactions it invoked in me: laughter certainly, but feelings of empathy, sadness and surprise as well. I have read quite a few memoirs over the years, but I can say in all honesty that none have captured and held my attention as strongly as this one, while remaining wildly entertaining at the same time. I always found it hard to close and put down even when my eyes could not stay open at 2:00 AM. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read; I will add, be prepared to be swept along on a marvelous journey! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2022 by Amazon Book Reader
    • Very entertaining if you like Mel Brooks movies Very entertaining if you like Mel Brooks movies
Format: Hardcover
Review Image by Avid Reader
This is an entertaining autobiography about a talented and funny writer, actor, director, and producer. I'm a fan of Mel Brooks' movies from yesteryear. The book is a bit long at 450 pages, but it kept me interested enough to read til the end. I would have given it 5-stars if not for the ending where he got a bit too braggadocious for my taste and unnecessarily revealed his political leanings (he once rejected a prestigious award b/c he didn't like the U.S. President who nominated him for it and later accepted the same award by a different President who he did like - which is totally ridiculous to me). If you enjoy reading biographies about talented actors and filmmakers, then you will surely enjoy Mel's book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022 Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022 by Avid Reader
    • Mel Brooks is One of a Kind! Read this book! 👉🤓👈
Format: Kindle
My family didn't watch Sid Caesar shows in the 50s, I believe now they probably didn't understand or appreciate the New York brand of Yiddish humor. Years later, WOULD YOU BELIEVE I didn't know that the amazing, immensely quotable humor from Get Smart, was the comic genius of Mel Brooks!? (Many years later, at my job in the next century, WOULD YOU BELIEVE we lamented over not having access to our own Cone of Silence!?) Then came Blazing Saddles, when Cleavon and Gene were never sexier! The Frontier gibberish was hysterical, and Governor Lepetomame worked, worked, worked, hello boys! We all know the politicians have to protect their phony baloney jobs! Also being a pawn in the game of life, I quote lots of Blazing Saddles and worked with a guy once who constantly quoted Young Frankenstein, we were hysterical, it was us alone amongst the Morons! To say I loved this book would not do justice to the behind the scenes stories from a True Master of his craft. A loss to the Garment Center of NYC but what a blessing to the millions of us Morons who have loved and laughed with Mel Brooks almost our whole lives, and still counting! May God bless Mel and forgive him for dropping those 5 extra Commandments. Anyone who has memories like mine should read this well written and interesting book! 👉❤👈 ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2022 by JANET
    • Of course it's good
Format: Audiobook
It's Mel Brooks! Definitely get the atmosphere of earlier times and just interesting overall. And funny of course. Constantly made me think of My Favorite Year!
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2025 by Susan
    • Some readers will relate to Mel's story
Format: Kindle
My husband, who is also Jewish, read this book aloud to me. His comments were the following: "While I very much enjoyed reading the book, I was disappointed that Mel continues to feel so lost because he never knew his father, who died when Mel was 2 years old. Mel has a very good life even without a father. I had a father who came home from work, ate dinner with us, and then watched television until my mother told him it was time for them to go to bed. My father ate breakfast before the rest of us were awake, so he could go to a warehouse in Philadelphia and put candy bars in cartons to be shipped to a subway that sold them. My fondest memory of my father was his occasionally bringing home a candy bar for me instead of shipping it to the subway. My father earned enough money to keep us all well, and I never felt lost because my father didn’t behave the way Mel (perhaps falsely) imagines his father would have behaved toward him." ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2026 by Sharon Fratepietro
    • fairly interesting autobiography
Format: Kindle
Mel Brooks This book is much like almost every other autobiography that I’ve read. It is much more interesting in the beginning than it is in the later portions. Mel came from a poor background in which his mother was forced to raise her sons alone. He was the youngest and the darling of the family. His oldest brother realized that he had a special ability and said that he was not going into a trade but to college. He was blessed to have a loving and supporting family. The later portions of the book I had to skim because they are replete with name calling , ad nauseum, about “ wonderful, talented, (insert your superlative)” people who helped him with his work. I came to realize how hard it is to have to write the material for 1.5 hours of TV each week. It is truly a herculean task. I find Mel’s humor to be very funny and have enjoyed his work. The book is average and hence it gets 3 stars. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2022 by Robert C. Lewis
    • It's Good (Great, actually) to Read The King!
Format: Kindle
I loved this book from the first page. Right from the get go, where Mel recounts his happy childhood in Brooklyn, I felt like I did as a child at my grandparents house, when my grandpa would tell stories of his own upbringing during The Great Depression. It was like I was back in that kitchen and those stories were being told to me alone. Mel manages to maintain that warm tone of storytelling straight to the reader throughout his youth, service in World War II and long career as a writer, actor, director and producer. The stories are frequently sprinkled with tangential stories and non-sequiturs that convey his manic energy and stream of consciousness that is so much a part of his movies and shows that fans are familiar with, as well as contributing to that personal storytelling feel, as if he is conveying things that just pop into his head that relate to what he was talking about. Another thing to love about this book is that it will give you a greater appreciation of the impact Mel has made on the entertainment industry as a whole. Sports analysts frequently cite 'coaching trees' when talking about the impact a well-regarded coach or manager has had on subsequent generations of coaches. Mel Brooks has an entire forest in entertainment, writers, actors, songwriters, composers, directors, producers, the whole schmear. As an example, when looking for a director for the Brooksfilms-produced "The Elephant Man," Mel was instrumental in hiring a largely unknown David Lynch, who at the time was only known for the brilliant, but weird and disturbing, "Eraserhead." If Lynch had not had Mel in his corner and gotten "The Elephant Man," we likely would never have had "Dune," "Mulholland Drive," "Blue Velvet," or "Twin Peaks" (not to mention all the works that Lynch himself inspired). The roots of Mel's entertainment trees spread throughout the industry. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is truly Good to be the King, but even better to witness his greatness. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2021 by Patrick Conner

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