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The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke
A sweeping account of a four-hundred-year-old mystery, the archeologists racing to unearth the answer, and what the Lost Colony reveals about America--from colonial days to today
In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived on Roanoke, an island off the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish a foothold for England in the New World. But by the time the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission in England, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They had vanished into the wilderness, leaving behind only a single clue--the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.
The disappearance of the Lost Colony became an enduring American mystery. For four centuries, it has gone unsolved, obsessing countless historians, archeologists, and amateur sleuths. Today, after centuries of searching in vain, new clues have begun to surface. In The Secret Token, Andrew Lawler offers a beguiling history of the Lost Colony, and of the relentless quest to bring its fate to light. He accompanies competing archeologists as they seek out evidence, each team hoping to be the first to solve the riddle. In the course of his journey, Lawler explores how the Lost Colony came to haunt our national consciousness, working its way into literature, popular culture, and politics.
Incisive and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the Lost Colony, but of how its absence continues to define--and divide--America.
In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived on Roanoke, an island off the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish a foothold for England in the New World. But by the time the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission in England, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They had vanished into the wilderness, leaving behind only a single clue--the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree.
The disappearance of the Lost Colony became an enduring American mystery. For four centuries, it has gone unsolved, obsessing countless historians, archeologists, and amateur sleuths. Today, after centuries of searching in vain, new clues have begun to surface. In The Secret Token, Andrew Lawler offers a beguiling history of the Lost Colony, and of the relentless quest to bring its fate to light. He accompanies competing archeologists as they seek out evidence, each team hoping to be the first to solve the riddle. In the course of his journey, Lawler explores how the Lost Colony came to haunt our national consciousness, working its way into literature, popular culture, and politics.
Incisive and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the Lost Colony, but of how its absence continues to define--and divide--America.
426 pages, Hardcover
First published June 5, 2018
473 people are currently reading
5085 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Lawler
10 books65 followersAndrew Lawler is a contributing writer with Science and contributing editor for Archaeology with more than thirty years full-time experience as a journalist and author. His stories have also appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discover, Audubon, American Archaeology, Columbia Journalism Review, Slate, Orion, The Sun, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, as well as several foreign publications. He is the author of more than a thousand articles, and his work has appeared twice in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. He has twice won the Gene S. Stuart award for archaeology reporting, and was awarded the MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellowship (nine months) and the Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Fellowship (two months research/two months writing). Simon & Schuster published Lawler’s book, Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization, in December 2014, and Random House will publish his second book, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, in June 2018.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 252 reviews
September 20, 2020
“At dawn, [Governor John] White and some of the party climbed up the steep bank. It was the third birthday of his granddaughter Virginia Dare, named for the new land and the first English child born in the Americas. No one appeared, but they were not alone. The men spotted fresh tracks of Native Americans in the sand. Soon after, along the sandy bank on the north shore, White saw the letters C R O carved into a tree…This was a prearranged code, ‘a secret token agreed upon between them and me at my last departure from them,’ White explained in his account. If the settlers were to leave the island, he says, they ‘should not fail to write or carve upon the trees or posts of the doors the name of the place where they should be seated.’ A cross over the name of their destination would mean that they left in an emergency, but none here was to be found…Hurrying to the site of the town he’d left, White found the houses dismantled and the settlement enclosed with ‘a high palisade of great trees.’ At eye height on one of these posts, the governor saw ‘in fair capital letters was graven CROATOAN without any cross or sign of distress…’”
- Andrew Lawler, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke
The reason that the tale of the Lost Colony has lasted over centuries is that it is enduringly creepy.
In July 1587, a group of colonists led by John White landed on Roanoke Island. They were destined for the Chesapeake Bay, but like everything else in this venture, things did not go according to plan. The colonists elected White governor. Soon, though, they implored him to go back to England for help. So, he left the one hundred-plus colonists, including his new granddaughter Virginia Dare, and promised – as in all good horror movies – to be right back.
Stuff happened, and John White was not able to return until August 1590. When he got back to Roanoke, he discovered that the people were all gone, their village deserted. There was no indication that the colony itself had been attacked, since there were no graves, no bodies moldering beneath the sun. Other than CROATOAN carved into a post, which could refer to a geographical place or a local Indian tribe, the colonists left no message to explain their departure. (Add this reticence to the heap of enigmas that blanket the Lost Colony, making study of this otherwise-obscure historical eye-blink both infuriating and impossible to resist).
It is an image that sticks in your mind. An abandoned village. A cryptic clue. An enfolding wilderness teeming with strange “others.” The imagination conjures any number of outcomes, some of them terrifying.
(I should add that the outcome envisioned by Ryan Murphy in the hilariously outré American Horror Story: Roanoke is unlikely. It cannot, however, be entirely ruled out).
The question of what happened to the settlers at Roanoke haunts people to this day. Did they move inland, only to be killed by Indians? Were they assimilated into the local tribes? Did they attempt to sail back to England, only to drown in the treacherous waters?
There is not a lot of evidence to support any conclusion. Numerous archaeological digs have been rather inconclusive. Reports of white people among the Indians are nothing more than dated hearsay. And then you have the so-called Dare Stone, which may provide the most striking answers – or it might be an elaborate forgery.
Andrew Lawler takers a journey deep into the heart of this spooky mystery involving out-of-their-depth immigrants and the forest primeval. The Secret Token is part of a genre I call the Historical Road Trip. It is part history, part journalistic endeavor, and part personal journey into the fascinating world of Roanoke obsessives.
Lawler divides The Secret Token into three sections. The first is mostly a straight historical recounting of the Roanoke Colony, which tells us what is known, and mostly unknown, about this event. The second section delves into the riddles, as generation after generation has attempted to find the elusive key that will unlock the answers as to the fate of John White’s unfortunate band. The final section focuses a bit more on the Lost Colony in popular culture (including the cooption of Virginia Dare’s memory by white supremacists). It is during this part of the book that Lawler covers the engrossing story of the Dare Stones.
The Secret Token is a fun book. Lawler is an engaging and curious tour director who both explains and questions, reports and critiques. He travels around the world visiting museums and archaeological digs, talking to experts both amateur and professional, and occasionally stirring the pot as he draws well-known scholars into the debate. There are some darker topics here, such as the aforementioned Aryan preoccupation with young Virginia Dare (who likely died as a toddler), but Lawler works with a light touch. This is not heavy, hand-wringing history. It is, instead, a book written by someone with an insatiable, contagious desire to learn.
