Some of his most notable works include:
- The Cultural Revolution in China (1991)
- The Road to Tiananmen: Chinese Intellectuals and the Struggle for Democracy (1995)
- Death in Beijing: The Tiananmen Massacre (1996)
- China: A New History (2008)
- The China Dream: Great Power and National Rejuvenation (2012)
Wu's work has been translated into more than 20 languages, and he has won numerous awards, including the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. He is currently a professor of Chinese literature at the University of California, Berkeley.