Today we are pleased to share a review in the latest issue of the Journal of Japanese Studies of a recent title in the Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute series: Andrew W. Bernstein's Fuji: A Mountain in the Making, which Princeton University Press published last fall.
Andrew W. Bernstein is professor of history at Lewis & Clark College and also the author of a previous title in the Studies series, Modern Passings: Death Rites, Politics, and Social Change in Imperial Japan (University of Hawai’i Press, 2006). His new book Fuji is a panoramic history of Japan’s national icon, from its geological origins as a violent volcano all the way up to its contemporary status as a world heritage site and social media star.
The Journal of Japanese Studies reviewer is Paul Kreitman, a Weatherhead Research Scholar and the Director of the Columbia Summer in Itoshima program. In the Journal's Summer 2026 issue, he offers a detailed appreciation of Professor Bernstein's book, writing that it "covers a staggering amount of ground, taking us on an exhilarating journey from the first Neolithic settlements through to twenty-first-century heritage politics." He concludes:
In short, Fuji is a landmark contribution to Japanese history, and one that is likely to remain a standard reference point in the field for some time.
Read the full review here. We congratulate Professor Bernstein and our colleagues at Princeton University Press on this latest accolade (and, frankly, have every expectation of reading more).
