The Spirit of the Valley : Where the Light of Science Meets the Shadow of Myth

Rating:
Summary: elegantly written....
Review: ....in an effortless-feeling blend of clearly explained scientific information about Californian plants and animals and some of the mythological stories attached to them. The book does just what the title implies: marries science and mythology, and in a style always lucid and often poetic.

Two corrections to recommend:

1. None of the California missions were founded by Jesuits. (Baja is different, however.)
2. California was probably not named per the Cali Fornax theory; recent scholarship traces the name to Queen Calafia and her island California in Garcia Montalvo's novel THE EXPLOITS OF ESPLANDIAN.

If you are the author and are reading this: please e-mail me and let me know if you plan on writing, or have written, other books--I found this one informative and enjoyable.