Book Description
Graced with original artwork, historical art renderings and color contemporary photos, this exquisite book written by Msgr. Francis J. Weber of the Los Angeles Archdiocese tells the story of the twenty-one Alta California missions established along El Camino Real, the 142 Spanish friars who administered them and the native peoples who were brought into the fold of Christianity and Spanish culture. This history of the missions begins with the founding of Mission San Diego de Alcala in 1769 and ends with the establishment of the Church hierarchy over both Alta and Baja California in 1840. Written in a style directed to inquisitive students, casual readers and even serious scholars, this treatise helps the reader understand the story of the missions within the context of the times and areas in which they existed and in the values of those who staffed and supported them.
Publisher comments
Not just another pretty mission book, this is the first illustrated book on the California missions compiled entirely from archival sources. Written by a master historian it is meticulously researched and lavishly enhanced with photographs never before published on the individual missions. Readers will appreciate the depth and range of the historical material presented and the exquisitely reproduced photos and renderings, as well as the contemporary color photos of the surrounding landscape and natural beauty of the El Camino Real. Casual readers as well as serious historians of this culturally rich era of California history will be fascinated and enlightened by this book.
