A genuine tour de force for the integration of anthropology; archaeology and ethnohistory at this first; unequivocal de Soto expedition site.--Russell K. Skowronek; Santa Clara University"Indispensable. . . . Will be of interest to southeastern archaeologists; historians of Hispanic America; scholars interested in the early exploration of the Americas . . . and laymen in Florida and surrounding states."--Charles Hudson; University of GeorgiaCharles Ewen and John Hann chronicle the discovery and excavation of the only known campsite of Hernando de Soto's ten-state odyssey in La Florida during the 16th century. Located in downtown Tallahassee in sight of the state capitol; the site was rescued at the last minute from developers—a story almost as compelling as that of de Soto’s expedition.The book has three parts: historical background; archaeological excavations at the site; and a retranslation of the 16th-century narratives relating to the winter encampment. A prologue and epilogue fit the work into the wider context of the Contact Period. John Hann has retranslated the narratives of the De Soto expedition in Apalachee Province--with startling results. Small liberties taken with the original translations presented a misleading picture of the Apalachee and their culture. These versions; coupled with evidence recovered from the winter site; give a new view of the impact of Europeans on the native inhabitants of La Florida. Of particular interest are the discovery; excavation; and preservation of the site. Showing how luck and timing are crucial factors in some important discoveries; Ewen and Hann describe the interaction of archaeologists with private developers; state and city government; and the public and the media. Although it contains information that will be useful to scholars; the book is written in a popular style that makes it accessible to general readers.Charles R. Ewen; associate professor of anthropology at East Carolina University in Greenville; North Carolina; is the author of From Spaniard to Creole: The Archaeology of Cultural Formation at Puerto Real; Haiti.John H. Hann is a research historian at the San Luis Historical Site and a leading scholar on the missions of Spanish Florida. He is the author of Apalachee: The Land Between the Rivers (UPF; 1988); Missions to the Calusa (UPF; 1991); and History of the Timucua Indians and Missions (UPF; 1996).
#1299277 in Books Crown 1980-01-13 1980-01-13Original language:English #File Name: 081290821X182 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Concise account of the Inchon-Seoul campign.By Stone DogAuthor Michael Langley has provided us a good; concise account of the Inchon-Seoul campaign; the last great amphibious assault.For it's size; it does a fairly good job of giving the reader the course of the campaign; day by day; as he touches on the progress of individual units and their objectives. He begins with the movement of the invasion forces into Flying Fish Channel; the pre-invasion bombardment and the amphibious assault first on Wolmi-Do and then on Inchon proper. He does a pretty good job of showing the confusion; typical of such an operation; where some units end up in the wrong places and arrangements must be made on the fly. An Englishman; he's obviously proud of British cruisers HMS Kenya and HMS Jamaica that took part in fire support missions pre-invasion and for a couple days afterward.Marine units progress are chronicled concisely with as much detail as the book length would allow. The author follows some of the controversies of the operation such as Gen. Almond retaining his position as MacArthur's chief of staff as well as being commander of XI Corp. He also looks at some of the problems coordinating Marine and follow-on Army units.The book follows the invasion forces from landing to the securing of victory in Seoul. I have read other works on the campaign such as Victory at High Tide: The Inchon-Seoul Campaign (Great War Stories) and; for the length; it does a decent job. Those wanting an account down to the company level; see Robert Heinl's book.A solid four star book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A fairly good read. Short books are most ofter short of information. This one is no exception.By W. W. TurnbowA fairly good; if a tad shallow; work. Much more concerned with the difficulties of the Inchon harbor than with the forces involved.
