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.
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.
New York Times Book Review
Moving.
The New York Times Book Review, H. Jack Geiger
The triumph of the book--and of their lives--is that race and religion are transcended by family love.
Washington Post Book World
Lively.
Boston Globe
Vibrant.
From AudioFile
In this touching homage to his mother, James McBride paints a portrait of growing up in a black neighborhood as the child of an interracial marriage. Although raised an Orthodox Jew in the South, McBride's mother abandoned her heritage, moved to Harlem and married a black man. A wonderful sense of realism is offered by the dual-voiced narration. André Braugher's earnest presentation is matched perfectly with Lainie Kazan's character-rich representation of the headstrong matriarch. The result is not only a duet of victory over racial intolerance, but also a very personal celebration of familial bonds. R.A.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Glamour
Inspiring.
Miami Herald
Poignant.
Detroit News
Lyrical.
Cincinnati Enquirer
Engrossing.
Emerge
Remarkable.
Baltimore Sun
Wonderful.
Publishers Weekly
Unforgettable.
The Nation
Terrific.
Book Description
This is a book that will "make you proud to be a member of the human race," says Mirabella, and countless readers have already discovered its power. Written in remembrance of his Polish-born, Southern-raised Jewish mother-who married a black man and raised twelve children, all of whom completed college-The Color of Water is a classic of the memoir genre, a testament to love, and a truly American story.
About the Author
James McBride is an award-winning musician as well as a former staff writer for The Boston Globe, People, and The Washington Post.
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
ANNOTATION
Around the narrative of Ruth McBride Jordan, a.k.a. Rachel Deborah Shilsky, the daughter of an angry, failed Orthodox Jewish rabbi in the South, her son James writes of the inner confusions he felt as a black child of a white mother and of the love and faith with which his mother surrounded their large family. The result is a powerful portrait of growing up, a meditation on race and identity, and a poignant, beautifully crafted hymn from a son to his mother.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
This "fascinating...superbly written" memoir Boston Globe tells the story of James McBride and his mother-a rabbi's daughter, born in Poland and raised in the South, who fled to Harlem, married a black man, founded a church, and put twelve children through college. Lavishly praised by critics, and embraced by millions of readers, this tribute to a remarkable woman is an eloquent exploration of what family really means.
FROM THE CRITICS
James Marcus - Salon
At a time when the relationship between African-Americans and Jews is deeply fissured, The Color of Water reminds us that the two groups have a long history of coexistence -- sometimes within a single person. The author's mother, Ruth Shilsky, was born in Poland in 1920, the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi. She grew up in rural Virginia, hemmed in by anti-Semitism and small-town claustrophobia, and at the age of 18 she fled to the cultural antipodes of Harlem. There, four years later, she married a black man named Dennis McBride, and since her family promptly disowned her, she launched a second existence as (to quote her son) "a flying compilation of competing interests and conflicts, a black woman in white skin." The lone Caucasian in her Brooklyn housing project, she somehow raised 12 children without ever quite admitting she was white. In retrospect, of course, her son is able to recognize that his parents "brought a curious blend of Jewish-European and African-American distrust and paranoia into our house." However, as children, James McBride and his 11 siblings didn't dwell on questions of their mother's color. Only later, after he became a professional journalist, did McBride feel compelled to tackle the riddle of his heritage. Bit by bit, he coaxed out his mother's story, and her voice -- stoic, funny, and with a matter-of-fact flintiness -- alternates perfectly with his own tale of biracial confusion and self-discovery.
Mirabella
The Color of Waterwill make you proud to be a member of the human race.
New York Times Book Review
A triumph....The two stories, son's and mother's, beautifully juxtaposed, strike a graceful note at a time of racial polarization.
Library Journal
The need to clarify his racial identity prompted the author to penetrate his veiled and troubled family history. Ruth McBride Jordan concealed her former life as Rachel Deborah Shilsky, the daughter of an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, from her children. Her grim upbringing in an abusive environment is left behind when she moves to Harlem, marries a black man, converts to Christianity, and cofounds a Baptist congregation with her husband. The courage and tenacity shown by this twice-widowed mother who manages to raise 12 children, all of whom go on to successful careers, are remarkable. Highly recommended for public libraries.-Linda Bredengerd, Univ. of Pittsburgh Lib., Bradford, Pa.
AudioFile
In this touching homage to his mother, James McBride paints a portrait of growing up in a black neighborhood as the child of an interracial marriage. Although raised an Orthodox Jew in the South, McBride's mother abandoned her heritage, moved to Harlem and married a black man. A wonderful sense of realism is offered by the dual-voiced narration. Andrﾽ Braugher's earnest presentation is matched perfectly with Lainie Kazan's character-rich representation of the headstrong matriarch. The result is not only a duet of victory over racial intolerance, but also a very personal celebration of familial bonds. R.A.P. ﾽ AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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