JENNIEMAE & JAMES : A MEMOIR IN BLACK & WHITE
by Brooke Newman

"Most every man be good, but not every man be good for everything."
"You can hide a fire, but what do you do with the smoke?"
"Trouble is what troubles."
"When you dream, that dream is the truth, and when you wake, that truth is nothin' but a dream."
These words of wisdom were constantly spoken by Jenniemae Harrington, an illiterate, black woman from Alabama, who was hired as a maid for the Newman family in 1948. Although devoutly religious, she played and won an illegal lottery ("policy") quite frequently. Her uncanny love of numbers impressed James Newman, who was no slouch in that category. He was a mathematical genius. At the tender age of five he was already considered a prodigy. James would be known as the man who brought the concept of "googol" and "googolplex" to the world.
The friendship and relationship between these two people endured through political upheavals, cultural changes, technological advances, and racial divisions.
The author writes in simple prose about the complexities of her father, her beautiful, intelligent, but tormented mother, Ruth, and Jenniemae who settled the chaos that surrounded the family.
Jenniemae & James is a loving tribute that is both inspiring and compelling. A truly, wonderful book.
Recommended.