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T H E A L A B A M A R E V I E W 70 allows “for regional and temporal differentiation, moments of ideological radicalization, and periods of social movement formation” (p. 4). In addition to developing a broader consideration of the movement, Jeffries explores the essential organizing principles shaped by the widespread notions of freedom rights and given the name “freedom politics” here. Inextricably bound to the author’s term freedom rights, freedom politics is the style, substance, and guiding force behind the activism of civil rights advocates in the county and beyond. Ultimately, “African Americans made shrewd tactical decisions based on careful assessments of risks and rewards,” often with an eye on freedom politics that privileged transparency in decision making among community leaders (p. 37). JEFFREY O. G. OGBAR University of Connecticut The Search for Mabila: The Decisive Battle Between Hernando De Soto and Chief Tascalusa. Edited by Vernon James Knight Jr. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2009. x, 277 pp. $57.50 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8173-1659-4. $37.95 (paper). ISBN 978-0-8173-5542-5. In October 1540 Hernando De Soto led his men into the fortified border town of Mabila in present-day Alabama. He would escape with his life and a pyrrhic victory. The Spaniards achieved a “bloody win, achieved at such great expense of dead, wounded and momentum.” It was the “turning point of his expedition’s entrada” (p. 21). Since then, scholars have been unable to recover the location of the battle and the Indian town where it took place. Scholars have been plagued by the existence of only one eyewitness account and three other conflicting reports from the era, no accurate map made at the time, and countless potential archaeological sites. In 2006 a select group of scholars met at the University of Alabama for a workshop dedicated to unraveling “the predominant historical mystery of the Deep South” (pp. 1–2). Derived from the workshop, The Search for Mabila provides analytical critiques of the available sources, the methods earlier scholars have employed, and an interdisciplinary approach to resolving the question. The volume (and the backgrounds of the participants) represented various branches of anthropology (especially archaeology and linguistics) as well as history, geology, and folklore. In addition to organizers Douglas E. Jones and Vernon James Knight Jr., J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 71 who coedited the volume, participants included Lawrence A. Clayton, George E. Lankford, Kathryn E. Holland Braund, Ned J. Jenkins, Amanda L. Regnier, Gregory A. Waselkov, Craig T. Sheldon Jr., Douglas E. Jones, Robbie Ethridge, Michael D. Murphy, Eugene W. Wilson, Neal G. Lineback, and Linda Derry. Although the conference and subsequent scholarship that has been shaped by the conference has not led to the discovery of a location, this collection of essays reveals a fascinating look at interdisciplinary scholarship as well as an optimistic sense that Mabila may one day be found. Accurately determining the location of Mabila would have significant scholarly implications. Anthropologists and historians have struggled to connect the precontact and contact worlds. As a result, precontact archaeological sites cannot be linked to specific historical sites and an interpretive divide remains between the two eras and disciplines. Finding Mabila (or another site from De Soto’s march) would allow scholars to finally break this barrier. Various collaborative efforts to trace De Soto’s path through the Southeast have increased precision on maps but have yet to connect the chiefdoms that were encountered with archaeological sites. This search, and the eventual discovery of a Mabila site, is an important endeavor in this larger project. Most of the essays provide engaging introductions to the problems and promises related to the Mabila search. This is especially true of the first set of essays—position papers originally written before and discussed during the conference. These background essays are easily accessible to nonspecialists and would serve well in introductory as well as advanced undergraduate or graduate seminars. The concluding chapters —the conference results—are both more complex and fascinating. In them, the scholars offer a series of guidelines and hypotheses for future exploration. These chapters reveal a scienti...

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