Book Information
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ISBN-13: 9781573225786 - ISBN-10: 1573225789 Publication Date: 2/1/1997 Pages: 336 |
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Book Reviews of The Color of Water : A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
87 Book Reviews submitted by our Members
sorted by voted most helpful
Veronika B. (
11 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book. It was very emotional. The author experienced so much conflict about his racial identity. He did not learn about his mother's past until he started researching the book. The story is amazing.
Jackie H. (
10 member(s) found this review helpful.
This memoir of a man trying to find his identity as a mixed race man, really hit home because my friend's son is mixed race and it reminded me of him. It simply tells of his life and how he tried to identify with both of his races and the struggle to fit in. The book told the story from his mother's point of view and also from his.
(
9 member(s) found this review helpful.
An interesting read in the manner of how the author writes every other chapter in the voice of his mother. She is an non complicated person who against many odds manages to raise 12 children to responsible adulthood. Easy to read, a nice summer book.
Michelle I. (
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is one of the few books I have kept for my personal library. It is a story about a man's Jewish mother. He is black and she is a white Jew. He frequently asks her in the book "What color am I?" To which she responds the color of water. This story shows the human nature of wanting to be loved and accepted.
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
Terrific book... I couldn't put it down... I read it through throughout the day... yes, one day that is how good it is... Like reading two stories at once... reading about the mother when she finally shares her past with her son as well as reading about the son all the things he overcame to find who he really is... dg
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
THIS IS AN AWESOME BOOK! Not your typical mom with not your typical children. What a wonderful family - wish I could sit down and talk with them...
8 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a book that should be required reading for every high school kid in this country. Where did this woman get the strength (both physical and spiritual) to overcome the adversity that she was faced with every day of her life. It's all about the power of education and faith.
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
The chapters in this book go back and forth between the viewpoint of the author and that of his mother. I love the format! It's a great read!
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
Fabulous!! I couldn't put this book down - I stayed up most of the night and read the entire book!!!
6 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is an amazing tale of a white jewish woman, 12 mixed color children, and their battle in life. Great read!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is so worth reading it's beyond words. I loved it. I read it many years ago and remember it to this day. McBride's mother is a mother we should all try to be more like. If more mothers were like her the world would most definitely be a better place. The love McBride has for his mother and all that she's done is something children can aspire to reach also.
I recommend this all the time still and it's a book I'll always keep. I can't wait until my daughter is old enough for me to share this with her.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I almost want to say "a must read". Well worth the time.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I thought this book was "awesome" !!! A very interesting look into this guys interacial life!!!! I would like to hear what happened to him after this book was published!!!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was an excellent book. It promotes education in communities where death and prision might be the only other options. This is a great book for group discussion. I highly recommend it.
Bonnie (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
An excellent memoir, well written. A peek into several different worlds. Jewish,African-American, and Whites. Definitely worth reading.
Denis U. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I read this book in my multicultural lit class my senior year, and i loved it. its an easy read and its even better because is a true story, of a mans love for his mother.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I absolutely loved this book. The writing style was superb, and the story was wonderful--inspiring, emotional, delightful, touching, all the more for being true. The format was excellent also....he alternated revealing his mother's sad and cold upbringing with tales of his own growing up under her stern and watchful care as one of 12 children! I loved that he calls her "Mommy" throughout the book, even as a grown man. I loved the recurring description of "Mommy's madwalk"--her bow-legged barrelling down a street hell-bent on addressing a slight. By the end of the book, which I couldn't put down and read in virtually one sitting, I'd come to love both the author and his mother. Five stars. Six if only I could.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book is well written. I enjoyed reading it. A remarkable family story.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved it! What an interesting woman the author's mother is!
Doaty F. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wow, this book was great. It's really got not so much to do with color as with relationships one has with one's past, present, and future, as well as one's family. This guys mom teaches him about history and getting past people's ignorance and about forgiving your parents and how important it is to know where you come from no matter what. She was amazing. She probably just felt exhausted raising 12 children but this is a great read for anyone trying to figure out their relationship with their parent and/or their past. It's amazing.
Cat (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
"The Color of Water" tells the amazing story of Ruth McBride Jordan's life from two perspectives: her own and that of her son James, as he grew up with her, in alternating chapters. It's an easy and quick read, but a moving and complex story-- bittersweet, inspiring, and beautifully told. Something for everyone.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
interesting sociological study
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book was excellent! The way the story was told from both points of view. Just the circumstances this family endured - WOW! Highly recommend!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book makes you think about what really matters in your life. Great read!!!! Great book to share with others.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I highly recommend this book to everyone of any color or race. It is not just a book about race, it’s also about family, faith, poverty and struggling to overcome. This is an amazing book which tells two stories, that of the author’s mother and his own. It’s a touching story about a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream despite everything as well as an extraordinary story about a remarkable woman’s life and the struggles and hardships she endures and overcomes. It flows seamlessly back and forth between the author and his mother, between time periods and generations until, before you know it, it's over. I hated to reach the end.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A great memoir about James McBride and his secretive mother. The narration alternates between the two with each chapter.
