Wilson presents a scholarly study of the history, sociology and political issues of Philadelphia's Chinatown neighborhood. She aims to trace aspects of Chinatown that have kept it going since the nineteenth century. Much of the discussion centers on the ethnic segregation that has defined Chinatown and the life of immigrants from China until at least the the 1940s. This includes, for example, the survival strategy of "self-Orientalism," or commodifying Orientalism to cater to tourists. The role of churches, social groups and their spaces, holidays, sports, certain businesses and certain individuals in maintaining Chinese identity, while economics and city planning forced changes on the neighborhood, constitutes a discussion thread. So does political activism of the 1960s and 1970s, when urban renewal threatened to demolish Chinatown entirely. Wilson elaborates on the transition from protesting to planning, relating struggles to keep a stadium, and then a casino out of Chinatown, the divided loyalties regarding an old aqueduct, and the tensions between wealthy and low-income residents as gentrification occurs. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)