Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27040 in Books
• Published on: 2007-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Sidney Poitier wrote The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography because he "felt called to write about certain values, such as integrity and commitment, faith and forgiveness, about the virtues of simplicity, about the difference between 'amusing ourselves to death' and finding meaningful pleasures--even joy". Yet Poitier's book does not speak from on high; its tone is conversational and endearingly self-critical: Poitier begins the first chapter by recounting an evening spent channel-surfing and wondering, as most of us do at one time or another, "What am I doing with my time?" The spiritual reflections in The Measure of a Man are non-sectarian; Poitier's faith is clearly influenced by his experience in Christian churches, but is not, strictly, Christian. Though idiosyncratic, his faith is disciplined and rigorous, and is informed by leaders as diverse as Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Poitier's love--for himself, his family and the world--infuses his recollections of his early life on Cat Island in the Bahamas, and his memories of his stage and film career (including his Oscar-winning role in Lilies of the Field). Poitier has been rich and poor; he has been popular and despised; and his extremely varied experiences have made him a wise man, as he demonstrates with statements like this one: "[W]hat we do is stay within the context of what's practical, what's real, what dreams can be fashioned into reality, what values can send us to bed comfortably and make us courageous enough to face our end with character."

Synopsis
The acclaimed actor reveals the passion, spirituality, and intellectual fervor that have driven his life and career, citing the elements of his childhood that gave him his sense of worth and ethics.

Customer Reviews

The Miracles of Life
In an eloquent retelling of his life so far, Mr. Poitier shares his joys, losses, passions and difficulties. In my recalling of his movies, I can now appreciate his depth as an actor but I've also come to realize that he is a compassionate and thoughtful man. While watching his films you can see how his humanity carries over from his every day life into his work. Mr. Poitier writes of how effective acting involves "being in the moment" where listening and responding to others honestly and openly is of utmost importance in being real . That sentence and way of living resounded in me and inspires me to be genuine in all of my own encounters. It also reminded of a book I hold in high regard called "Working on Yourself Doesn't Work" written by Ariel and Shya Kane. The Kanes' book set me on my own path of living in the moment, where life can be lived day in and day out with joy, ease and purpose.

Mr. Poitier writes, "Almost invariably, the calibrations by which we measure ourselves move inward. It often takes a near death experience to make us realize how simple life is, how few the essentials really are. We love, we work; we raise our families." In this day and age it does not require a near death experience to realize how miraculous life is. With insightful books such as these anyone can live a life of his or her own choosing. Go ahead: Make it awesome!

A book to live by
I bought this book after skimming through the review in the economist and througout the book i was not disappointed. I would recommend this book for anyone who would like to get in touch with their true self spiritually but not neccessarily from a religious perspective. It deals with everyday situation and seemingly makes a great actor an ordinary person trying to make ends meet for his family. He deals with rejection, success, motivaition, love, passion break ups and many more themes in life one might assume only happens to "ordinary people" and not hollywood actors. I really enjoyed this book and sometimes i wish it were a moral bible only to find out Poitier is just human like me and the formula he conjured for his life may not always work for mine. The book is entertaining, emotional, encouraging and above all very warm to read.
I hope this review is helpful.

Fairly pleasant read
Poitier's book makes fair reading for fans and non-fans alike. I came to it having only seen two of his films, The Blackboard Jungle and In The Heat Of The Night and found it a moderately entertaining read.
There are a few things to be aware of: the issue of race permeates the entire book and barely a page goes by without Poitier referring to it. This gets a little tiresome but very much sums up what Sidney Poitier is. It's actually difficult to view him in any other sort of light. Also, the narrative dissolves into a non-chronological account of events to make way for the author's philosophical ponderings. He's an intelligent man but no great philosopher; a lot of what he expounds is second hand. I'm not knocking him, I'm just saying if it's philosophy you're after you may be better off looking elsewhere, getting the ideas from the horse's mouth, as it were. For me what worked best were the chapters describing his primitive upbringing in the Caribbean, which is fascinating stuff (no running water, no cookers, no electricity etc).
Not a book to stop Hollywood in its tracks or win the Pullitzer prize, but decent enough.