The history of the Lost Colony is complex, caught in a vast web of 16th Century European geopolitics, filled with characters about whom little is known, and who speak and write with an ornate indifference that makes it really, really hard to figure out what’s going on. I appreciated Lawler’s deftness with this material. He comments on the weirdness of the historical record, pointing out the gaps, the elisions, and the things that just don’t square:
The highlight of The Secret Token is its recounting of the Dare Stones controversy. In 1937, a tourist named L.E. Hammond (who, of course, is a riddle himself) brought a stone to Emory University that appeared to have been inscribed by Eleanor Dare. Within three years, nearly fifty more stones had been discovered by a local farmer, who apparently knew rubes when he saw them. The stones were like an engraved Dickens serial, in which Eleanor eventually marries an Indian king. A group of historians commissioned by the Smithsonian gave their initial seal of authenticity. Eventually, a reporter from the Saturday Evening Post exposed the forgeries of all the stones, except the original.
The legitimacy of that first stone is still up for debate, and Lawler does a great job of talking to a variety of experts willing to discuss the stone’s word choice and sentence patterns to discern whether or not it is potentially legitimate, or an all-time great hoax.
I have a soft spot for books like this, filled with unsolvable questions and passionate searchers. The Lost Colony detectives that Lawler introduces us to are captivating in their dogged and single-minded devotion. Each, in his or her own way, is trying to figure out this distant and infinitesimal slice of the universe, and in doing so, perhaps, they gain some understanding of their own.
- Andrew Lawler, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke
The reason that the tale of the Lost Colony has lasted over centuries is that it is enduringly creepy.
In July 1587, a group of colonists led by John White landed on Roanoke Island. They were destined for the Chesapeake Bay, but like everything else in this venture, things did not go according to plan. The colonists elected White governor. Soon, though, they implored him to go back to England for help. So, he left the one hundred-plus colonists, including his new granddaughter Virginia Dare, and promised – as in all good horror movies – to be right back.
Stuff happened, and John White was not able to return until August 1590. When he got back to Roanoke, he discovered that the people were all gone, their village deserted. There was no indication that the colony itself had been attacked, since there were no graves, no bodies moldering beneath the sun. Other than CROATOAN carved into a post, which could refer to a geographical place or a local Indian tribe, the colonists left no message to explain their departure. (Add this reticence to the heap of enigmas that blanket the Lost Colony, making study of this otherwise-obscure historical eye-blink both infuriating and impossible to resist).
It is an image that sticks in your mind. An abandoned village. A cryptic clue. An enfolding wilderness teeming with strange “others.” The imagination conjures any number of outcomes, some of them terrifying.
(I should add that the outcome envisioned by Ryan Murphy in the hilariously outré American Horror Story: Roanoke is unlikely. It cannot, however, be entirely ruled out).
The question of what happened to the settlers at Roanoke haunts people to this day. Did they move inland, only to be killed by Indians? Were they assimilated into the local tribes? Did they attempt to sail back to England, only to drown in the treacherous waters?
There is not a lot of evidence to support any conclusion. Numerous archaeological digs have been rather inconclusive. Reports of white people among the Indians are nothing more than dated hearsay. And then you have the so-called Dare Stone, which may provide the most striking answers – or it might be an elaborate forgery.
Andrew Lawler takers a journey deep into the heart of this spooky mystery involving out-of-their-depth immigrants and the forest primeval. The Secret Token is part of a genre I call the Historical Road Trip. It is part history, part journalistic endeavor, and part personal journey into the fascinating world of Roanoke obsessives.
Lawler divides The Secret Token into three sections. The first is mostly a straight historical recounting of the Roanoke Colony, which tells us what is known, and mostly unknown, about this event. The second section delves into the riddles, as generation after generation has attempted to find the elusive key that will unlock the answers as to the fate of John White’s unfortunate band. The final section focuses a bit more on the Lost Colony in popular culture (including the cooption of Virginia Dare’s memory by white supremacists). It is during this part of the book that Lawler covers the engrossing story of the Dare Stones.
The Secret Token is a fun book. Lawler is an engaging and curious tour director who both explains and questions, reports and critiques. He travels around the world visiting museums and archaeological digs, talking to experts both amateur and professional, and occasionally stirring the pot as he draws well-known scholars into the debate. There are some darker topics here, such as the aforementioned Aryan preoccupation with young Virginia Dare (who likely died as a toddler), but Lawler works with a light touch. This is not heavy, hand-wringing history. It is, instead, a book written by someone with an insatiable, contagious desire to learn.
The history of the Lost Colony is complex, caught in a vast web of 16th Century European geopolitics, filled with characters about whom little is known, and who speak and write with an ornate indifference that makes it really, really hard to figure out what’s going on. I appreciated Lawler’s deftness with this material. He comments on the weirdness of the historical record, pointing out the gaps, the elisions, and the things that just don’t square:
The record White left behind [regarding the missing Roanoke colonists] has a hallucinatory quality unlike almost anything in early American literature. Bonfires ignite as if by ghosts. There are footprints in the sands of a silent forest. Hidden trunks are plundered, scattering rusty armor and torn maps. The only clue is a word carved on a tree. Men drown in the morning in a freak wave, the survivors made to sing songs that evening to their phantom countrymen.
The highlight of The Secret Token is its recounting of the Dare Stones controversy. In 1937, a tourist named L.E. Hammond (who, of course, is a riddle himself) brought a stone to Emory University that appeared to have been inscribed by Eleanor Dare. Within three years, nearly fifty more stones had been discovered by a local farmer, who apparently knew rubes when he saw them. The stones were like an engraved Dickens serial, in which Eleanor eventually marries an Indian king. A group of historians commissioned by the Smithsonian gave their initial seal of authenticity. Eventually, a reporter from the Saturday Evening Post exposed the forgeries of all the stones, except the original.
The legitimacy of that first stone is still up for debate, and Lawler does a great job of talking to a variety of experts willing to discuss the stone’s word choice and sentence patterns to discern whether or not it is potentially legitimate, or an all-time great hoax.
I have a soft spot for books like this, filled with unsolvable questions and passionate searchers. The Lost Colony detectives that Lawler introduces us to are captivating in their dogged and single-minded devotion. Each, in his or her own way, is trying to figure out this distant and infinitesimal slice of the universe, and in doing so, perhaps, they gain some understanding of their own.
