A review by pearl35
Charlie Chan: The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous With American History by Yunte Huang

3.0

Yunte Huang, a Chinese graduate student in Alabama, discovered Charlie Chan novels at a garage sale in Tuscaloosa--and started applying literary criticism to unpack the ambiguous legacy--fascination with Hawaii, the real life career of whip-wielding Honolulu Detective Chang Apana including the Massie case, Depression-era potboiler writing, Hollywood yellowface acting by Warner Oland, the positive reception of Charlie Chan in pre-1949 China vs. the fame of Anna May Wong, Cold War fears of Fu Manchurian candidates, 1960s awareness of racial stereotypes and current place in the Honolulu Police Museum.