Perpetually Cool: The Many Lives of Anna May Wong, 1905-1961 (Filmmakers Series)

Rating:
Summary: Perpectually Cool
Review: I agree with the 2 reviewers that gave this book 5 stars.
This is by far, the best book ever written about Anna May Wong.

If any Asian-Americans out there that's interested in becoming an actress/actor. This would be an insipirational book for them.

Rating:
Summary: To shake hands and sing a praising song?!
Review: I am a student of history and film in Hong Kong and am very interested in Anna May Wong, wanted to know more about the books on Anna May Wong. I was surprised to read this review about Anthony B. Chan¡¯s book.
I was always taught that a biographer of a famous person, regardless of whether it¡¯s an old-time Emperor, modern billionaire, or a once popular actress, should ¡°Bing bi zhi shu, Bu Ying e, Bu yang shan.¡± (Hold your pen tight and write with integrity, neither covering evils, nor making up good deeds.) This was examples set by the great historian and biographer Shima Qian in Han dynasty, as the basic moral requirement for a biographer. Some even sacrifice their lives to stick to this principle, such as Dong Hu of Confucian time, who was killed by the king after refusing to sing praising song for him. It has always been a taboo for biographers to take it as a goal to please the subject or its relatives for whatever purpose. Those who did this for power, money, or fame were usually regarded the lowest category without backbones.
It seems that this review takes Chan¡¯s shaking hands with Anna May Wong¡¯s brother as the evidence for a good biography. For this reviewer, it must be a pity that Chan could not shake the passed actress¡¯ hand, and her brother¡¯s has to be used as substitute. When I learned that a biographer is hired by a billionaire, or favored by an emperor, I would not bother to look into the biography. Certainly, I would not look into this one. I am sure Chan would not be flattered by this review.

Rating:
Summary: Anna May Reigns!
Review: I loved Anthony Chan's book "Perpetually Cool!" It's the best book on Anna May Wong currently on the market. Unlike some other books and articles, Prof. Chan does not present Anna May Wong as a "victim" or "exotic" creature to be ogled but rather as a woman who triumphed over adversity, overcame much prejudice, took care of her family, created her own sense of style which remains iconic even today, and led a courageous and exciting life. As a Chinese American, I especially appreciated the Asian American perspective of his book. I too remember seeing Anna May Wong in "Shanghai Express" for the first time on a late-night TV showing, when I was about eight or nine years old. In those days in the late-1970s in America, there were NO glamorous images of Asians, just that awful Calgon commercial. And here was a stunningly beautiful, self-confident Asian woman holding her own against Dietrich. In fact, I think Anna May stole the movie from Dietrich with her multi-layered performance. Prof. Chan's book was fascinating to me because I had not realized all the amazing things Anna May had done in her life, including her stage work in Europe and Vaudeville, her talent with languages, and her work on behalf of charities. What a heroine! Prof. Chan is right! Anna May Wong is indeed perpetually cool.

Rating:
Summary: Anna May Wong - a paragon of strength
Review: I thorough enjoyed reading Chan's biography of Anna May Wong. Although I saw only one of her movies when I was a graduate student in America, I was deeply impressed by her art and sensitivity. Chan's book filled in a lot of the blanks. I never knew that her career covered such wide territories, not only geographically but in the various kinds performing arts - the silent movies, the talkies, stage and TV. Chan examines her work and her character. The sense I got is her humanity. It's insightful of Chan to bring out her daoist approach to life. If I remember my Lao Zi correctly from my Hong Kong days, daoist philosophy emphasizes not to seek fame or riches, but do your utmost and retreat from the limelight. The Anna May Wong that comes through is a woman of strength.
The fact that Chan's book is dedicated to the Chinese girls adopted by non-Chinese families shows the author's understanding of not only the person of Anna May Wong but also the significance of Chinese heritage. My cousin and her husband (a Scot) adopted a Chinese girl last year. I am sending them the book to keep so that their daughter will read it one day.
(Anyone who knows anything about Chinese culture and Chinese history would know the vast differences between daoist philosophy and daoist religion).
Helen (London, UK)

Rating:
Summary: Anna May Wong - a paragon of strength
Review: I thorough enjoyed reading Chan's biography of Anna May Wong. Although I saw only one of her movies when I was a graduate student in America, I was deeply impressed by her art and sensitivity. Chan's book filled in a lot of the blanks. I never knew that her career covered such wide territories, not only geographically but in the various kinds performing arts - the silent movies, the talkies, stage and TV. Chan examines her work and her character. The sense I got is her humanity. It's insightful of Chan to bring out her daoist approach to life. If I remember my Lao Zi correctly from my Hong Kong days, daoist philosophy emphasizes not to seek fame or riches, but do your utmost and retreat from the limelight. The Anna May Wong that comes through is a woman of strength.
The fact that Chan's book is dedicated to the Chinese girls adopted by non-Chinese families shows the author's understanding of not only the person of Anna May Wong but also the significance of Chinese heritage. My cousin and her husband (a Scot) adopted a Chinese girl last year. I am sending them the book to keep so that their daughter will read it one day.
(Anyone who knows anything about Chinese culture and Chinese history would know the vast differences between daoist philosophy and daoist religion).
Helen (London, UK)

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring
Review: Mr. Chan seems to have a rather noteworthy career in Chinese-American History, and he drew a lot from that to add into his book on Anna May Wong.
I don't know that 'Perpetually Cool' relates to Anna May by those that have researched her at length. He titles one chapter, "The Journey Ends Halfway" based on his believing that Anna May was in an episode of "Danger Man", known America as "Secret Agent", which was called, "The Journey Ends Halfway". I have viewed this episode, and the Anna May Wong that was in this was not the Anna May Wong of whom he writes. An Anna May Wong appeared in a few movies and TV shows, but was a much younger person, perhaps capitalizing on the name of the more famous one. To title a chapter based on an error, when there are so many other choices he could have used, shows poor research.
Omissions on a star are one thing. Erroneous info is another.
Having researched Anna May Wong for over thirty years I was disappointed at the direction he took. In a Wyatt Earp TV episode, he calls her part an 'Antiracist Activist'. What a euphemism!! Anna May played China Mary, who was the feared leader of the Chinese community in Tombstone. She tried to protect Chinese criminals from white justice. Activist is someone who is part of or leads campaigns. The Chinese Community in days of old did everything they could to prosper quietly in a white world.
In short, he seems to have slanted Anna May's life to his thinking and beliefs.
A caption under a publicity photo of her says "Daoist Mood", as if he knew what was on her mind or the photographer's. It's a publicity photo. Nothing more. Nothing less. This kind of thought pattern runs throughout. Anna was a follower of Christian Science.
$45.00 is a lot to pay for a book with 16 photos, none of which broke any new ground, though I enjoyed the shot of Anna in London's Limehouse district.
He did a lot of superficial research, which rang of "Round up the usual suspects." Some of the articles he based his bio on had erroneous facts in it, which upon digging deeper, he would have found.
Though I am critical of his work, it is welcome. Jazz T

Rating:
Summary: Full of theory without adequate life stories
Review: This book is a little bit dry. big theories shadow the inadequate narratives about the subject. Especially, the Daoist analaysis does not make sense for me. Follow Chan's logic, everyone could be a Daoist, at least at certain moment of your life. Wish the author got deeper in his research.

It seems that Chan befriended Wong's surviving brother, why have not any oral materials through interviews been included?