June 29, 2018
As much as I enjoyed this book, it needs a home. If you're in the US and you want it, it's yours and I'll pay postage. Just let me know.
http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
I am fascinated by mystery stories, and they don't have to be fictional to capture my interest. This goes back to my childhood when I would read anything and everything, fiction and nonfiction alike. Fictional mysteries are the heart and soul of my reading life, but "real" mysteries are equally as fascinating-- I'm talking about the kind of mysteries that may not be answered in my lifetime but are still embedded somewhere in my brain. For me, the fate of the "lost colony" of Roanoke was another such real mystery stemming from childhood, and I joined the ranks of lost colony obsessives. But while I may be obsessed, I'm still picky about what I read and even more so about what I think is plausible, so when I saw that Andrew Lawler (an author I trust whose work I've read many times in The Smithsonian) had published a book about it, I couldn't push that buy button quickly enough. It is an informative, thought provoking and downright captivating book that any Roanoke obsessive must read, unless, of course, you're of the alien abduction or yes, even zombie crowd who thrive on more out-there sort of theories.
At one point I had to laugh when the author describes how his work had gone "beyond professional diligence and into very obsession" that he'd seen in others. As he says,
"The real power exerted by the lost Colonists was not in archives or archaeological trenches but in the stories they spawned,"
so there will continue to be people who, despite the facts presented here, will continue to spin their own ideas or who will further the myths behind one of the most intriguing mysteries in our history.
Bottom line: it's fascinating stuff and Lawler is the right person to put it all together. Very highly recommended.
http://www.nonfictionrealstuff.com/20...
I am fascinated by mystery stories, and they don't have to be fictional to capture my interest. This goes back to my childhood when I would read anything and everything, fiction and nonfiction alike. Fictional mysteries are the heart and soul of my reading life, but "real" mysteries are equally as fascinating-- I'm talking about the kind of mysteries that may not be answered in my lifetime but are still embedded somewhere in my brain. For me, the fate of the "lost colony" of Roanoke was another such real mystery stemming from childhood, and I joined the ranks of lost colony obsessives. But while I may be obsessed, I'm still picky about what I read and even more so about what I think is plausible, so when I saw that Andrew Lawler (an author I trust whose work I've read many times in The Smithsonian) had published a book about it, I couldn't push that buy button quickly enough. It is an informative, thought provoking and downright captivating book that any Roanoke obsessive must read, unless, of course, you're of the alien abduction or yes, even zombie crowd who thrive on more out-there sort of theories.
At one point I had to laugh when the author describes how his work had gone "beyond professional diligence and into very obsession" that he'd seen in others. As he says,
"The real power exerted by the lost Colonists was not in archives or archaeological trenches but in the stories they spawned,"
so there will continue to be people who, despite the facts presented here, will continue to spin their own ideas or who will further the myths behind one of the most intriguing mysteries in our history.
Bottom line: it's fascinating stuff and Lawler is the right person to put it all together. Very highly recommended.
January 17, 2023
(Note: I received an advanced electronic copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)
Due to my being born and raised a New Englander, my education on the "founding" of America focused quite heavily on Pilgrims and Puritans. The Roanoke Colony was nothing more than the briefest of mentions in textbooks about Sir Walter Raleigh, a few folks vanishing, and a strange place name carved onto a tree. So to put it bluntly, until now I had absolutely no idea - no idea about the history of the short-lived colony, no idea about the obsession that has so fiercely gripped many a person and driven them to strive so hard to try and discover what happened to a particular band of English settlers in the Outer Banks, no idea about the myriad and often directly opposing meanings that the attempted colony has held for people both past and present, just no idea whatsoever.
Thankfully, Andrew Lawler turned out to be the absolute perfect guide to the Lost Colony and its incredibly rich mix of history, mystery, and controversy. He leaves no stone unturned as goes on a voyage of discovery that is exhaustive in its coverage of all matters of the Lost Colony, but never to the point where it inundates or confuses. Although he travels everywhere from Tudor-era London to a room filled with forged stone carvings and he covers topics ranging from racial identity to early American feminism, his clarity of writing ensures that the reader sticks right by his side from start to finish.
This is an absolutely captivating read that does its subject matter full justice with a passionate thoroughness. There's little doubt in this reader mind that that author's very own "Lost Colony Syndrome" will infect no small amount of people with a newfound fascination with the missing settlers of Roanoke Island.
Due to my being born and raised a New Englander, my education on the "founding" of America focused quite heavily on Pilgrims and Puritans. The Roanoke Colony was nothing more than the briefest of mentions in textbooks about Sir Walter Raleigh, a few folks vanishing, and a strange place name carved onto a tree. So to put it bluntly, until now I had absolutely no idea - no idea about the history of the short-lived colony, no idea about the obsession that has so fiercely gripped many a person and driven them to strive so hard to try and discover what happened to a particular band of English settlers in the Outer Banks, no idea about the myriad and often directly opposing meanings that the attempted colony has held for people both past and present, just no idea whatsoever.
Thankfully, Andrew Lawler turned out to be the absolute perfect guide to the Lost Colony and its incredibly rich mix of history, mystery, and controversy. He leaves no stone unturned as goes on a voyage of discovery that is exhaustive in its coverage of all matters of the Lost Colony, but never to the point where it inundates or confuses. Although he travels everywhere from Tudor-era London to a room filled with forged stone carvings and he covers topics ranging from racial identity to early American feminism, his clarity of writing ensures that the reader sticks right by his side from start to finish.
This is an absolutely captivating read that does its subject matter full justice with a passionate thoroughness. There's little doubt in this reader mind that that author's very own "Lost Colony Syndrome" will infect no small amount of people with a newfound fascination with the missing settlers of Roanoke Island.
July 19, 2025
This was an amazing overview of the Lost Colony of Roanoke mystery from beginning to end! Andrew Lawler's work here shows him as an articulate and energetic journalist. Lawler wrote the narrative from his first-person account. He did a great job of incorporating elements of investigative journalism, history, and mystery into the story. He gave all the evidence he'd gathered: historical records, archaeological data, historian interview excerpts, documented records, and meshed it all into a really good book. Lawler explained a lot of information in regards to colonial America, 16th and 17th century international politics, the Age of Exploration with English, Spaniard, Huguenot, and Portuguese explorers and their impacts in the New World, and ongoing research in modern times.
Overall this was great and would be great for someone interested or new into reading about this subject. This was very similar to The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World's Longest Treasure Hunt by Randall Sullivan. I would highly suggest this to anyone who wants to learn more about the Lost Colony mystery. Thanks!
Overall this was great and would be great for someone interested or new into reading about this subject. This was very similar to The Curse of Oak Island: The Story of the World's Longest Treasure Hunt by Randall Sullivan. I would highly suggest this to anyone who wants to learn more about the Lost Colony mystery. Thanks!
June 21, 2018
I admit to knowing nothing about the subject matter before I read this, but then sometimes that's the best way. THE SECRET TOKEN is a non-fiction documentation of the 'Lost Colony' legend of Roanoke; namely a group of Elizabethan settlers who vanished from Roanoke island in the three-year period it took British explorers to return to the area. The book is very much set up as providing answers to this enduring mystery, but I found it disappointingly vague and superficial.
