Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong by Katie Gee Salisbury

3.94 AVERAGE

chexicangirl's review against another edition

3.0
informative slow-paced

aislene's review

4.0
informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

jeanmlane's review against another edition

5.0
As a self-proclaimed expert on the subject of silent movie star Anna May Wong, this book, above all others, captured her true spirit. Katie Gee Salisbury's effusive prose blended with a steadfast journalistic thoroughness is a pleasure to read. The book includes gems such as photos, Wong's letters and other memorabilia. It will prove to be the decisive book on Anna May Wong and I cannot recommend it enough.

arguellm's review against another edition

4.0
informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
labajas5280's profile picture

labajas5280's review

3.75
informative reflective medium-paced

aghphd's review against another edition

3.5
informative inspiring medium-paced
janeanger's profile picture

janeanger's review

4.25
informative inspiring medium-paced
poliver's profile picture

poliver's review against another edition

3.0
A comprehensive biography of actress Anna May Wong but a bit disjointed and overblown. Wong was born in Los Angeles to Chinese parents and she became a successful actress in the 1920s but her career was hampered by the Hollywood system that hesitated to use her to her full potential. There are countless examples of Wong losing parts because of her ethnicity, even when she was perfect for specific roles (most involved romantic interactions with Caucasian men, which of course was taboo. Wong was intelligent, elegant and stylish and made the most of her situation and garnered an impressive fan base. At almost 500 pages, the book is vastly overlong and suffers from needless extraneous details. Every co-worker or individual she comes into contact with is profiled at length. The author really goes overboard about the film "The Good Earth", a film that Wong was not even in, although it was unfortunate that she lost out on a role that seemed tailor-made for her. As Wong travels to China, her visit alternates with an exhausting, blow-by-blow account of the making of "The Good Earth". At times fascinating but a frustrating read as well.

shadownlite's review against another edition

3.0
Good but it got a little repeatative. And was a little bit light on the Anna May Wong content in a book about her.
steph_chuang's profile picture

steph_chuang's review

3.5
informative inspiring slow-paced