First and foremost, Aurora: An American Experience in Quilt, Community, and Craft provides
the reader with a lush visual journey through time and history. The pictures are vivid and detailed
and create in the reader the desire to uncover the story behind the Aurora community. Those who live
near the Willamette Valley in, Oregon, or those who have had a chance to visit the colony's site will
certainly enjoy reliving the experience and gaining further insight into the lives of those who
settled there.
However, a few things surprised me about the book. Not being familiar with the name Aurora as a
community, my intention was to read a book about the history of quilts. Aside from a few minor details
about who might have made certain quilts, there was not much information about quilting itself. The
history in Aurora is primarily the history of the religious community and the men whose lives and
beliefs it was founded upon. Some of those things were quite fascinating, but ultimately I was left
wishing for the kind of information that might be included in women's diaries or personal records or
even oral history. In a sense, the biographical information of the community was given far more
importance than craftsmanship.
With that said, I am certain there are many who would enjoy Aurora. Fans of Jane Kirkpatrick
as a fiction writer will surely enjoy seeing the types of artifacts and settings that inspire her
stories. Others are sure to enjoy creating their own historical quilts using the several patterns in
the back of the book. Still others can gain a greater insight into religious options in the mid-1800s
and how we can benefit from understanding their way of life today.