The first half of the book recounts the well-known historical adventure, repeating it twice for some reason, but nonetheless this is the most interesting, academic-feeling part of the story. Later on, Lawler travels around interviewing local people and seeking archaeological evidence, as well as exploring museum documents and the like. He never finds anything concrete, only sharing some increasingly bizarre explanations, seeming to attract kooks and discredited figures wherever he goes. I found an inordinate amount of pages given over to open fakery and charlatans, perhaps done to pad out the book a little. It doesn't add up to very much come the end, and I admit to feeling rather let down as a result.
The first half of the book recounts the well-known historical adventure, repeating it twice for some reason, but nonetheless this is the most interesting, academic-feeling part of the story. Later on, Lawler travels around interviewing local people and seeking archaeological evidence, as well as exploring museum documents and the like. He never finds anything concrete, only sharing some increasingly bizarre explanations, seeming to attract kooks and discredited figures wherever he goes. I found an inordinate amount of pages given over to open fakery and charlatans, perhaps done to pad out the book a little. It doesn't add up to very much come the end, and I admit to feeling rather let down as a result.
December 10, 2021
I DNFd this a little more than halfway in. While the first part was an enjoyable, if somewhat repetitive, historical look at what is known about the lost colony of Roanoke - the second seems to be the author meeting up with a lot of people who don’t really know anything definitive.
I liked the first half, especially the background on the politics and history that led to the Roanoke settlement as well as initial attempts to find out what happened to them. Also understanding the relations that various explorers had with indigenous people and how that impacted these various settlements/colonies.
However, I was disappointed in interviews with people who dug up pots in their back yard claiming they were “proof” only to have the author explain why archaeologists/historians/scientists/etc know it can’t be true. Same thing with maps and other finds. I just lost interest.
I enjoyed the narration by David H Lawrence XVII.
I liked the first half, especially the background on the politics and history that led to the Roanoke settlement as well as initial attempts to find out what happened to them. Also understanding the relations that various explorers had with indigenous people and how that impacted these various settlements/colonies.
However, I was disappointed in interviews with people who dug up pots in their back yard claiming they were “proof” only to have the author explain why archaeologists/historians/scientists/etc know it can’t be true. Same thing with maps and other finds. I just lost interest.
I enjoyed the narration by David H Lawrence XVII.
July 8, 2018
Fascinating product of determined journalism. The so-called "Lost Colony" is a romantic legend that enabled white supremacists - as early as the mid-1800s - to deny the likelihood that survivors among the abandoned Roanoke colonists intermingled with Native Americans and later with Africans who took refuge among the coastal tribes. They weren't lost; they just chose to survive in a way that was ideologically unacceptable.
December 11, 2019
DNF.
The Secret Token started out decently by exploring the origins of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The book gives a pretty comprehensive look at the global climate at the time politically, economically, and socially. Readers get helpful comparisons and contrasts to other famous colonization efforts for reference.
It starts to get off track in the second quarter. The author gets into attempts to figure out what happened to the colony by archeologists, academics, and others. While portions of that are okay, other bits decidedly drag and wander into territory that doesn't feel like it adds anything to the point.
It really derails after that (which is where I left off). The author decides that, since it's impossible to find the lost colony or figure out what happened to it, he will track how figures from the story such as Virginia Dare (the first baby born in the colony) and Manteo (one of the Native American guides) have been "appropriated" by groups ranging from presidents to white supremacists to feminists over time... and I was done. While I can see how he justified including that in his book, it's not at all what I was looking for or interested in. I'd have been much happier if the book had just laid out all the facts and then left readers after the end of the first quarter.
The Secret Token started out decently by exploring the origins of the Lost Colony of Roanoke. The book gives a pretty comprehensive look at the global climate at the time politically, economically, and socially. Readers get helpful comparisons and contrasts to other famous colonization efforts for reference.
It starts to get off track in the second quarter. The author gets into attempts to figure out what happened to the colony by archeologists, academics, and others. While portions of that are okay, other bits decidedly drag and wander into territory that doesn't feel like it adds anything to the point.
It really derails after that (which is where I left off). The author decides that, since it's impossible to find the lost colony or figure out what happened to it, he will track how figures from the story such as Virginia Dare (the first baby born in the colony) and Manteo (one of the Native American guides) have been "appropriated" by groups ranging from presidents to white supremacists to feminists over time... and I was done. While I can see how he justified including that in his book, it's not at all what I was looking for or interested in. I'd have been much happier if the book had just laid out all the facts and then left readers after the end of the first quarter.
June 29, 2018
A historical page turner.
Looking back at the complex story of The Lost Colony was riveting. I was only vaguely aware of the story until this book. Well written, well researched and thoroughly reviewed from all angles, I would recommend this account of early American history to anyone interested in how those early days shaped our American society. The chapter on Virginia Dare and how various groups have romanticized her and used her as an iconic symbol to represent their particular views was especially insightful.
Looking back at the complex story of The Lost Colony was riveting. I was only vaguely aware of the story until this book. Well written, well researched and thoroughly reviewed from all angles, I would recommend this account of early American history to anyone interested in how those early days shaped our American society. The chapter on Virginia Dare and how various groups have romanticized her and used her as an iconic symbol to represent their particular views was especially insightful.
May 13, 2024
Lawler didn't change my mind about what I think happened to the colonists. But reading all of the history around the colony's start was fascinating, and I loved meeting all the characters obsessed with 'solving' the mystery.
August 7, 2018
America's oldest mystery is the Roanoke Colony disappearance. For a long time, many have been entranced by what happened to 115 odd English settlers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the 1580s. I became obsessed with the disappearance after I saw the outdoor drama when I was a kid. The Lost Colony has long sat in the back of my mind but this book, along with the recent revelation that the Dare Stone may be authentic, has reignited my interest.
I won't spoil to much of this book as I would highly recommend anyone to read it, but I will say that Lawler hits the story and the evidence from all angles. From personal accounts of the failed colony, to DNA, and to archaeology, Lawler plants a pretty good seed in one's mind as to what happened, but he leaves you with your own thoughts at the end.
This is a frustrating mystery because we just don't know what happened and we just can't seem to find the big kahuna of clues. Hopefully the Dare Stone and subsequent archaeology will finally find graves of the settlers or other clues, until then we are left to wonder. I found Lawler's book to be well-written and informative. As stated above, he covers all bases.
I won't spoil to much of this book as I would highly recommend anyone to read it, but I will say that Lawler hits the story and the evidence from all angles. From personal accounts of the failed colony, to DNA, and to archaeology, Lawler plants a pretty good seed in one's mind as to what happened, but he leaves you with your own thoughts at the end.
