"Pamela Crossley, a leading historian of the Qing Empire, has hit upon a genuinely novel and stylish way of telling the story of China's modern transformations. She strikes a good balance between offering up big arguments and supporting them with revealing details, and she excels at limning connections between collective actions and state responses to unrest two centuries ago and patterns of protest and repression in the current era of Internet petitions and text message mobilization. The result is truly impressive, a high-level work of synthesis that is informed by deep knowledge of the past yet speaks with immediacy to the concerns of the present."
—Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom, University of California-Irvine, author of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know

"Pamela Crossley's book gives readers a new and original perspective on modern Chinese history by moving its focus away from the politics of the centre to give us a greater understanding of how China's regions and minorities have shaped this multi-voiced society in its transition from empire to nation-state."
—Rana Mitter, University of Oxford

"Original, conceptually bold, and unusually engaging. Crossley offers her readers a broader and deeper meditation on the shape and significance of China’s historical trajectory, one that may indeed make Chinese history more meaningful in the context of teaching undergraduates."
—Bryna Goodman, University of Oregon

"The Wobbling Pivot is refreshingly ambitious in its interpretation of the whole scope of Chinese history since 1800. Its analysis of the often disastrous extremes of state authoritarianism and local implosion is told with a telling eye for detail that will grip general readers and specialists alike."
—Frank Dikotter, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and the University of Hong Kong