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The Color of Water (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "When I was fourteen, my mother took up two new hobbies: riding a bicycle and playing piano..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Aunt Mary, North Carolina (more...)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (595 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Order this book ... and please don't be put off by its pallid subtitle, A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother, which doesn't begin to do justice to the utterly unique and moving story contained within. The Color of Water tells the remarkable story of Ruth McBride Jordan, the two good men she married, and the 12 good children she raised. Jordan, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, immigrated to America soon after birth; as an adult she moved to New York City, leaving her family and faith behind in Virginia. Jordan met and married a black man, making her isolation even more profound. The book is a success story, a testament to one woman's true heart, solid values, and indomitable will. Ruth Jordan battled not only racism but also poverty to raise her children and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered. In telling her story--along with her son's--The Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion, insight, and realism. It is, in a word, inspiring, and you will finish it with unalloyed admiration for a flawed but remarkable individual. And, perhaps, a little more faith in us all. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Like Gregory Williams's Life on the Color Line (LJ 2/1/95), these two memoirs describe growing up interracial from the perspective of the sons of African American fathers and white mothers. McBride, an accomplished journalist and musician, has viewed the yawning chasm of racial division from both sides and, despite carving out a successful life, has been scarred. Unlike Williams and Minerbrook, though, he focuses on a single, singular parent, a rabbi's daughter who later helped her husband establish an all-black Baptist church in her home and saw 12 children through college. His mother's own story, juxtaposed with McBride's, helps make this book a standout. Recommended for all collections. Minerbrook's father came from Chicago's African American high society, his mother from rural Missouri. He paints a detailed portrait of their family life, of relationships complicated by the fact that "human emotions, when mixed with racial issues, are prone to shatter like glass." Nearing middle age, he seeks out the white side of his family, who have rejected his mother and her offspring, and achieves a well-deserved catharsis. Still, his accounts of the almost unrelenting prejudice of white against black, black against white, light-skinned black against dark-skinned black, and so on are deeply disturbing. One is left to borrow the words of another recent commentator and say that this cancer does indeed make me want to holler. Highly recommended.
-?Jim Burns, Ottumwa P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Riverhead Books; First Edition edition (January 23, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1573220221
ISBN-13: 978-1573220224
Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (595 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,912 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

#7 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Northeast
#32 in	Books > Parenting & Families > Family Relationships > Parent & Adult Child
#68 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology > Race Relations

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More About the Authors

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Lainie Kazan

Andre Braugher

James McBride

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
"When I was fourteen, my mother took up two new hobbies: riding a bicycle and playing piano." Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Aunt Mary, North Carolina, New Brown, Chicken Man, Red Hook, New Jersey, Aunt Betts, Big Richard, Main Street, Black Panther, Old Man Shilsky, Uncle Jim, Columbia University, Jackie Robinson, Old Testament, Seventh Avenue, Aunt Candis, Aunt Laura, Frances Moody, Oberlin College, Small's Paradise, Suffolk High, Aubrey Rubenstein, Boston Globe

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 1 book:

North Carolina (New Enchantment of America State Books) by John Allan Carpenter in Back Matter

100 books cite this book:

The Book Group Book: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak on 11 pages
Great Books for High School Kids: A Teacher's Guide to Books That Can Change Teens' Lives by Amy Crawford on 11 pages
Reading for Themselves: How to Transform Adolescents into Lifelong Readers Through Out-of-Class Book Clubs by Deborah Appleman on 5 pages
The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition by James McBride on 4 pages
King's English, The: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller by Betsy Burton in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	71% buy the item featured on this page: The Color of Water 4.4 out of 5 stars (595) $16.47
	24% buy The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition 4.7 out of 5 stars (36) $9.75
	3% buy Song Yet Sung 4.8 out of 5 stars (39) $10.20
	1% buy The Color of Water a Black man's tribute to his white mother 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)

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Customer Reviews

595 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (595 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRIBUTE TO MOM..., July 13, 2003

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

This review is from: The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (Paperback)

This book is, indeed, a tribute to the author's mother. In it, the author, a man whose mother was white and his father black, tells two stories: that of his mother and his own. Tautly written in spare, clear prose, it is a wonderful story of a bi-racial family who succeeded and achieved the American dream, despite the societal obstacles placed in its way.

The author's mother was a Polish Orthodox Jew who migrated to America at the age of two with her family during the early nineteen twenties. They ultimately settled down in Virginia, where she led an isolated and lonely life; shunned by whites because she was Jewish and shunned by blacks because she was white. She was raised in a predominantly black neighborhood, where her father, a despicable and harsh man who brutalized his handicapped wife, ran a local grocery store, where he priced gouged his black clientele.

She left home and moved to New York when she was nineteen and never looked back. She met and married the author's father, a black man, when mixed race marriages were still frowned upon by both whites and blacks. Still, she always felt more comfortable around blacks than around whites. When he died sixteen years later, she married another black man who nurtured her eight children by the author's father and proceeded to give her four more children.

