Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful - couldn't put it down.
Review: I felt so sorry for the boys - they had such a terrible life after they discovered they were black. I have a friend who also lived in Muncie named Connie who knew the family and she said this is a true story. I think Greg should write a sequel so that we know what has happened to his family, do they pass for white now, how has this affected their children. We've passed this book all over our office. It's in our Diversity Library now.
Rating: 
Summary: Staying Focused
Review: I found this book to be very interesting, not many are able to recount their childhood experiences from a perspective similar to Williams'. Williams' story shows how unconditional a child's love is for their parents. Even after all his father put Greg and his brother through, they still loved him because he was all they had and he was their father. The children's love for their mother never vanished, even after her 10 year absence. I loved this book because it shows that faith will allow you to make it through. Greg Williams could have chosen a variety of life paths but he always kept his goals in mind and in the end that was all that mattered.
Rating: 
Summary: Saved the best for last
Review: I read "Living on the Color Line" for a school assignment, because the other book looked unappealing. As I started reading "Living on the Color Line" though, I feared I had made a mistake. While this book has its entertaining moments, it moves along slowly. It's the story of Greg, and how when he was 9 his parents divorce forced him to learn of and rely on his father's side of the family. A family that turned out to be black, when Greg had always been told that his father was Italian. This book shares a heart breaking story, and shows that if you work hard enough and never give up, you can get where you want to go. I did, however, find the last 100 pages of the book much better than those leading up to it. The first part of the book was quite repetitive, and towards the end, he started branching out. There are several big moments in the book, but the one that stands out in my mind is when Greg and his younger brother Mike come face to face with their mother, 10 years after she left their father and hadn't seen them since. But no matter what the hardship was, Greg always pulled through, and put what really mattered first. It's a good book, if you can stick it out until the end.
Rating:
Summary: A powerful must-read
Review: I read this book in two sittings. It was incredibly powerful, thought-provoking and touching. The moment when the author realized that he was the evil "mulatto" who ministers, educators and lawmakers inveighed against, stayed with me for days. What an eye-opener, and a powerful tool for opening the discussion on race.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible reading
Review: I was a graduate student at Ball State University, and this book was a required reading for a course I was taking. For someone that did not grow up in Muncie, IN this book provided a solid perspective of the history of this area. What's even better is that I have been able to recommend it to friends and family on the East Coast that had virtually no knowledge of Muncie, IN--a city that was once part of the historical "Middletown" study. Gregory Williams provided a powerful account of the racial intolerance he faced and his struggle for an identity during his childhood years. The evolution of his relationship with his father is one you will want to follow to the end. Not only was his narrative a compelling one, but his style of writing kept me captivated throughout. There were few books that were required reading for me in college that I truly enjoyed, and felt had significant meaning. Whether you read it for class or pleasure, you will be amazed by the story of Gregory Williams. At the conclusion of this true story you will honestly want to know more!!
Rating:
Summary: Life on the Color Line
Review: If any person has ever doubted whether racism has existed in America this book should convince them that it has, as seen through the innocence of a young boy and his brother. Imagine growing up believing you are "white" with its accompanying acceptance at all levels of society. Now imagine that you discover that you are really "black" and will forever be judged by your "blackness" first and foremost, no matter what you achieve in your life. Add to this identity problem a mother that deserts her sons at the tender ages of 8 and 9 at the same time they are placed in their alcoholic father's black community. A burden for their father, not black enough for their environment and rejected by the white community they find love and a home with an amazing black woman, Miss Dora. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them.
Rating:
Summary: EXTRAORDINARY!
Review: Imagine waking up one day and finding everything different; and that all that is familiar has changed. Such was Gregory Howard Williams' experience and he shares it honestly and beautifully. There is deprivation, struggle , repression contrasted with privilege, opportunity, and comfort. It is an extraordinary account of a man of two worlds, two heritages who perseveres and triumphs over incredible odds. Taut, dramatic, well written.
Rating:
Summary: Immaculate storytelling and honesty
Review: Less a biography and more of a historical novel that richly describes a tumultuous time in American history, this book is a page turner. A story is often told better through the eyes of those who have lived it, and that remains true with "Life on the Color Line". Gregory Howard Williams should continue to write as he has a gift for character development and a flow to his writing that keeps you enraptured throughout. This is a fascinating tale of two young boys who truly lived on the color line. An unusual perspective, they can tell the joys and sorrows of living both a privileged white life and a persecuted black life. I hope to see more work from Mr. Williams. I was only disappointed in the end, when he stopped his enthralling story in his mid-college years and spent the last 3 pages wrapping up the rest of his life. With his gift for writing, I'm certain he could have written a sequel about the succeeding 30 years of his life with just as much fine detail, thoughtful emotion and keen insight as the first 20 years. This book is a must-read, especially for those affected by prejudice today as well as those with a heart for multiculturalism.
Rating:
Summary: Eye-Opening Look at Racial Barriers
Review: Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams is an amazing story of the author's racial transformation from being white to black as a young boy in the 1950s. The story touches on many issues and life changes affecting Gregory. Not only is the reader introduced to problems dealing with racial barriers, but also abuse, abandonment, and alcoholism. As Gregory matures through the book he faces a multitude of obstacles, but his ability to perservere captures the reader's heart making you want to continue reading and hoping for the best. Williams did a wonderful job writing this book. His description of the surroundings, characters, and racist acts done towards his family makes the reader fully understand what his life was like on the "color line". There are parts that will make you want to scream out of disgust towards the characters and their actions and there are times when you will smile with happiness as someone does a kind act. I definitely recommend reading this book, it's an eye-opening look at racial barriers in our society.
Rating:
Summary: A review on one of the best books ever.
Review: Life on the Color Line by Gregory Howard Williams was the most fantastic book I have ever read. It is very well written, with many great adjectives. The Author makes it seem as though the reader is actually the character in the story (who was Gregory Howard Williams). The book was a great insight into the racial happenings in the nineteen hundreds. I thought it was very sad because the two kids (Gregory, and his brother, Michael) were not welcome in either the black community or the white community. I also found it very uplifting that Gregory could bring himself out of the slums, and make his life by studying and believing in himself. The contrast of him was his brother, Mike. Mike would get into lots of trouble, and his father wouldn't care because he didn't believe in Mike, but he would believe in Gregory. The father would take Mike to the Whorehouses and bars, while Gregory would study. It ended up that Mike would go blind from a gunshot. I would recommend this book to virtually anyone that is allowed to
read it. (The book has sex and lots of swear words). The book did not deserve a ten, it deserved a 100!
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