Amy P. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was such an interesting peak into James McBrides family. It really makes you think about the secret and not so secret choices that many people carry with them and how they shape not only the person but generations.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderful story of hardship and survival. The son records the life of his mother as Jewish white woman married to a black man. Her family disowns her, her husband dies young and she ends up raising 12 children on her own, in a world that doesn't truly accept her or the mixed children. All who go on to college, become professional successful people. Along with the mothers story is the son's story as well, he is coming of age not certain where he belongs. EXCELLENT read!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderful! Very touching story.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book - great writing - interesting story especially in these times. Amazing woman to raise such amazing kids.
Tara G. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
James McBride tells his story - a story about his life and that of his Mother - written in clear and not easy to put down words. James is black, as are his 11 brothers and sisters - his Mother is white. This is a true American Dream come true - and for all of the hope it gives, it is not saccharine. Highly recommended.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A great read. Got rave reviews from my book club.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
So inspiring. A story of faith and perserverance...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Memoir about a family in Brooklyn's Red Hook Projects.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Remarkable memoir of a mixed race man raised by a Jewish woman in an African American neighborhood in richmond, Virginia.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I enjoyed this book. It's a great tribute, with great views from the earlier years.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
wonderful book! It is a book which people of all backgrounds should read.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A young boy is questioning his mothers different skin color than his. Finally her story comes out. James McBride is a tribute to his mother's
remarkable, eccentric, determined mother.
Interesting and captivating story
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not quite as interesting or insightful as I'd hoped, but enjoyable. A quick read.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Amazing true story!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is one of my favorite books ever. This true story of how the author's mother fought her way out of an abusive home and reclaimed her identity in black NY is amazing. Her children's successes are a tribute to her strength.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Good book that was a required read in college. An interesting, well written story.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Very interesting story...
Jackie T. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Great book! McBride really captures the poignancy of his complicated family.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
As a white mom raising an adopted black boy, I really appreciated this moving book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is one of the best books I've read. Read it in two sittings - couldn't put it down. A wonderful and inspiring true story.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is an interesting book. If you are interested in race and its impact on children, you will enjoy. It is well written, a fast read.
Joan L. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Very interesting, enlightening.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
This was a very interesting book and I feel like I learned alot about prejudices against others. I would recommend this book.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A very interesting book looking at color through multiracail eyes
I really enjoyed reading The Color of Water... and loved the way McBride intertwined his life experiences with his mothers.
James McBride knew his mother was different. Complex and moving, suffused with issues of race, religion and identity interwoven in histories of family love.
not in the best shape . book on required reading list , daughter used for a semester
Wonderful book, must read. Over 2 years on NY Times Bestseller list.
What a wonderful, insightful look into a son's love for his mother. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
NY Times Bestseller as well as selection of Book-of-the-Month Club and Quality Paperback Book Club
Fantastic book that examines racial/ethnic identity throughout the author's life. Thought-provoking and fascinating- a very quick read!
"This moving and unforgettable memoir needs to be read by people of all colors and faiths." - Publishers Weekly
James McBride knew his mother was different. When he asked about it she'd say "I'm light skinned". She finally tells her story-a rabbi's daughter born in Poland, raised in the south, married a black man, founded a Baptist church and put 12 kids through college.
Sari Lynn G. (A truly delightful read - a book I've given as a gift to several friends. Read it!
Wonderful story of a man who realizes what he really had in his mother and how much she did for him as a white woman living in a black world. Very touching. Excellent writing!
A young black man confronts his mother about her past -- a rabbi's daughter born in Poland and raised in the South, who married a black man, and put 12 children through college. Based on the author's mother. Remarkable and unforgettable story.
A must read! The story of James McBride and how his mother taught him that you are not black or white you are human!
Ellen L. (I am reading this book right now and it is a very, very good book. It is easy to read, and interesting on top of that. It brings back the 60's and 70's just like I remember it. He is an open and honest and knows how to make his story great. I highly recommend this book and I am not even finished :-)
P.S. I got it from PaperBackSwap too !
5 out of 5 for me. I was so touched by this book, and it was one of my favorites of all that I read that year, I gave it as Christmas gifts.
McBride's memories of his white mother, daughter of a rabbi married to a black man. The Color of Water is McBride's tribute to his remarkable, eccentric, determined mother of twelve and an eloquent exploration of what family really means.
This book brings to the fore a lot of racial issues that are too often left in silence. The story is very powerful: Ruchel/Rachel/Ruth is an amazing woman who accomplished a lot in her life, even if only in persevering and raising so many children. I never really think of "Jewish" as a racial term, my interpretation has always been of the religious connotations. So it was eye opening to see these combined racial elements for me as a reader who thinks of the world of varying ethnicities but only one race (the human race). Nevertheless, in the world where this takes place (not so long ago really) she faces huge adversity and emerges a very human and yet humbling character.
Complex and moving...."a black man's tribute to his white mother." What an incredible woman!
This book is a black man's tribute to his white mother. I had to read it in college and thought it was good enough not to sell back with all of my other books :-)
A truly enjoyable book. It's great to see how a loving and gifted writer can have such insight into the life of his mother, her past, and what it brought to his life. Loving, funny, heartbreaking, easy to read.
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. I laughed and was so moved I passed it on to anyone I could.
This is an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone.
Tish O. (one of the best books i have read. the author writes the most incredible
tribute to his mother,a jewish woman from the south who marries a black man from NY and has 12 children. this si a must read!!!
A great book! I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who enjoys understanding the complexities of growing up in a multicultural environment.
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