The living history of California's missions is a mosaic of piety and passion, heroism and greed. This book puts flesh and blood on a profoundly important time in California's history, an extended period of evolution from wilderness to territory to state. This is not a dry recounting of facts, it is a vivid depiction, in words and images, of the people who birthed and nurtured California and the places that formed its shape and character. It is, in fact, the only book that assembles the stories of all the key players in the California mission drama into one fascinating volume. Meet familiar friends like Junipero Serra who founded the first missions and John Charles Freemont, the pathfinder who helped the territory win statehood. Discover the lesser known, but equally impor-tant characters in the play, like Pio Pico who illegally sold mission lands and buildings to enrich his friends and himself, or Francisco Hermenegildo Garces, the "Daniel Boone in Franciscan garb". In 30 biographies and nearly twice that number of photographs, historic and contemporary, the splendour that is the California mission system unfolds before your eyes. This book tells a wonderful tale and provides a unique glimpse into the heart and soul of California: its magnificent missions. Includes: Expanded California Mission Timeline 1768-1853; Updated 12-Page Glossary.