His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An Autobiography (Quality Paperbacks Series)

His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An Autobiography (Quality Paperbacks Series)
by Ethel Waters, Charles Samuels

His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An Autobiography (Quality Paperbacks Series)
List Price: $16.95
Our Price: $11.70
You Save: $5.25 (31%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.58 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: Charles Samuels, Ethel Waters
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-03-22
ISBN: 0306804778
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Product features:
  • ISBN13: 9780306804779
  • Condition: New
  • Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!

Book Reviews of His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An Autobiography (Quality Paperbacks Series)

Book Review: The deeply touching autobiography of our greatest star
Summary: 5 Stars

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.

Summary of His Eye Is On The Sparrow: An Autobiography (Quality Paperbacks Series)

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.

Music Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Music Books
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain ImageMusicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain
by Oliver Sacks
Knopf Publishing Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.17
Listen ImageListen
by Joseph Kerman, Gary Tomlinson
Bedford/St. Martin's; Published: 2007-02-21; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $23.00
The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century ImageThe Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century
by Alex Ross
Picador; Published: 2008-10-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.90
Price in other shops: $19.00
Forever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan ImageForever Young: Photographs of Bob Dylan
by Douglas R. Gilbert, Dave Marsh
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.55
Price in other shops: $18.95
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys ImageHeroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys
by Steven Gaines
Da Capo Press; Published: 1995-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.15
Price in other shops: $17.95
Handbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition ImageHandbook for Sound Engineers, Third Edition
by Glen Ballou
Focal Press; Published: 2002-01-21; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $125.95
Jazz Anecdotes ImageJazz Anecdotes
by Bill Crow
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 1990-05-17; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $24.18
Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams ImageLovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams
by Paul Hemphill
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2006-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $16.00
How to Train Singers/Book and Tape ImageHow to Train Singers/ Book and Tape
by Larra Browning Henderson
Parker; Published: 1991-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $29.95
Price in other shops: $44.95
I, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t) ImageI, Tina: My Life Story (icon!t)
by Tina Turner, Kurt Loder
It Books; Published: 2010-06-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.00
Price in other shops: $13.99
Similar Books and other products
Pinky ImagePinky
CRAIN,JEANNE; Release date: 2006-01-10; DVD
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops: $14.98
Montgomery Clift: A Biography ImageMontgomery Clift: A Biography
by Patricia Bosworth
Limelight Editions; Limelight Editions; Published: 2004-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $81.48
The Hornes: An American Family ImageThe Hornes: An American Family
by Gail Lumet Buckley
Applause; Applause Books; Published: 2002-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.12
Price in other shops: $16.95
Cabin in the Sky ImageCabin in the Sky
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-01-10; DVD
Best price: $12.26
Price in other shops: $19.98
Love Is the Thing ImageEthel Waters - Love Is the Thing
Release date: 2009-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $4.59
Price in other shops: $8.97
Favourite Songs of ImageEthel Waters - Favourite Songs of
Release date: 2006-09-11; Music CD
Best price: $9.64
Price in other shops: $15.99
Hattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood ImageHattie McDaniel: Black Ambition, White Hollywood
by Jill Watts
Amistad; Published: 2007-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.12
Price in other shops: $14.95
Heat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters ImageHeat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters
by Donald Bogle
Harper; Published: 2011-02-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.29
Price in other shops: $26.99
Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood ImageBright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood
by Donald Bogle
One World/Ballantine; Published: 2006-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.93
Price in other shops: $15.95
Heat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters ImageHeat Wave: The Life and Career of Ethel Waters
by Donald Bogle
Harper; Published: 2011-02-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $10.33
Price in other shops: $26.99
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories