Book summary

Born in the Bahamas in 1927, young Sidney Poitier encountered few white people and never "learned" to feel inferior. When his tomato-farmer parents lost their livelihood due to a Florida embargo, Poitier's family move to the United State, staying first in Miami, and eventually moving to Harlem, where his father sold cigars and his mother broke rocks into gravel. His parents' hard-working ethics and his own sense of self-worth, mixed with anger at the prevalent racism and segregation of the period, made Poitier determined to succeed despite the forces arrayed against him, and through the 1950s and 1960s he continually broke down color barriers, and fought valiantly to depict black men in interesting roles, with pride, dignity, and charm. THE MEASURE OF A MAN, his second autobiography, and selected as an Oprah's Book Club selection in 2007, powerfully describes the challenges Poitier faced, and how the teaching of his parents and his spiritual faith helped him overcome and thrive. The book discusses his involvement in the Civil Rights movement, fights with directors over how certain roles should be performed, working with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in the controversial and seminal LOOK WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, and the unfairness of the accusations that he was an "Uncle Tom." All in all, the book is a fascinating history, a rich psychological profile, and an uplifting and inspiring story of a man who stood up for himself, for his rights, and for his race.

Media reviews

"THE MEASURE OF MAN, Poitier's second autobiography--reflective, generous, humane--is moving."