Sidney Poitier: Man, Actor, Icon, by Aram Goudsouzian
The best biographies place their subjects in the culture of their times. They give a picture of the world around the subject in addition to the facts of their inner life. This is the first full bio of Sidney Poitier, and it excels at doing just that.
Poitier’s career spanned one of our most revolutionary, tumultuous, and polarizing times in history. From the birth of the Civil Rights Movement to Black Power, to his well-deserved late career veneration, Poitier has been both an icon and a lightning rod. He went from being criticized by whites for acting in movies with racial conscience— to being chastised by some in the Black community for selling out, for portraying his movie characters as noble and sexless.
Here is one of Poitier's most iconic performances from Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?:
With Goudouzian’s fluid, gripping writing, it's one of the best page-turning Hollywood biographies ever.
Narrated by J. D. Jackson, beloved by John Grisham listeners and...me!
