The Precursor's Mission: A Documentary History of San Juan Bautista. Compiled
and Edited by Francis J. Weber. Hong Kong: Libra Press Limited, 1983. 227 pages. $16.00.
This thirteenth volume of the series by the Archivist for the Archdiocese of
Los Angeles on the California Missions is about the fifteenth mission
established, San Juan Bautista. Following his already established pattern,
Weber has told the story of the mission with selection from a variety of
"documents," including some official records and letters, journalistic
accounts, travel literature and anecdotal material. Most of the material is
descriptive and much of it is repetitious. With inadequate documentation and
little editorial apparatus, the book, like the others in the series, may please
the general reader but does not meet the needs of the scholar.
