Books: Actor as Writer

THE FRONTIERS OF THE SEA by Peter Ustinov. 247 pages. Atlanfic-Littleff/e, Brown. $4.95.

Peter Ustinov, an actor who writes, prefers to be known as a writer who acts. "Acting is the quickest way of making a living," he says. "Writing is a longer-term thing. It is also—from the purely day-to-day angle—a kind of insurance policy."

If he is really seeking an insurance shelter, it seems clear that at 45, Ustinov has few worries. Successful as actor, director, composer, mimic and raconteur, he has also established himself as an author of respectable talent and prodigious output. Besides 16 plays (including The Love of Four...