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The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography (Oprah's Book Club) | 
 enlarge | Author: Sidney Poitier
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  249 reviews
Sales Rank: 8226
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061357901
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.43028092
EAN: 9780061357909
ASIN: 0061357901
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
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Amazon.com
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. He 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 nonsectarian; Poitier's faith is clearly influenced by his experience in Christian churches, but he is not, strictly, Christian. Though idiosyncratic, his faith is disciplined and rigorous, 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."
Product Description
"I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite that contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in self-questing. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set."
?Sidney Poitier In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these elements of character and personal values to take his own measure?as a man, as a husband and a father, and as an actor. Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of right and wrong and of self-worth that he has never surrendered and that have dramatically shaped his world. "In the kind of place where I grew up," recalls Poitier, "what's coming at you is the sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and sisters...and that's it." Without television, radio, and material distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning in his life. Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of his parents. Just a few years after his introduction to indoor plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to the notion that what one does for a living articulates to who one is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said something positive, useful, and lasting about the human condition. Here is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of sacrifice and commitment, price and humility, rage and forgiveness, and paying the price for artistic integrity. What emerges is a picture of a man in the face of limits?his own and the world's. A triumph of the spirit, The Measure of a Man captures the essential Poitier.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 244 more reviews...
 Simply brilliant novel! July 17, 2008
Brilliantly written novel! But than nothing less could be expected from Sidney Poitier. Also for all of you that are learning English as a second language it is an example of modern American English at its best. This is as good as it gets!
A must-read! July 11, 2008
I bought this book in the hopes that it would be interesting enough to keep my attention...boy way I right! Once I started, I couldn't put it down! Mr. Poitier writes so eloquently that you feel as though you are experiencing and seeing everything first-hand.
Humane and Elegant June 12, 2008
I first encountered Poitier on screen in the film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, which my father insisted I watch with him along with many other classic films. Though I later couldn't recall many particulars about that movie, the memory of an urbane Black man exuding integrity and elegance stuck with me. I later had the pleasure of watching many of his other movies of which my favorite is, Lilies of the Field. So when I saw this book's spine while browsing in a used bookstore, it was a quick decision to buy it.
Poitier refers to this book as a "spiritual autobiography" where he records his ruminations on life in contrast to an earlier autobiography which was simply a "book about my life". As I read, I imagined I heard Poitier's pleasing voice speaking to me in the many colloquial expressions that characterize the style of the book: "You see?", "Listen to me...", "You hear?". But Poitier combines this casualness with touching eloquence: "Well, I'm no scientist, and certainly I don't have Carl Sagan's technical understanding of the universe and our position within it. I simply believe that there's a very organic, immeasurable consciousness of which we're a part. I believe that this consciousness is a force so powerful that I'm incapable of comprehending its power through the puny instrument of my human mind. And yet I believe that this consciousness is so unimaginably calibrated in its sensitivity that not one leaf falls in the deepest of forests on the darkest of nights unnoticed." Sorry, Carl Sagan, but I'm with Sidney Poitier when it comes to appreciating how intimately connected we humans are with the universe.
Included in the book is a delightful description of meeting Katherine Hepburn for the first time as they were preparing to film, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?: "When I arrived at her door and that door opened, she looked at me and didn't say a word and didn't crack a smile. But that was her M.O. After the longest while, she said, `Hello, Mr. Poitier,' and I said, `Hello, Miss Hepburn,' and the conversation began. I could tell that I was being sized up every time I spoke, every response I made. I could imagine a plus and a minus column, notations in her mind." Scenes such as this spoke to me as a member of a relatively small ethnic minority in the United States - Asian America. I found myself contemplating the possibility of an Asian-American Sidney Poitier to charismatically and with integrity shift Hollywood portrayals beyond demeaning stereotypes.
I'm glad I found the book (or the book found me) as I find myself referring to it as an example of not giving in to bitterness, the importance of integrity, the truth about the interconnectedness of all things, and that at least for some members of the Hollywood community, spirituality does exist.
Glad to Be Alive May 10, 2008
25 out of 25 found this review helpful
I grew up in the South and, when I was in high school in the early sixties, Mr. Poitier's two blockbusters, "Raison in the Sun" and "Lilies of the Field" came out. There was something about him, even then, that caught my attention. Who WAS this man? It always seemed he was a "thinker" - a "seeker" - a bit restless with himself.
I recently picked up The Measure of a Man and my curiosity made me read it. Who IS this man - I wanted at last to find out.
The book begins in Cat Island, the Bahamas where he was born and lived during his early years. As Mr. Poitier describes his youth, it is reflective and feels like an intimate fireside conversation with a friend talking about a loved one departed. There is gratitude and respect - a certain remorse for doing some "kid things" that are so hurtful to those you truly love - and a reexamination of some of the "truths" he was taught.
Then the autobiography goes from there onto other stages in his life where he interacts with the realities and the illusions of life and comes to a sense of who he is and what is important. I guess I expected more of a "success story" about someone who is obviously very accomplished. What I got instead was a very touching and poignant sharing of a personal journey of a man making his way through life - no better and no worse than anyone else - immune from neither happiness nor disappointment - but glad to be alive.
Because so much of Mr. Poitier's autobiography had to do with things both good and challenging that just showed up in his life, it reminded me of another book by Ariel & Shya Kane called Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. In Being Here, the Kanes talk about things that have happened in their lives in a very light way that demonstrates how they and we can experience life more fully and more deeply - by just "being there" for what's happening when it's happening.
I really enjoyed reading both of these books and recommend them
For the man who doesn't read much March 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
My husband(age 71)took this book with us to Hawaii. He couldn't put it down, which says a lot because he doesn't read very much. Reading usually puts him to sleep. But not this book! He found it totally engaging.
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