This Life

by Sidney Poitier

Book Overview

Poitier's biography is one of bitter sweet humorous at times and seriously moraled at others. His life story rivals that of his films. His dirt poor up bringing with feelings of embarrassment, pride,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394505492
• ISBN13: 9780394505497
• Release Date: January 1980
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 374 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Looked the World in the Eye and saw some serious flaws

A must read by EVERY AMERICAN CITIZEN. Bette Davis and Sidney Poitier on SOCIAL JUSTICE: THEY BOTH LOOKED THE WORLD IN THE EYE and did not like what they saw!!!! Sidney Poitier writes on page 212 of the hardcover version: [writing about movie directors in Hollywood who either liberate or oppress black actors] " ....for Richard Brooks and Stanley Kramer [director of 'The Defiant Ones'] differences of approach and style obscured the fact that they were traveling companions on the same highway heading for the same sunset, BECAUSE THEY HAD BOTH LOOKED THE SAME WORLD IN THE EYE AND SAID: ' you're not quite structured the way I like and here comes a little energy to move you around a little'....... Bette Davis acting in the movie "The Corn is Green" Corn Is Green (1945) in the role of L.C. Moffat, an English school marm who has inherited a house in Wales; highly educated for her time, Ms. Moffat, moved by the squalor, poverty and ignorance of an illiterate people: one of Bette's LINES: "I wonder whoever started the ridiculous rumor that we live in a civilized world?"....When I was quite a young girl, I LOOKED THE WORLD IN THE EYE and decided I didn't like it. I saw poverty and disease, ignorance and injustice and in a small way I've always done what I could to fight them".... Sidney Poitier's life story, an autobiography, needs to be read by EVERY American who may be feeling sorry for themselves because they are down and out, unemployed, or otherwise marginalized in our society. The portions of this book that describe his being blacklisted by Senator McCarthy in the 1950's is harrowing. This man of dignity and of work was persecuted beyond measure by white people in power merely because he was a friend of Paul Robeson, Canada Lee and Harry Belafonte. This man who had not a POLITICAL fiber in his body because he was using EVERY FIBER of his being merely to survive tells how politics is and should be a PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES.

it is difficult to believe that this book went out of print

Poitier's biography is one of bitter sweet humorous at times and seriously moraled at others. His life story rivals that of his films. His dirt poor up bringing with feelings of embarassment, pride, and humility to his success story and subsequent feelings of energeticness, ....pride...and yes humility is one that is under-rated and underappreciated. It just the kind of story that the world needs now.

It is difficult to believe this book went out of print

Poitier's biography is one of bitter sweet humorous at times andseriously moraled at others. His life story rivals that of his films. His dirt poor up bringing with feelings of embarassment, pride, and humility to his success story and subsequent feelings of energeticness, ....pride...and yes humility is one that is under-rated and underappreciated. It just the kind of story that the world needs now.