The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (1996)

by James McBride

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Showing 1-5 of 68 (next | show all)

This could have been a great book, but the stories that the author recounts as true, really do not ring authentic. It seems like it is one fabricated story after the next, embellished to seemingly heighten awareness of racial tensions - but we already KNOW the tension exists. The author is a mulatto who recounts the story of his white mother and how her identity is hidden from him until he is older and forces his mother to recall the past, a past she prefers to keep silent about. However, her past is not that profound or traumatizing, one wonders why she keeps silent? I grew up in the era the author writes about surrounded by racial division and tension and kept thinking, this author is injecting his personal inner wrangling into the story and not his mothers. I think he could have done a better job by just being honest and not trying to make up fictitious stories. I don't recommend the book - there are better, more realistic writers out there. (

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flutelaura | May 1, 2013 |

This was a good book, but I've read more compelling memoirs. I was more interested in his mother's life than in his. (

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RebeccaLeaf | Oct 11, 2012 |

A great motivational piece, again something to be read and talked in schools, definitely. James McBride's mother is an amazing, brave woman with strong opinions which were neither popular nor even tolerable in the society she found herself in most of the time. Still, she made the best out of it , and was the best example for her children, by showing them how to be resilient, tolereant and courageous. McBride writes with great care about his mother and his family, and is always respectful and loving. (

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flydodofly | Aug 3, 2012 |

knew a lot of the people in this book. all true. Had one of the characters at my book club and told his side of the story as he saw it. (

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terrylynn | Jul 5, 2012 |

Wow! This was such an interesting book. James McBride weaves an incredible account of growing up in a blended family in the 1950's . It touched me with his relationship with his mother and her real life. Thanks, James! (

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mayinkzoo94 | Oct 28, 2011 |

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Series (with order)

Canonical title

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

1996

People/Characters

Ruth McBride Jordan

James Mcbride

Rachel Deborah Shilsky

Mrs. Mcbride

Ruchel Dwajra Zylska

Important places

Suffolk, Virginia, USA

New York, New York, USA

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Red Hook Housing Projects (Brooklyn, New York, USA)

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award (1997)

ALA Notable Books for Adults (1997) (Book of the Year)

ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound (1999.3|Biography, 1999)

Epigraph

Dedication

I wrote this book for my mother, and her mother, and mothers everywhere.

In memory of Hudis Shilsky, Rev. Andrew D. McBride, and Hunter L. Jordan, Sr.

First words

As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from -- where she was born, who her parents were.

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Disambiguation notice

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File:The Color of Water cover.jpg

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

About a black man who has a white mother and a complex with issues of race, religion, and identity.

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▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 075697268X, Hardcover)

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.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Apr 2011 05:16:40 -0400)

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▾Library descriptions

James McBride grew up one of twelve siblings in the all-black housing projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn, the son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white. The object of McBride's constant embarrassment and continuous fear for her safety, his mother was an inspiring figure, who through sheer force of will saw her dozen children through college, and many through graduate school. McBride was an adult before he discovered the truth about his mother: The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, she had run away to Harlem, married a black man, and founded an all-black Baptist church in her living room in Red Hook. In her son's remarkable memoir, she tells in her own words the story of her past. Around her narrative, James McBride has written a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.… (more)

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