Book notes
Raymond Starr, Book Review Editor
Some Reminiscences about Fray Junipero Serra.
Edited by Francis J. Weber. Los Angeles: California Catholic Conference, 1985. 132 Pages. $13.00.
Eureka! A really worthwhile book on Junipero Serra! With the two hundredth anniversary of Serra and the activity generated by those seeking to have the Roman Catholic Church cannonize Serra, a flood of books on Serra has been loosed. Unfortunately, few of them have much to offer. Some Reminiscences About Fray Junipero Serra is an exception. In a dozen articles by major figures in the field — Iris Engstrand, Harry Crosby, David Hornbeck, Norman Neuerburg, W. Michael Mathes, among others — a number of topics on Serra or his environment are treated. The topics include Serra’s first mission (in Baja California), the ship San Jose, the road Serra took to San Diego in 1769, several articles on early mission churches and mission settlements, and material on Serrana literature. One article of interest to San Diego readers is the description of the Serra Museum and its collections by San Diego Historical Society Curator of Collections, Bruce Kamerling, and the Society’s Curatorial Assistant, Kathleen Crawford, Although undocumented and without an index, Some Reminiscences is recommended as one of the few new Serra books well worth its price!