The author tells of his childhood, of his family, and of the issue of race that ultimately colored his life while growing up in predominantly black neighborhoods, where his mother stood out like a sore thumb because of the color of her skin. It was always an issue his mother avoided discussing with him, as for her it was not an issue. It was not until the author wrote this book that his mother discussed the issue of race within the context of her own life. From this dialogue emerges a fascinating look at the issues of race, as well as religion, and how it impacts on an individual's identity within our race conscious society.

It is also a very personal story. While the author's family was economically disadvantaged, his eccentric and independent mother always stressed education. She was a strict disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from her twelve children. A convert to Christianity through her first husband, with whom she founded a Baptist church, she provided her children with the will to succeed. Consequently, all twelve eventually went to college and did her proud.

The story of this unique family is told from two distinct, parallel perspectives: that of the author and that of his mother. While both are interesting, it is his mother's story that dominates this beautifully written book, which is, indeed, a tribute to her. It is truly a story told from the heart, as the love that the author has for his mother is evident with every written word.

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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving portrayal of a memorable family, April 28, 2002

By	Tanja L. Edwards "Tanja L. Edwards" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (Paperback)

James McBride gives us a wonderful memoir of himself and his mother, a Polish immigrant and Orthodox Jew, a daughter of a tyrannical rabbi father and timid, crippled mother, who dared to ask for something more of this life. Yet in doing so, Ruth McBride Jordan, nee Rachel Shilsky crossed what was once, and for some still is, an uncrossable barrier: she married not one, but two, black men, converting to Christianity along the way. She lost her Jewish family and isolated herself from both whites and, to a lesser extent, blacks, but raised 12 children who all became college-educated professionals.

This is not a portrait of a saint, either mother or son. But both can forgive the other, something that Ruth's Jewish family cannot do. (That, by the way, should not be seen as representative of all Jews; indeed, the epilogue shows a moving scene in which James McBride gets in touch with his Jewish side in a very positive way. Many Jewish people are caring and understanding and not at all prejudice against blacks. Ruth's family wasn't among them.) Anyway, that these are not saints make the people more human, more believeable, more loveable. And by reading it, maybe we would become more accepting of families that don't look like our own. (Though I have to confess, I might be a little worried if a family with 12 kids moved in next door, regardless of the racial makeup! :-) )

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28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational Reading, August 5, 2000

By	Chad Spivak (North Miami Beach, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (Paperback)

I just finished reading it for the second time (first time was when it was a new release), and I still can't get over how much this book touched me. This book is one incredibly moving memoir.

The Color of Water is a black man's tribute to his white Jewish mother. I really enjoyed hearing Ruth McBride Jordan's amazing story. Through the telling of her life, we learn a great deal about the the author, James McBride, as well.

We read through Ruth's story, feeling her anguish in hard times. We fight with her to put twelve children through college, and we lend our hearts out to her in hopes of easing her job of instilling proper values in her children. McBride did an excellent job of bringing the reader directly into this unforgettable story, allowing us to feel the emotion.

The book's format was quite interesting as well, alternating chapters from the mother's point of view to that of his. The Color of Water was just an all-around well written book, and a joy to read. Please read this powerful, uplifting memoir. You'll enjoy it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to read and most informative
I will keep this short. Mr. McBride wrote a very good book alternating chapters about his mother's Jewish childhood with chapters about his mixed race and Christian childhood. Read more

Published 20 days ago by Jim & Sylvia DuLaney

1.0 out of 5 stars Rife with jewish cliche'
"I opened the lunch bag Mameh had packed for me and inside, tucked between the knishes and matzoh balls and chopped liver, was her Polish passport... Read more

Published 2 months ago by DE Gordon

2.0 out of 5 stars Mixed feelings
I found this book interesting and entertaining. I was fascinated by his mother's early life and I enjoyed the stories of the children raising themselves in New York... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Della

1.0 out of 5 stars what a waste of time!
I found it odd that McBride felt the need to arbitrarily state the race of every character in the book, given the title. Read more

Published 4 months ago by A. Foust

5.0 out of 5 stars Touching story of multi-race parent/child
This is a very well written book that incorporates 2 lives, mother and son and what it was like to live in a black community with a white mom. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Laura Cochran

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving memoir about the love between a boy and his mother
I could not put this book down once I started reading it. Being biracial myself, I found McBride's accounts of having complex feelings about being a black boy raised by a... Read more

Published 4 months ago

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent audiobook
I want to say that Andre Braugher's reading of this only enhances the beauty of the prose. Even if you've read the book, you may enjoy listening to it. I loved it!

Published 5 months ago by L. Lombardi

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating tale!
What a remarkable, fascinating and inspiring tale of love and faith. An African-American man seeks to unravel his Jewish mother's past. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Mansura Minhas

5.0 out of 5 stars a book that sure is hard to put down!
this story is beautiful. a life story that sits in your heart and has a true meaning to it.

Published 8 months ago by negar

4.0 out of 5 stars Good mom, good son, good book
Quite enjoyable. The author recounts the life of his mother and his upbringing. She was white and eccentric in the middle an all black neighborhood. Well told.

Published 8 months ago by Frederick D. Fiene

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