Awards

• Winner of Benjamin Franklin Award (History) 2010

Overview

""No other single work offers a comparable wealth of information about the missions of California, all of which is superbly organized and clearly presented. This authoritative yet accessible volume offers readers a compelling and balanced account of the founding and early history of the missions, the birth and growth of the mission myth, and modern preservation efforts, as well as concise historical profiles of individual missions. A noteworthy achievement."" —Rose Marie Beebe, Santa Clara University, Coauthor of Lands of Promise and Despair: Chronicles of Early California and Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women ""The California missions endure on the landscape as wondrous monuments, inviting us to stand and ponder what happened there. Long subjected to one-dimensional, celebratory accounts, the missions in recent decades have benefited from more thoughtful analysis, and in this splendid book they receive the eloquent, multilayered chronicle they deserve."" —Douglas Monroy, Colorado College, Author of Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier California and The Borders Within: Encounters Between Mexico and the U.S. Illustrated in color throughout, The California Missions: History, Art, and Preservation combines engaging text with historical paintings, archival photographs, and recent photography to create a vivid profile of these iconic institutions. Initial chapters recount their founding and early history, examine their rediscovery in the late nineteenth century, and trace the beginnings of the mission restoration movement. Subsequent chapters present mission architecture and wall murals, survey the rich holdings of European and Native American art in mission collections, and examine the challenges involved in preserving the mission heritage for future generations. The second part of the book provides concise historical profiles of each of the twenty-one missions. There is also a glossary.

Full Product Details

9780892369836

Table of Contents

Reviews

<p> This book does an excellent job of providing a broad historical context of the California Missions. -- California Archaeology

By providing such a full, up-to-date overview of mission history, structures, and associated works of art, the authors . . . have produced a watershed text that invites a rethinking and renewal of the entire field of California mission studies. --Boletin: Journal of the California Mission Studies Association This book does an excellent job of providing a broad historical context of the California Missions. --California Archaeology Teachers, artists, architects, preservationists, historians, and general readers alike will delight in this treasure trove of information. --Catholic Southwest Recommended. --Choice This sumptuous book--a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway--will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. --Kevin Starr, University of Southern California By providing such a full, up-to-date overview of mission history, structures, and associated works of art, the authors . . . have produced a watershed text that invites a rethinking and renewal of the entire field of California mission studies. Boletin: Journal of the California Mission Studies Association This book does an excellent job of providing a broad historical context of the California Missions. California Archaeology Teachers, artists, architects, preservationists, historians, and general readers alike will delight in this treasure trove of information. Catholic Southwest Recommended. Choice This sumptuous book a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. Kevin Starr, University of Southern California Each generation must reassess the history, architecture, art, and moral meaning of the California Missions. This sumptuous book - a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway - will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. --Kevin Starr, University of Southern California, author of the multivolume cultural history Americans and the California Dream No other single work offers a comparable wealth of information about the missions of California, all of which is superbly organized and clearly presented. This authoritative yet accessible volume offers readers a compelling and balanced account of the founding and early history of the missions, the birth and growth of the mission myth, and modern preservation efforts, as well as concise historical profiles of individual missions. A noteworthy achievement. --Rose Marie Beebe, Santa Clara University, coauthor of Lands of Promise and Despair: Chronicles of Early California and Testimonios: Early California through the Eyes of Women The California missions endure as wondrous monuments, inviting us to ponder what happened there, and in this splendid book they receive the eloquent, multilayered chronicle they deserve. Evincing a sharp eye for ambiguous and contradictory narratives, understanding that the missions have dramatically different meanings to different people, and acknowledging Californians' enigmatic reverence for these special places, the authors have fashioned a nuanced, loving and visually sumptuous telling of the missions' origins and demise, crumbling and restoration, and persistence in California's complex historical memory. One thrills to hear the passions voiced in these places over the years, of the Indians and priests, boosters and restorationists, fictionalizers and fact-finders, and to feast our eyes on the paintings and photographs in this superb illustrated history. --Douglas Monroy, Colorado College, author of Thrown Among Strangers: The Making of Mexican Culture in Frontier California By providing such a full, up-to-date overview of mission history, structures, and associated works of art, the authors . . . have produced a watershed text that invites a rethinking and renewal of the entire field of California mission studies. Boletin: Journal of the California Mission Studies Association This book does an excellent job of providing a broad historical context of the California Missions. California Archaeology Teachers, artists, architects, preservationists, historians, and general readers alike will delight in this treasure trove of information. Catholic Southwest Recommended. Choice This sumptuous book a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. Kevin Starr, University of Southern California By providing such a full, up-to-date overview of mission history, structures, and associated works of art, the authors . . . have produced a watershed text that invites a rethinking and renewal of the entire field of California mission studies. -- Boletin: Journal of the California Mission Studies Association This book does an excellent job of providing a broad historical context of the California Missions. -- California Archaeology This sumptuous book--a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway--will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. --Kevin Starr, University of Southern California Recommended. -- Choice Teachers, artists, architects, preservationists, historians, and general readers alike will delight in this treasure trove of information. -- Catholic Southwest This sumptuous book-a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway-will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. -Kevin Starr, University of Southern California Recommended. - Choice

<p>&quot;This sumptuous book&mdash;a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway&mdash;will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come.&quot;&mdash;Kevin Starr, University of Southern California

<p> This sumptuous book--a landmark in the revival of Mission studies currently underway--will guide and structure all such assessments and preservation efforts for decades to come. --Kevin Starr, University of Southern California

Author Information

The late Edna Kimbro was a renowned architectural conservator and historian, and a founding member of the California Mission Studies Association. Julia Castello is an internationally recognized expert on archaeology and cultural resources.

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