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His Eye Is on the Sparrow: An Autobiography
I was never a child. I never was coddled, or liked, or understood by my family. I never felt I belonged. Thus begins this autobiography.
Hardcover
,
278 pages
Published
June 1st 1978
by Praeger
(first published January 1st 1951)
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Community Reviews
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I enjoyed this book....it's an autobiography about Ethel Waters. She was an African American performer, who was born at the turn of the 20th century and lived / became famous in spite of poverty, a rough / unpredictable upbringing, and all of the set-backs of racial tension / civil rights. She was raised in the roughest of circumstances and was a tough lady- both in action and attitude. She had natural talent and slowly worked her way up through the ranks to become a famous blues singer, Broadwa
...more
Now, here was a woman! What a voice, even in writing. This is a powerhouse of a memoir about what drives art. As vaudeville tell-all and window into early 20th century black music it is fascinating. The story of her life is pure blues. Waters' incisive social commentary and deep compassion are what really grabbed me and put this book right in the same league as
Bound for Glory
.
view all 5 comments
This was such an impressionable book. It gave an inside look into the real hardship of life for a black woman growing up in the slums in the early 1900's. Her faith in God and unwillingness to be ashamed was inspirational. I am thankful for Ms. Waters taking the time to write her life story. I cannot recommend this book enough.
absolutely fabulous book detailing the life of a young African American woman born and raised in poverty who makes her way to the big time using her beautiful voice! The name-dropping can be quite laborious at times but I believe Ethel included this so as to extend recognition to her fellow Black performers of the time. Overall it is a fascinating life story of an immensely strong and passionate woman!
I am not a non-fiction reader, I do read some but rarely. And when I do read one I'm a tough customer. But I really enjoyed this. Took me awhile to read it but that was just because I've been doing less reading what with summer and all.
Anyway, four star (heh, probably would of been five if I dug non-fiction) rating. I had only ever known of Water's by watching the movie adaptation of Carson McCullers's "The Member of the Wedding"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memb... . Those that know me h ...more
Anyway, four star (heh, probably would of been five if I dug non-fiction) rating. I had only ever known of Water's by watching the movie adaptation of Carson McCullers's "The Member of the Wedding"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memb... . Those that know me h ...more
Ethel Waters had a life that is almost too unbelievable to be real. Reading her autobiography now, over 60 years after it was published, one wonders how much of it is really true. I don't doubt her harrowing experiences on stage in Jim Crow America in the 1920s and '30s, but, if Waters was writing today, would she have portrayed herself as such a perfect role model? Despite the fact that she grew up among whores, thieves, alcoholics, and addicts, she drank only milk in speakeasies and she held s
...more
One of the first "grown up" books that I read when I was a child. Loved it then and nothing has changed.
Sep 01, 2008
Dana
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
music lovers, theater lovers, history lovers, Black history lovers
Honest and full of grace, His Eye is on the Sparrow offers insight into a time and place almost 100 years old, Black vaudeville, overt racism, and musical styles that have since come out of fashion. But from the poverty she describes that defined her childhood, to the emotion that she applied to her music, to the struggle she continued to face even after she made it big, there is a timeless quality to this book. Because of her writing as well as her singing voice, she will be remembered, perhaps
...more
NYR 29 Sept 2011
reviewed by Robert Gottlieb
Sounds worth reading.
Written late in her career in 1951 "first popular entertainer to have produced a serious autobiography that was not only authentic but a best seller"
Note in this review mentions Donald Bogle's thorough recent bio of Waters, "Heat Wave". Bogle is the acknoledge leading expert on black American theater and film. Bogle is also the author of the convincing if somewhat hyperbolic "Dorothy Dandridge".
reviewed by Robert Gottlieb
Sounds worth reading.
Written late in her career in 1951 "first popular entertainer to have produced a serious autobiography that was not only authentic but a best seller"
Note in this review mentions Donald Bogle's thorough recent bio of Waters, "Heat Wave". Bogle is the acknoledge leading expert on black American theater and film. Bogle is also the author of the convincing if somewhat hyperbolic "Dorothy Dandridge".
Aug 03, 2011
Cookiesue9x
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Cookiesue9x by:
Book Club
Shelves:
book-club
I have been a fan of Ethel Waters' since I saw her in the movies Pinky , and A Member of The Wedding (one of my all-time fave movies also with Julie Harris and Brandon DeWilde).
I didn't care for the writing style of this book, it seemed like she was mostly listing dates, names, and places of people she performed with.
The parts I did like were, when she talked more intimately about herself, her family and her religion
I didn't care for the writing style of this book, it seemed like she was mostly listing dates, names, and places of people she performed with.
The parts I did like were, when she talked more intimately about herself, her family and her religion
It gave a lot of info about music, black performers and musicians in the early part of the century, most of the names weren't familiar to me, and at times it was hard to relate. But it was well-written, and since I do remember Ethel Waters, I'm glad I read it.
This autobiography is devastating. Ethel Waters tells the story of her childhood in the slums with the bluntly objective eye of a James Ellroy. "At thirteen I was married, and at fourteen I was separated and on my own." Jesus.
This is a wonderful book! Ethel Waters shares her life. She was a woman who rose above her circumstances in life. Her story is inspirational and encouraging.
It was interesting, but I wasn't familiar with a lot of the people and events in the book.
A very inspiring book on her transition in life. Its a very touching master piece.
Boring. I can't finish it.
Intense, raw, beautiful, hopeful, unforgettable.
"Your imagination can carry you just so far. Only those who have been hurt deeply can understand what pain is, or humiliation. Only those who are being burned know what fire is like. I sang 'Stormy Weather' from the depths of the private hell in which I was being crushed and suffocated." - page 220
"Your imagination can carry you just so far. Only those who have been hurt deeply can understand what pain is, or humiliation. Only those who are being burned know what fire is like. I sang 'Stormy Weather' from the depths of the private hell in which I was being crushed and suffocated." - page 220
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