This book is an excellent case study of the republican-era Franciscan mission among the Chiriguanos in south-eastern Bolivia, near the border with Paraguay and Argentina. Langer places the Franciscan Chiriguano mission on the Latin American frontier as a territory of interaction between two (and more) different cultures. By using the life cycle approach as analytical tool he demonstrates the internal changes of the mission and its inhabitants, how it influenced the surroundings, and how it was itself affected by external factors. He shows convincingly the impact of the interrelationship between internal and external dynamics on the indigenous population but also on the frontier. The Chiriguanos are a Guaraní-speaking indigenous group whose ancestors (probably) originated in the eastern Amazon basin and arrived at the Andean foothills in pre-Columbian times as part of the legendary Guaraní migration to the ‘land without evil’. Prevented by the Incan empire from entering the Incan heartland, they conquered the Chané, the former inhabitants of this fertile land, and settled in these valleys. Their image as powerful warriors preserved their autonomy even during colonial times until the Franciscan mission transformed their relationship to their neighbours and to the national society. The Franciscans started their mission in Latin America in the late eighteenth century. They founded a series of missions throughout the Cordillera, including several among the Chiriguanos. Most of them were still intact until 1949 when the Bolivian government finally secularised them. Langer presents in his book a thorough study of the Franciscan mission in this frontier region, including the background of the Italian missionaries, the demographical changes over time, the internal power structure, the economic situation inside the mission and with the outside, and further connections to other Indians, Creole settlers, the military, local and national authorities, and even the Paraguayan army during the Chaco war (1932–5). By firmly incorporating the mission into the wider context he draws a fascinating picture of the area as well as the time. His impressive portrayal of the mission has successfully raised the qualitiative benchmark for future mission studies; no one working on this period or this area can ignore his contribution.