Mori Arinori’s Life and Resources in America sheds much light on the shape of an American society, government, and economy recovering from the Civil War. This book - originally published in English in Washington, D.C., in 1871 - was written by Japan’s first diplomatic representative in the United States. Historian John E. Van Sant has edited, annotated, and introduced this uniquely illuminating text, making it readily accessible to the contemporary audience it deserves.