This is a frustrating mystery because we just don't know what happened and we just can't seem to find the big kahuna of clues. Hopefully the Dare Stone and subsequent archaeology will finally find graves of the settlers or other clues, until then we are left to wonder. I found Lawler's book to be well-written and informative. As stated above, he covers all bases.
November 19, 2019
Here's the best book that nob0dy's reading, a fascinating and thorough accounting of what we know, what we've forgotten, and all the insanity that we've made up regarding the colony on Roanoke Island.
Sure, I remember being taught about this in American history class. There was a colony. It disappeared. End of story.
There was so much more story! I never realized all the political repercussions of this little enclave, the related remote battles that left it stranded, that pirates were involved, that the first big fad coming from North America wasn't tobacco, but sassafras and how this little colony was supposed to ensure that Raleigh cornered the market on it, that there were cover-ups. How many of the contemporary accounts can we really even believe?
Since then, the research has been wild, varied, and laced with lunacy. There have been massive frauds, ego-maniacal wild goose chases, careless and destructive digs, and, oh, the list goes on.
And what kind of twisted mind can turn Virginia Dare into a cause for white supremacy and for anti-immigration? Really, how do you get there?
In short, there's a whole lot at good stuff in this book which taught me much more that my school teachers ever attempted. Read it. It's good.
Sure, I remember being taught about this in American history class. There was a colony. It disappeared. End of story.
There was so much more story! I never realized all the political repercussions of this little enclave, the related remote battles that left it stranded, that pirates were involved, that the first big fad coming from North America wasn't tobacco, but sassafras and how this little colony was supposed to ensure that Raleigh cornered the market on it, that there were cover-ups. How many of the contemporary accounts can we really even believe?
Since then, the research has been wild, varied, and laced with lunacy. There have been massive frauds, ego-maniacal wild goose chases, careless and destructive digs, and, oh, the list goes on.
And what kind of twisted mind can turn Virginia Dare into a cause for white supremacy and for anti-immigration? Really, how do you get there?
In short, there's a whole lot at good stuff in this book which taught me much more that my school teachers ever attempted. Read it. It's good.
Read
October 9, 2020setting this aside for now after reading about half of it. it's well researched and i will come back to it eventually.
June 14, 2025
This book is a wonderful literary non fiction piece that dives into the fate of the Roanoke colony; the first section is a masterful description of Elizabethan history, followed by an archeological viewpoint, and concluding with the current day effects of Roanoke’s story. This book masterfully tells a story that lacks what many consider the most essential part of a tale: a conclusion. Although we may never know Roanoke’s end Lawler skillfully lays out the case that it doesn’t matter what happened to those colonists, instead it matters why we care.
August 19, 2018
This is the telling of the colonists of Roanoke Island who in 1587 sailed from England to the coast of North Carolina but mystery surrounds this story. All 115 men, women and children were never to be seen or heard from again. A through account divvied up into three section, author Andrew Lawler dives deep into the history of his childhood fascination that surrounds the Lost Colony. An extremely interesting topic that is still very relevant today.
June 15, 2018
When I first saw this book, I thought..."Oh. Another Roanoke book." To my surprise and delight, this is anything but 'just another Roanoke book.'
The incredible amount of research and detail that went into this book is obvious from the moment you begin reading it. Rather than just diving straight into the mystery of the missing colony as so many authors have done before, this author carefully examines what happened, how it all started and explains for the reader the how and why that generally gets lost in the more sensational accounts of these events.
I was greatly impressed by all the information this book clarifies for the audience and how the author handled the various theories on what happened so long ago and why it may have happened. The book is written sensibly and logically, but also in a manner that is truly engaging and makes the reader want to know more about the subject.
Fascinating and absorbing, this is a book that I would recommend to scholars and the general public alike. A great starting point for anyone wanting to know more about early American colonisation.
This review based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
The incredible amount of research and detail that went into this book is obvious from the moment you begin reading it. Rather than just diving straight into the mystery of the missing colony as so many authors have done before, this author carefully examines what happened, how it all started and explains for the reader the how and why that generally gets lost in the more sensational accounts of these events.
I was greatly impressed by all the information this book clarifies for the audience and how the author handled the various theories on what happened so long ago and why it may have happened. The book is written sensibly and logically, but also in a manner that is truly engaging and makes the reader want to know more about the subject.
Fascinating and absorbing, this is a book that I would recommend to scholars and the general public alike. A great starting point for anyone wanting to know more about early American colonisation.
This review based on a complimentary copy from the publisher, provided through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
August 1, 2020
I now know more about the lost colony of Roanoke than I ever wanted to know! I had just a passing interest in this topic and perhaps should have known better than to read a whole book on it. I guess I thought that a complete answer would be provided to the question of what really happened on the Carolina coast in the late 16th century, but the author mostly went over theories that have since been debunked or theories that are based on conjecture and can never be proven one way or the other. Probably the mystery will never be solved.
I was interested in the descriptions of Walter Raleigh because he married one of my ancestoral cousins, Elizabeth Throckmorton. I had not previously known that he was the patron behind the original and second voyages to the New World in the 1580s.
Overall, the book was written well and was informative ... it just wasn’t my favorite.
I was interested in the descriptions of Walter Raleigh because he married one of my ancestoral cousins, Elizabeth Throckmorton. I had not previously known that he was the patron behind the original and second voyages to the New World in the 1580s.
Overall, the book was written well and was informative ... it just wasn’t my favorite.
July 28, 2019
Quick note about the audio book - the word sherds is pronounced a little strangely. Or I've always been saying it incorrectly.
Lawler's book is a wonderful and detailed look at not only the history of Roanoke (and he does a theory weigh in) but also on why the Lost Colony has taken on such importance at various times in America. What you get are the facts, then how people played with the facts. Its all rather interesting, and considering today's political climate, important to read about Roanoke has been used by people to showcase or hint at ideas about race.
Lawler's book is a wonderful and detailed look at not only the history of Roanoke (and he does a theory weigh in) but also on why the Lost Colony has taken on such importance at various times in America. What you get are the facts, then how people played with the facts. Its all rather interesting, and considering today's political climate, important to read about Roanoke has been used by people to showcase or hint at ideas about race.
July 26, 2019
Lawler presents a thorough investigation of Roanoke research up to 2018. He masterfully navigates the treacherous shoals of academics, half-crazed eccentrics, historical spies and villains, and a cast of supporting actors into a clearly-written and memorable memoir of his own descent into Roanoke Fever / hysteria. As Lawler succumbs to a desperate need to solve the mystery of the lost colony, he pulls himself up and offers a clear analysis of the circumstances. Readers may recall Horowitz's Confederates in the Attic. How Lawler maintains his sanity is a story unto itself.
