BajaDove - 1-1-2009 at 06:12 PM
http://forums.bajanomad.com/images/smilies/mad.gif
as a horror novelist I have searched for deamond in the baja where do you find them?
BAJACAT - 1-1-2009 at 09:28 PM
bajamy, this book is a must for Baja and missions fannatics.I read it 2 years ago,it contains alot information and missions history,also it provies
with directions to reach all the missions sites,I carry one copy on my missions haunts..
Saints and Demons
John M - 1-2-2009 at 11:03 AM
I agree with Bajacat - this is a book worth having if your interest is with mission histories. Werschkul has a style that makes this book easy to
read, and he provides details of mission life of the Indian, a wider view of the influence of Spain - overall, I liked the book.
The "Further Reading" section is a descriptive bibliography thus has nice details of Werschkul's suggested books.
As Bajacat mentioned, the directions to sites is a nice feature.
On the other side of the coin, I wish there were more endnotes to sources.
Another wonderful source of Baja related material you may appreciate is the quarterlies of the Pacific Coast Archaeological Society. They contain
numerous articles on Baja. There is a complete index posted on line at:
http://www.pcas.org/documents/Indexweb.pdf
Many back issues are available.
John M
David K - 1-30-2009 at 05:31 PM
Amy, I missed this thread when it was first posted (I was in Baja hunting a lost mission)!
Dave's book was one I had the honor of helping him on for the second edition... you may see my name in there a few times!
Dave came to the Pyramid booksigning when the book came out, and I represented Dave the following year, when he couldn't attend...
Sadly, Dave dropped off the Internet (his Baja web site and email address are dead)... The book is printed upon demand by Xlibris... If it is still
available, get it! There are interesting Indian versions of the padres' effect on Baja that I have not read before... and Dave has a guide section
with GPS to help you see all the missions and visitas in the book... and most of them are in there!
Because Harry Crosby (reviewing it for Sunbelt distribution) found some small errors of names in the book, it got a thumbs down... A Baja history book
has little chance of successful sales in bookstores without Sunbelt distributing it. Dave hadn't funds to pay for a third edition.
A rare collectors item now, perhaps!
David K - 2-12-2009 at 02:42 PM
Did you get it Amy?
David K - 2-13-2009 at 11:25 AM
Looking forward to your report!!! Great!!!
Since Dave's book is printed on demand... that is probably why the delay... I am (happily) surprised it was still available!
[Edited on 2-13-2009 by David K]
David K - 3-23-2009 at 05:37 PM
Amy, it was Harry Crosby who found the errors as he is a perfectionist with Baja history (at least the Jesuit period)... and I can only attempt to be.
I found a typo with a year and really didn't get picky with name spelling of the Spanish explorers... Page 89. "From 1663 to the end..." That should
be 1773.
Because Arthur W. North called (in error) the ruins he saw near Boca de Magdalena: 'Santa Maria Magdalena' instead of just part of the San Jose de
Magdalena complex... that name has been used in books and maps ever since... At least Dave also has the San Jose de Magdalena site, so they both are
in there.
There was only ONE true Santa Maria Magdalena mission... it existed only on paper in the 1745 list of missions and the 1757 Jesuit map... BOTH are in
Engelhardt's book (1908 & 1929)... Engelhardt even used North's location in a footnote in the 1929 edition!
The ruins we visited on January 2, 2009 where the ones that Choral Pepper saw in 1966 and later believed was the 'started' attempt at a mission site
for Santa Maria Magdalena: http://vivabaja.com/109
[Edited on 3-24-2009 by David K]