THIS is not quite Sidney Poitier's autobiography, although it does chart his life and times. It is more an effort to explain both to himself and the reader what drives him, what shapes his life, why he sets high standards for himself and how difficult it is to meet them.

What stands out in this memoir is the quiet dignity with which Poitier has conducted his life. He started out in poverty on the Bahamian Cat Island running free and surrounded and supported by a loving family. It was here that he first steeled himself with self-imposed feats of daring and courage that marked his whole life.

After settling in the USA and surviving as a dish-washer, this remarkable man taught himself to read and then entered the acting profession.

This was only ever on his own terms and he became the first black actor to break down the racial barriers that consigned many of his contemporaries to either humiliating roles or worse being branded a communist and ostracised from society. An interesting story about a brave, quiet and courteous man.

The Measure Of A Man by Sidney Poitier (Simon & Schuster) £16.99.