{"title":"McBride, James","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"the-color-of-water-a-black-mans-tribute-to-his-white-mother-james-mcbride","title":"The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother -- James McBride, Paperback","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e and the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e The modern classic that spent more than two years on The New York Times bestseller list and that Oprah.com calls one of the best memoirs of a generation. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared light-skinned woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, \u003ci\u003eThe Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cp\u003eThe son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in orchestrated chaos with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. Mommy, a fiercely protective woman with dark eyes full of pep and fire, herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion--and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all- black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. God is the color of water, Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college--and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James McBride\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/07\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.55lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.15w x 0.75d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781594481925\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAge Range:\u003c\/b\u003e 18-UP\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Best Books\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2006 pg. 4\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames McBride \u003c\/b\u003eis an accomplished musician and author of the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e, the #1 bestselling American classic \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e, and the bestsellers \u003ci\u003eSong Yet Sung\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMiracle at St. Anna\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the author of \u003ci\u003eKill 'Em and Leave\u003c\/i\u003e, a James Brown biography. A recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2016, McBride is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McBride, James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43188378501348,"sku":"9781594481925","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/9781594481925.jpg?v=1777656304"},{"product_id":"the-heaven-earth-grocery-store-james-mcbride-hardcover","title":"The Heaven \u0026 Earth Grocery Store -- James McBride, Hardcover","description":"\u003cb\u003eNamed a Must Read for the Summer\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e -\u003ci\u003e The Washington Post - The Boston Globe - Time\u003c\/i\u003e - AARP - \u003ci\u003eTown \u0026amp; Country \u003c\/i\u003e- \u003ci\u003eSt. Louis Post-Dispatch\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"We all need--we all \u003ci\u003edeserve--\u003c\/i\u003ethis vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.\" --Ron Charles, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah's Book Club pick \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e and the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven \u0026amp; Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe's theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As these characters' stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins of white, Christian America struggle and what they must do to survive. When the truth is finally revealed about what happened on Chicken Hill and the part the town's white establishment played in it, McBride shows us that even in dark times, it is love and community--heaven and earth--that sustain us. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Bringing his masterly storytelling skills and his deep faith in humanity to \u003ci\u003eThe Heaven \u0026amp; Earth Grocery Store\u003c\/i\u003e, James McBride has written a novel as compassionate as \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong \u003c\/i\u003eand as inventive as \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James McBride\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/08\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.28h x 6.36w x 1.41d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593422946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/01\/2023 pg. 3\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2023 pg. 29\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/26\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2023 pg. 64\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/04\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames McBride\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling Oprah's Book Club selection \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e, the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e, the American classic \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e, the novels \u003ci\u003eSong Yet Sung \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMiracle at St. Anna\u003c\/i\u003e, the story collection \u003ci\u003eFive-Carat Soul\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eKill 'Em and Leave\u003c\/i\u003e, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal and an accomplished musician, McBride is also a distinguished writer in residence at New York University.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McBride, James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44338497487076,"sku":"9780593422946","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/81FS3wyevDL.jpg?v=1745396123"},{"product_id":"deacon-king-kong-oprahs-book-club-james-mcbride-paperback","title":"Deacon King Kong (Oprah's Book Club) -- James McBride, Paperback","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Winner of the Gotham Book Prize \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of the Year \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOprah's Book Club Pick \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times, Entertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eTIME\u003c\/i\u003e Magazine \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e A \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Novel \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e From the author of the National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e and the bestselling modern classic \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e, comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project's drug dealer at point-blank range. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e, James McBride's funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award-winning \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e, McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood's Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters--caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York--overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e and as emotionally honest as \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e. Told with insight and wit, \u003ci\u003eDeacon King Kong\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James McBride\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/02\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.15w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780735216730\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence - Winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJames McBride\u003c\/b\u003e is an accomplished musician and the author of the National Book Award\u003cb\u003e-\u003c\/b\u003ewinning novel \u003ci\u003eThe Good Lord Bird\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe bestselling American classic \u003ci\u003eThe Color of Water\u003c\/i\u003e, the novels \u003ci\u003eSong Yet Sung \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMiracle at St. Anna\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe story collection \u003ci\u003eFive-Carat Soul\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eKill 'Em and Leave\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ea biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal, McBride is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"McBride, James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45557036646628,"sku":"9780735216730","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/9780735216730.jpg?v=1777157348"},{"product_id":"the-heaven-earth-grocery-store-james-mcbride-paperback","title":"The Heaven \u0026 Earth Grocery Store -- James McBride, Paperback","description":"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e James McBride\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Riverhead Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/29\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 416\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780593422953","brand":"McBride, James","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46597903286500,"sku":"9780593422953","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0611\/9587\/8628\/files\/9780593422953.jpg?v=1777707356"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookandmortar.com\/collections\/mcbride-james.oembed","provider":"BookandMortar","version":"1.0","type":"link"}