History books pass over the "lost colony" of Roanoke. England sent settlers ca. 1586 and they disappeared by 1590. The only clue is a mysterious, even sinister carving, "Croatoan." That carving, Lawler relates has often been used as a muse for the supernatural, the exotic, and the macabre. In fact, it simply refers to a neighboring island with an English-friendly Indian tribe. The odd Governor of the colony, John White, who left his daughter and grand-daughter in 1587 to petition support from the English court, returned to the island in 1590. His behavior on the return voyage is bizarre; but in his written report, he says that there was a secret token to indicate why the settlers left. There was no secret token, so everything was fine, and he returned quietly to England and obscurity. If anything, it seems like his report is the secret token or coded message, rather than one he outlines and Lawler emphasizes.
In fact, the "lost colony" was the second colony, possibly the third. Sound confusing? It is because our history books gloss over the history of the failed colony. The first colony was barely surviving when Francis Drake, the pirate and hero to a nation, pulled into port and rescued the survivors. The possible second colony comes from the mysterious 200+ slaves Drake liberated from the Spanish Caribbean. He took them to Roanoke; but when he arrived in England, they were gone. There is no mention of liberated Indians and Africans leaving his ships. Some historians, including Lawler believe that Drake abandoned the former slaves in the same vicinity as Roanoke.
Lawler provides much better commentary on the strange happenings at the colony sites and the colonists themselves. Suffice to say Governor White appears to be more distraught over the loss of his material possessions than the absence of his daughter and grand-daughter. Lawler discusses various theories, problems, and probabilities before he begins his own quest.
The middle part of the book is more about Lawler traveling around Pimlico and Albermarle Sounds visiting various parks, archeological sites, and pursuing local folklore. His journey to the brink of madness shows how other researchers crossed the boundary of sanity and suffered the consequences. Lawler has an obvious gift for engaging people and wrangling details from them. He also has deep pockets. One thing that bothered me through the middle chapters was his cavalier attitude to travel. As he carefully pursues each lead, he follows through with random (possibly repeated) trips to the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. For example, he is curious about a ring with a lion that could be a coat of arms - so a trip to the UK and the College of Arms. No definite results, a little more speculation; but entertaining and thorough. He has an amazing talent of bringing researchers together and have them argue out their theories - principally for his (and the reader's) benefit. All of this could only be done with some sort of carrot - probably money.
The result of the various pursuits remains inconclusive. One archeologist discovered a smithing forge on Roanoke. That is the only definite proof of settlement. Other archeologists found European goods in various places; but nothing definitive. There are no massive trash pits or foundation ruins. There are some curious discoveries such as Governor White covering a fort on his map and then re-drawing that fort with invisible ink. But the fort remains undiscovered. Lawler ultimately slashes through the academics with Ockham's Razor to say the most likely end of the colony was native assimilation - not necessarily Croatoan. Returning to the odd mystery of the ex-slaves, Lawler offers readers a theory that this lost colony was assimilated and formed a specific tribe that tried o keep itself hidden and separate from everyone else. It is a strange possibility, albeit interesting. Oh how I wish I could find someone to discuss it!
The last part of the book is a collection of chapters discussing Roanoke in the Humanities. Poor Virginia Dare is depicted as a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl surrounded by savages - the rallying cry of white supremacists. It took a long time to make a softer image of the Natives and Lawler shows how this transformation occurred. It is not accepted by the locals who formed their own beliefs and superstitions; but it is interesting. It is also long. I breezed through most of the book; but the last chapters were something of a slog.
Overall, Lawler is a brilliant storyteller. I enjoyed reading this book. This is rare instance where I feel my review does a disservice in discussing the book. There is more to the story than 100+ missing colonists. There is more to it than the thought of savages destroying civilization. There is a secret token. Lawler indicates that Governor White's report makes him appear very odd with warped priorities and weak leadership. Lawler does venture further to indicate that White was probably versed in the espionage techniques of his day, so his biased and unconvincing report is likely incomplete. But that is a matter for other researchers and writers suffering from Roanoke Fever. Along the way Lawler met many people - stuffy academics, crazed amateur historians, and every-day people. Most of whom deserve mention in the book offering their own thoughts and traditions. A few who rubbed Lawler the wrong way are skewered with particular style. The amateur archeologist who threatened Lawler is presented as being crazier than a half-starved colonist gone native. An "Oxford don" is presented as the paradigm of academic hubris. All in all, enlightening and entertaining.
History books pass over the "lost colony" of Roanoke. England sent settlers ca. 1586 and they disappeared by 1590. The only clue is a mysterious, even sinister carving, "Croatoan." That carving, Lawler relates has often been used as a muse for the supernatural, the exotic, and the macabre. In fact, it simply refers to a neighboring island with an English-friendly Indian tribe. The odd Governor of the colony, John White, who left his daughter and grand-daughter in 1587 to petition support from the English court, returned to the island in 1590. His behavior on the return voyage is bizarre; but in his written report, he says that there was a secret token to indicate why the settlers left. There was no secret token, so everything was fine, and he returned quietly to England and obscurity. If anything, it seems like his report is the secret token or coded message, rather than one he outlines and Lawler emphasizes.
In fact, the "lost colony" was the second colony, possibly the third. Sound confusing? It is because our history books gloss over the history of the failed colony. The first colony was barely surviving when Francis Drake, the pirate and hero to a nation, pulled into port and rescued the survivors. The possible second colony comes from the mysterious 200+ slaves Drake liberated from the Spanish Caribbean. He took them to Roanoke; but when he arrived in England, they were gone. There is no mention of liberated Indians and Africans leaving his ships. Some historians, including Lawler believe that Drake abandoned the former slaves in the same vicinity as Roanoke.
Lawler provides much better commentary on the strange happenings at the colony sites and the colonists themselves. Suffice to say Governor White appears to be more distraught over the loss of his material possessions than the absence of his daughter and grand-daughter. Lawler discusses various theories, problems, and probabilities before he begins his own quest.
The middle part of the book is more about Lawler traveling around Pimlico and Albermarle Sounds visiting various parks, archeological sites, and pursuing local folklore. His journey to the brink of madness shows how other researchers crossed the boundary of sanity and suffered the consequences. Lawler has an obvious gift for engaging people and wrangling details from them. He also has deep pockets. One thing that bothered me through the middle chapters was his cavalier attitude to travel. As he carefully pursues each lead, he follows through with random (possibly repeated) trips to the United Kingdom, Spain, and Portugal. For example, he is curious about a ring with a lion that could be a coat of arms - so a trip to the UK and the College of Arms. No definite results, a little more speculation; but entertaining and thorough. He has an amazing talent of bringing researchers together and have them argue out their theories - principally for his (and the reader's) benefit. All of this could only be done with some sort of carrot - probably money.
