Reviewed by Pennell Paugh

October 19, 2025 (San Diego) - History buffs will love Richard Carrico’s new book, El Presidio de San Diego: Excavating Southern California’s Lost City. The book briefly covers San Diego area history before the first pioneers arrived. The author’s preview to European colonization is short but extensive. Richard Carrico’s greatest focus is upon the presidio in San Diego, which was a Spanish military post as well as the first Catholic mission and settlement in California.