Michael Richards Says He's Less Angry Nearly 20 Years After N-Word Rant

Michael Richards is making a comeback of sorts -- releasing a new book, and in the same breath, reflecting on his n-word rant ... saying he's a better person nearly 20 years later.

The ex-"Seinfeld" star has just released a memoir called "Entrances and Exits," and he's doing the media rounds right now -- popping up on "Today" Tuesday for a chat with Hoda Kotb, who addressed the elephant in the room ... namely, his infamous meltdown from 2006.

We broke the story at the time ... Richards dropped the n-word multiple times at the Laugh Factory while tearing into a Black audience member heckling him and losing his cool.

Hoda asked him head-on how he was different now compared to then ... and MR gave what seems like a pretty genuine response, saying he's done a lot of changing and growing since.

One thing Richards says is that he has less anger in him now -- although he acknowledged he is still angry ... but just less so. He's also had time to examine himself and understand what set him off that night. By the same token, Richards says he's forgiven himself.

Hoda also asks if he's made amends and apologized -- something he's already done in the past -- and Mike says yes ... he feels he's done enough to move past it and resurface.

Of course, his "Seinfeld" colleague Jerry Seinfeld has been in his corner pretty much the entire time ... and he even wrote the foreword to Richards' book. It's out in stores now.