I happened to be reading Will Smith’s autobiography when his behaviour at the Oscars made the headlines, behaviour which (the book reveals) is not really that much out of character. But this review is of the book, not the person, so I ‘will’ tell you about the book now.
An interesting, if selective, insight into his life and beliefs, this memoir focuses mainly on his youth; at the halfway point we are still on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It ends quite oddly, with him about to do a bungee jump from a helicopter for his 50th birthday. I liked the book as it had a lot of anecdotes and humour. It skimmed over much of his work, choosing to focus on a few examples which mean the most to him. There are lots of photos too.
What I did not enjoy were the self-help psychology bits (I assume those are Mark Manson’s). They jarred with Will’s narrative voice, they were dull to read and so I skipped them.
I would recommend the book if you want to learn more about Will Smith in his own words. It’s not going to tell you everything about him and of course it’s only what he wants you to know, but if you’re curious, give it a read.
First published in 2021.
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