- Paperback
- Publisher: Jove Pubns; Reissue edition (Sep 1982)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0515067385
- ISBN-13: 978-0515067385
- Product Dimensions: 17.8 x 12.7 x 2.5 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,176,251 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Ethel Waters's His Eye is on the Sparrow stands as perhaps the greatest autobiography of a black female performer, capturing both the horror and the joy of the African American woman's experience through the often bitter yet always forgiving voice of an indomitable spirit. This edition is supplemented with a new historical preface and over a dozen photographs.
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First Sentence
I never was a child. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I never was a child. Read the first page
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9 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
A glimpse into culture of poverty
24 Mar 2000
Format:Paperback
I once had a non religious friend ask how could the poor live in such squalor, and yet be "religious". We live on a cultural divide, where we live upright and logical lives, and don't see the squalor around us and dismiss such families as "dysfunctional". Ethel Waters clear eyed yet loving view of her family and her culture will be an eye opener to those who think this way. From her childhood in the slums of Philadelphia and Chester PA to her rise in Harlem to her life as a singer, she apologizes for nothing, and unapologetically defends her culture to those condenscending to her race. Put into the context of the early 50's, when she wrote this biography, it gives an insight into racial relations that angrier books lack. One wishes that this would be re released with a Forward explaining the context of those times so that those born after the civil rights struggle will better understand not only the racial divides that few questioned only 50 years ago, but also to help them understand the importance of the black church and religion in the lives of those times.
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
The deeply touching autobiography of our greatest star
11 Feb 1998
Format:Paperback
This book ranks in my list as the greatest of all entertainer autobiographies. It is honest, painful, humorous, and very informative about a life rarely talked about, the life of black entertainers from the 1910's to the 1950's. Waters was the greatest and best-loved black star in America for virtually this entire period, and her story is an important one. She tells it as she might speak to you in a concert, in a mixture of unusual candor and delightful humor, and one cannot put it down. For anyone interested in the roots of jazz and pop singing or simply in the early black experience in vaudeville, theater, records, films and television, this is essential reading, for Waters was a pioneer and star in all of these media. The changes in her career direction and public image are unmatched by any other performer, and the story of how and why her career changed as it did makes for fascinating reading. Charles Samuels did a masterful job of communicating Waters "voice" in the autobiography; there are only a couple of pages where the voice doesn't ring true. Waters childhood and later adult anecdotes of her life before stardom would be fascinating reading even if they were not followed by the story of her rise to fame. The story of her life in show business is, in my opinion, unequalled in its breadth and its candor. Admittedly she can be supercilious and condescending to other entertainers at times, but for the most part she tells it like it was, detailing not just her highs but her many lows. I've read this book from cover to cover many times over the twenty year period I've known about it, though I was able to get my own copy only about five years ago. I can't recommend it strongly enough.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
one of the best memoirs i've ever read
15 Oct 2001
Format:Paperback
Read this book and you will see why the incomparable Miss Waters was a force to be reckoned with in her day. The writing is honest and takes the reader into a show biz world that mirrored the complexities of the segregated and racialized society at large during the first half of the 20th century. Rather than a rags to riches, this is more of a from poverty to success to survival story. I laughed out loud more than once at her candor and sharp observations. As a fan of Ethel Water's singing - before I found her memoir - I felt privileged to also read her own words on the life she lived.
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