The result of the various pursuits remains inconclusive. One archeologist discovered a smithing forge on Roanoke. That is the only definite proof of settlement. Other archeologists found European goods in various places; but nothing definitive. There are no massive trash pits or foundation ruins. There are some curious discoveries such as Governor White covering a fort on his map and then re-drawing that fort with invisible ink. But the fort remains undiscovered. Lawler ultimately slashes through the academics with Ockham's Razor to say the most likely end of the colony was native assimilation - not necessarily Croatoan. Returning to the odd mystery of the ex-slaves, Lawler offers readers a theory that this lost colony was assimilated and formed a specific tribe that tried o keep itself hidden and separate from everyone else. It is a strange possibility, albeit interesting. Oh how I wish I could find someone to discuss it!
The last part of the book is a collection of chapters discussing Roanoke in the Humanities. Poor Virginia Dare is depicted as a blond-haired, blue-eyed girl surrounded by savages - the rallying cry of white supremacists. It took a long time to make a softer image of the Natives and Lawler shows how this transformation occurred. It is not accepted by the locals who formed their own beliefs and superstitions; but it is interesting. It is also long. I breezed through most of the book; but the last chapters were something of a slog.
Overall, Lawler is a brilliant storyteller. I enjoyed reading this book. This is rare instance where I feel my review does a disservice in discussing the book. There is more to the story than 100+ missing colonists. There is more to it than the thought of savages destroying civilization. There is a secret token. Lawler indicates that Governor White's report makes him appear very odd with warped priorities and weak leadership. Lawler does venture further to indicate that White was probably versed in the espionage techniques of his day, so his biased and unconvincing report is likely incomplete. But that is a matter for other researchers and writers suffering from Roanoke Fever. Along the way Lawler met many people - stuffy academics, crazed amateur historians, and every-day people. Most of whom deserve mention in the book offering their own thoughts and traditions. A few who rubbed Lawler the wrong way are skewered with particular style. The amateur archeologist who threatened Lawler is presented as being crazier than a half-starved colonist gone native. An "Oxford don" is presented as the paradigm of academic hubris. All in all, enlightening and entertaining.
March 8, 2020
3.5 Stars
This is more than another retelling of an old story. Published in 2018, this is a pretty thorough history of the archeology for Roanoke and of the mythological history that surrounds the lost colonists. These sections alone make it worth reading. Lawler’s personal interest and enthusiasm (though it seemed toward the end that he lost some of his steam) reveal a knack for making “dry” subjects interesting.
However, Lawler never really breaks away from a journalistic style of writing. The result is something that rarely stimulates over the long course of a book, aside from the interesting subject material. He also portrays some of the archeologists in a rather unfavorable light, exposing personal foibles or social faux pas that have no bearing on the Roanoke material and seemed to appear for sensation’s sake. I found it a bit disrespectful and it lowered my opinion of his writing. Still, if you want an easy-to-read, up-to-date account of the Roanoke colonists then check this out.
This is more than another retelling of an old story. Published in 2018, this is a pretty thorough history of the archeology for Roanoke and of the mythological history that surrounds the lost colonists. These sections alone make it worth reading. Lawler’s personal interest and enthusiasm (though it seemed toward the end that he lost some of his steam) reveal a knack for making “dry” subjects interesting.
However, Lawler never really breaks away from a journalistic style of writing. The result is something that rarely stimulates over the long course of a book, aside from the interesting subject material. He also portrays some of the archeologists in a rather unfavorable light, exposing personal foibles or social faux pas that have no bearing on the Roanoke material and seemed to appear for sensation’s sake. I found it a bit disrespectful and it lowered my opinion of his writing. Still, if you want an easy-to-read, up-to-date account of the Roanoke colonists then check this out.
April 15, 2023
The Secret Token is a super summary and ramble through the culture clash of history, with lots of connections to stories we thought we knew. Lawler sums up the state of research, and the researchers. I had no idea of a particularly crazy chapter, "Dare stones" that involved Emory University faculty, before WW2, and, later, Brenau University. But every angle on this mystery remains a mystery.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
February 20, 2025
Everything you ever wanted to about the lost colony of Roanoke and the theories behind the disappearance of the settlers there. One of history’s greatest mysteries and, final answer-no one knows!
July 18, 2018
Excellent discussion of the search for the Lost Colony from 1500’s to present with a discussion of how our ideas have changed, concluding with a logical explanation. A short article by the author based on the book was in National Geographic Magazine June 2018.
November 5, 2021
This was riveting. I learned so much about something that seemed utterly mysterious in grade school and felt like this gave a pretty decent explanation of what likely happened to the settlers of Roanoke, even if the exact location of the colony is anyone's guess after so much time has passed
June 27, 2022
I finally decided to mark this as read, in order to give it a rating. I come back to this book time and time again as I read more Virginia novels and history. It's dense but in an engaging way. The author cuts through the crap and infuses the personalities of key players via primary source documents. I can't recommend this book enough, esp for those who want a cleaned up and navigable take on how this country started.
May 28, 2018
If you like true mysteries, conspiracy theories, or adventures, this book will hit your buttons. It's a real page turner, and it's well enough researched and thought out to give some interesting and thought provoking insights into American attitudes concerning racial integration, mixing & melding, and how they have changed over the centuries. I'll recommend this book to many friends.
September 21, 2018
"To die is tragic, but to go missing is to become a legend, a mystery."
Will we ever know what really happened to the 85 men, 17 women and 13 children of the "lost colony" over 400 years ago? After great length the conclusion that this author reaches is - probably not, but there are plenty of fantastic theories. As Andrew Lawler says, "There simply aren't enough facts to get in the way of a good story ."
What we do know is as follows. In 1587 John White, an artist with no managerial or military experience, was chosen to be governor of a group of people setting up a colony in order to climb the social ladder by becoming "landed gentry" in the New World. In the group were his pregnant 19-year old daughter Eleanor and his son-in-law Ananias Dare. It was originally intended to make only a brief stop at Roanoke to check on the 15 men who had been left behind on a previous voyage in 1585 but things took a strange and unexpected turn shortly after their arrival in July, when the settlers were unceremoniously dumped. In August, not long after Eleanor had given birth to her daughter Virginia Dare, the entire community approached White with the request that he return to England for additional provisions and colonists to improve their long term prospects. He reluctantly agreed. What should have been a 6-month mission turned into 3 years of nightmarish mishaps, so that by the time he returned there was no sign of colony or colonists, only - as White enigmatically reported later - "a certain token of their safe being at Croatoan".
