"[A] delightful reinforcement to academic appreciation of the Chinese labor movement. . . . Supported by an extensive array of archival items, contemporary periodicals and secondary sources in Chinese and English, the author is able to present a finely woven, well-documented, and carefully crafted analytical delineation of the modern Chinese labor movement as both a class and a nationalistic undertaking in the dramatic setting of Shanghai." - Ming K. Chan , Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"[A] worthy addition to the . . . new monographs on modern Shanghai." - Edward Rhoads , American Historical Review
"Even for readers familiar with Shanghai’s history as well as Chinese labour history, there is interesting new information here, much of it from Chinese sources. . . . Smith’s book is an auspicious addition to the woefully small group of English-language historians of urban labour in China."
- Lynda Norene Shaffer , The China Journal
"From a massive array of archives, newspapers, periodicals, police records, and secondary sources in Chinese, Japanese, and western languages, Smith weaves an exciting, intersecting narrative of nationalist sentiment and labour activism that shaped Shanghai." - Jennifer W. Jay , Social History
"Smith’s many and well-narrated stories of labour activities, collective resistances and strikes, victories and defeats, Green Gang manipulations and so forth are all quite interesting in their own right, and . . . they all contribute to depicting the very complex environment that was Shanghai at this time. . . [A]lert[s] us to the possibilities inherent in a powerful analysis of nationalism, class and labour under conditions of a differentiating and unifying global capitalism." - Rebecca E. Karl , Social History
"This book is a major contribution to the study of the Chinese labor movement. . . . This book will certainly be required reading for scholars of early-twentieth-century Chinese social and political history. It is based on thorough scholarship, with a bibliography ranging from British archival sources, through a broad range of Chinese primary and secondary sources, to an impressive selection of theoretical and comparative works on identity. . . . [T]his important book successfully demonstrates the close connection between Chinese nationalism and the Chinese labor movement, and it puts forward interesting ideas on the formation of class identities in China, many of which will have broader comparative relevance." - Tim Wright , Journal of Asian Studies
"This fine book offers a new perspective on workers, unions, and strikes in Shanghai in the 1920s." - R. David Arkush , China Review
"What makes this book innovative and recommends it to a scholarly audience are Smith’s efforts to look beyond elites. . . .Like Cattle and Horses will revive discussion of the role of nationalism in Chinese history." - Christopher A. Reed , History: Reviews of New Books
“Like Cattle and Horses stands out as an important and original contribution to debates within Chinese studies about labor and nationalism and a significant addition to the comparative literature on class identities and their political implications.” - Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Indiana University
“Specialists and general readers alike will delight in the stories that Smith tells. This perceptive and original book abounds in good ideas and gems of scholarship and draws on a formidable range of theories. Few historians of China could match this range of expertise.” - Gregor Benton, University of Wales, Cardiff
