Charlie Chan : the untold story of the honorable detective and his rendezvous with American history

pt. 1. The "real" Charlie Chan -- Sandalwood Mountains -- Canton -- Paniolo, the Hawaiian cowboy -- The Wilders of Waikiki -- "Book 'em, Danno!" -- Chinatown -- The See Yup man -- Desperadoes -- Double murder -- pt. 2. Charlie Chan's pop -- The other Canton -- Lampoon -- The raconteur -- The house without a key -- pt. 3. Charlie Chan, the Chinaman -- The heathen Chinee -- Fu Manchu -- Charlie Chan, the Chinaman -- Kaimuki -- Pasadena -- A meeting of East and West -- pt. 4. Charlie Chan at the movies -- Hollywood's Chinoiserie -- Yellowface -- Between the real and the reel -- Rape in paradise -- The Black Camel -- Racial parables -- pt. 5. Charlie Chan carries on -- Charlie Chan in China -- Charlie Chan soldiers on -- The Fu Manchurian candidate -- Will the real Charlie Chan please stand up? -- Appendix 1 : A list of Charlie Chanisms -- Appendix 2 : A list of Charlie Chan films.;A biography of cinematic hero Charlie Chan, based on the real-life Chinese immigrant detective, Chang Apana, whose bravado inspired mystery writer Earl Derr Biggers to depict his fictional sleuth as a wisecracking and wise investigator rather than a stereotype. Winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Book Shortlisted for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography Named One of Esquire's 50 Best Biographies of All Time "An ingenious and absorbing book...It will permanently change the way we tell this troubled yet gripping story." —Jonathan Spence Hailed as "irrepressibly spirited and entertaining" (Pico Iyer, Time) and "a fascinating cultural survey" (Paul Devlin, Daily Beast), this provocative first biography of Charlie Chan presents American history in a way that it has never been told before. Yunte Huang ingeniously traces Charlie Chan from his real beginnings as a bullwhip-wielding detective in territorial Hawaii to his reinvention as a literary sleuth and Hollywood film icon. Huang finally resurrects the "honorable detective" from the graveyard of detested postmodern symbols and reclaims him as the embodiment of America's rich cultural diversity. The result is one of the most critically acclaimed books of the year and a "deeply personal . . . voyage into racial stereotyping and the humanizing force of story telling" (Donna Seaman, Los Angeles Times). Winner of the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Book and Shortlisted for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography: "An ingenious and absorbing book...It will permanently change the way we tell this troubled yet gripping story." —Jonathan Spence Hailed as “irrepressibly spirited and entertaining” (Pico Iyer, Time) and “a fascinating cultural survey” (Paul Devlin, Daily Beast), this provocative first biography of Charlie Chan presents American history in a way that it has never been told before. Yunte Huang ingeniously traces Charlie Chan from his real beginnings as a bullwhip-wielding detective in territorial Hawaii to his reinvention as a literary sleuth and Hollywood film icon. Huang finally resurrects the “honorable detective” from the graveyard of detested postmodern symbols and reclaims him as the embodiment of America’s rich cultural diversity. The result is one of the most critically acclaimed books of the year and a “deeply personal . . . voyage into racial stereotyping and the humanizing force of story telling” (Donna Seaman, Los Angeles Times). Shortlisted for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography and the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Book: "An ingenious and absorbing book. . . . It will permanently change the way we tell this troubled yet gripping story."—Jonathan SpenceHailed as "irrepressibly spirited and entertaining" (Pico Iyer, Time ) and "a fascinating cultural survey" (Paul Devlin, Daily Beast ), this provocative first biography of Charlie Chan presents American history in a way that it has never been told before. Yunte Huang ingeniously traces Charlie Chan from his real beginnings as a bullwhip-wielding detective in territorial Hawaii to his reinvention as a literary sleuth and Hollywood film icon. Huang finally resurrects the "honorable detective" from the graveyard of detested postmodern symbols and reclaims him as the embodiment of America's rich cultural diversity. The result is one of the most critically acclaimed books of the year and a "deeply...