The book is divided into three parts: 1) Lawler tracks the history and characters central to Roanoke; 2) he explores archaeological and archival clues to the settlers' fate ( no surprise to find the "clues" lead nowhere); 3) Lawler traces how Virginia Dare, the baby of Roanoke, became an icon of racial purity and part of an ongoing national struggle to define what it means to be an American.
The author obviously spent a lot of time and travel on this book but since the majority of sources are anecdotal it's hard to pin anything down and at the end I'm really none the wiser than I was to start with. I wonder if that's how he feels?
Will we ever know what really happened to the 85 men, 17 women and 13 children of the "lost colony" over 400 years ago? After great length the conclusion that this author reaches is - probably not, but there are plenty of fantastic theories. As Andrew Lawler says, "There simply aren't enough facts to get in the way of a good story ."
What we do know is as follows. In 1587 John White, an artist with no managerial or military experience, was chosen to be governor of a group of people setting up a colony in order to climb the social ladder by becoming "landed gentry" in the New World. In the group were his pregnant 19-year old daughter Eleanor and his son-in-law Ananias Dare. It was originally intended to make only a brief stop at Roanoke to check on the 15 men who had been left behind on a previous voyage in 1585 but things took a strange and unexpected turn shortly after their arrival in July, when the settlers were unceremoniously dumped. In August, not long after Eleanor had given birth to her daughter Virginia Dare, the entire community approached White with the request that he return to England for additional provisions and colonists to improve their long term prospects. He reluctantly agreed. What should have been a 6-month mission turned into 3 years of nightmarish mishaps, so that by the time he returned there was no sign of colony or colonists, only - as White enigmatically reported later - "a certain token of their safe being at Croatoan".
The book is divided into three parts: 1) Lawler tracks the history and characters central to Roanoke; 2) he explores archaeological and archival clues to the settlers' fate ( no surprise to find the "clues" lead nowhere); 3) Lawler traces how Virginia Dare, the baby of Roanoke, became an icon of racial purity and part of an ongoing national struggle to define what it means to be an American.
The author obviously spent a lot of time and travel on this book but since the majority of sources are anecdotal it's hard to pin anything down and at the end I'm really none the wiser than I was to start with. I wonder if that's how he feels?
September 27, 2018
I saw this book on the shelves of a bookstore on Ocracoke Island. I've always had a fascination with the story of the Lost Colony. This was the first time, however, that I read something about the colonists that sought to explain their disappearance, and it was refreshing to see that Lawler approached the topic without resorting to the hackneyed elements of ghosts and ghouls spiriting them away. I grew up going to North Carolina each summer; I still go to this day, and there were so many things that I realized I "knew" about the Lost Colony that were in error. I thought that Governor White had returned to North Carolina desperate to find his remaining colony and that he searched and searched in vain for them, until he was forced to return to England empty-handed. I thought that the word "Croatoan" was mysterious even in 1590, a nonsense word that neither White nor his companions could make sense of. That, plus much else I believed, was wrong. The Croatoan Indians were friends to the colonists. The "secret token" alluded to in the title was just this message, something White arranged with the group prior to leaving, to let him know if they were forced to depart the area. And, both refreshingly and sadly, the mystery seems to amount to little more than that of assimilation - if the Lost Colony was not massacred or decimated by disease, they most likely became part of the Natives' culture, vanishing by becoming part of local tribes. Thoroughly well-researched. A bit meandering in parts, but overall, a fine effort at resolution of the mystery.
March 12, 2020
People have spent their entire lives obsessed with the mystery of what happened to the “lost colonists.” This author very thoroughly examines the history and archaeological record and then goes a step beyond that. He looks at the myths and the speculations, the hoaxes, and even the tinfoil hat theories.
His conclusion is the most simple and logical explanation as ultimately there are only really two possibilities. Either they died or assimilated with the Native Americans in the area.
Why does that both fascinate and horrify us so much? Never being able to know for sure certainly leads to obsession for many but ultimately he concludes that the answer is wrapped up America’s fraught racial history. The author looks at how the myth and legend of the lost colonists and Virginia Dare have been adapted in different ways by Americans of all identities. Unfortunately that includes white supremacists but it also has been adapted in different ways by Native Americans and African American groups. The way the story is shaped by identity is in itself fascinating in many respects and horrifying in others.
This book is very thoroughly researched and carefully constructed, beginning with what we know before examining what we don’t know and what that means. I really learned a lot about the history of the region!
His conclusion is the most simple and logical explanation as ultimately there are only really two possibilities. Either they died or assimilated with the Native Americans in the area.
Why does that both fascinate and horrify us so much? Never being able to know for sure certainly leads to obsession for many but ultimately he concludes that the answer is wrapped up America’s fraught racial history. The author looks at how the myth and legend of the lost colonists and Virginia Dare have been adapted in different ways by Americans of all identities. Unfortunately that includes white supremacists but it also has been adapted in different ways by Native Americans and African American groups. The way the story is shaped by identity is in itself fascinating in many respects and horrifying in others.
This book is very thoroughly researched and carefully constructed, beginning with what we know before examining what we don’t know and what that means. I really learned a lot about the history of the region!
June 11, 2018
I received a free Kindle copy of The Secret Token by Andrew Lawler courtesy of Net Galley and Doubleday Books, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and my fiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.
I requested this book as all I really know about the lost colony of Roanoke is antidotal and I have never read anything about the details. This is the first book by Andrew Lawler that I have read.
The subtitle "Myth, Obession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke" is an acturate description of the book. Lawler has done a very good job of researching the subject and presenting the many potential outcomes without pushing hard for one of the theories of what happened to the colony. Although he did indicate his belief in the final chapter of the book which I happen to agree with.
I found this book to be interesting and an easy read. The author did not get bogged down in presenting the history surrounding the colony since its disapperance.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the early settlement of North America and in the lost colony of Roanoke in particular.
I requested this book as all I really know about the lost colony of Roanoke is antidotal and I have never read anything about the details. This is the first book by Andrew Lawler that I have read.
The subtitle "Myth, Obession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke" is an acturate description of the book. Lawler has done a very good job of researching the subject and presenting the many potential outcomes without pushing hard for one of the theories of what happened to the colony. Although he did indicate his belief in the final chapter of the book which I happen to agree with.
I found this book to be interesting and an easy read. The author did not get bogged down in presenting the history surrounding the colony since its disapperance.
I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the early settlement of North America and in the lost colony of Roanoke in particular.
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