This is one of the few studies of the United States written by a non-Westerner, and Mori's observations of a country in transformation, having only shortly before emerged from civil war, are invaluable. Through this wide-ranging examination of American politics, economics, education, religion, and society the reader is also able to see factors influential to Mori's early qualified liberalism.

David G. Wittner, Utica College

In the spirit of Tocqueville, Mori's observations of politics, industry, and customs in Reconstruction America are evocative and trenchant. Van Sant makes accessible a valuable perspective on early U.S.-Japan encounters.

Joseph M. Henning, Saint Vincent College; author of Outposts of Civilization: Race, Religion, and the Formative Years of American-Japanese Relation

Professor John E. Van Sant does an excellent job of shedding light on Mori Arinori, who contributed to establishing a solid U.S.-Japan relationship in its formative years. I highly recommend this book.

Yone Sugita, Osaka University of Foreign Studies

Mori Arinori's Life and Resources in America is a remarkable series of 1871 interpretive snapshots of postbellum American culture taken by Japan's first resident diplomat to the United States. Written self-consciously to inspire a young Meiji audience, this book seeks to quarry solid resources out of the American experience to lay a foundation for the construction of the new Japan. It is a uniquely Japanese reading of America both in its honesty and its naivete.

Roger T. Ames, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii

Highly Recommended.

Choice Reviews

At a time when the United States government is sponsoring expensive surveys of what foreigners think of us, it is fascinating to read the first sizeable Japanese account of America. Mori Arinori produced a description of the country on the cusp of the Gilded Age that fascinates for both its outsider's view and what it says about emerging Meiji Japan. John Van Sant's introduction puts the author and his nation into perspective and Akira Iriye provides a succinct, insightful foreword.

Roger Daniels, University of Cincinnati