Charlie Chan cover art

Charlie Chan

The Untold Story of the Honorable Detective and His Rendezvous with American History

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Charlie Chan

By: Yunte Huang
Narrated by: Alfred Gingold
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About this listen

Shortlisted for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography and the 2011 Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Book.

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 storytelling" (Donna Seaman, Los Angeles Times).

©2010 Yunte Huang (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Americas Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV History & Criticism Literary History & Criticism Social Sciences State & Local United States World Detective Celebrity Entertainment China Biography American History Imperial Japan Social justice

Critic reviews

"An ingenious and absorbing book.... It will permanently change the way we tell this troubled yet gripping story." (Jonathan Spence)
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If you can get past the initial chapters then this is a good book that goes through the history of Hawai & the chinese and the attitudes towards the Chonese in film etc in the USA. The continual emphasis and reinteration if how offensive tge Charlie Chan stereo types ate detracts from the book & I found could be offensive as the author seems to assume that us readers have these same attitudes. Overall though a very interesting book.

Very PC

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