The Secret Token

Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke

By: Andrew Lawler

Narrated by: David H. Lawrence XVII

*National Bestseller*

A sweeping account of America's oldest unsolved mystery, the people racing to unearth its answer, and the sobering truths--about race, gender, and immigration--exposed by the Lost Colony of Roanoke

In 1587, 115 men, women, and children arrived at Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina. Chartered by Queen Elizabeth I, their colony was to establish England's first foothold in the New World. But when the colony's leader, John White, returned to Roanoke from a resupply mission, his settlers were nowhere to be found. They left behind only a single clue--a "secret token" carved into a tree. Neither White nor any other European laid eyes on the colonists again.

What happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke? For four hundred years, that question has consumed historians and amateur sleuths, leading only to dead ends and hoaxes. But after a chance encounter with a British archaeologist, journalist Andrew Lawler discovered that solid answers to the mystery were within reach. He set out to unravel the enigma of the lost settlers, accompanying competing researchers, each hoping to be the first to solve its riddle. In the course of his journey, Lawler encounters a host of characters obsessed with the colonists and their fate, and he determines why the Lost Colony continues to haunt our national consciousness.

Thrilling and absorbing, The Secret Token offers a new understanding not just of the first English settlement in the New World but of how its disappearance continues to define--and divide--America.

Interesting history review

Good knowledge for all USA peoples to listen few times. Past will become our foundation for space exploration. The next frontier.

Great history and a great story

This book was in-depth and well researched. It’s not just about the colony but about the mystery surrounding the search for it. The book is great for anyone who loves American history and mystery. The best part is that it’s a true story and not fiction.

Good Enough

You probably already know something about the story if you're reading this book. If you're completely new to the topic you'll enjoy it and if you know a lot to begin with it goes down every hypothesized outcome established over the centuries. The last portion of the book talks about the bizarre history, Virginia Dare fanaticism, and obsession in modern times around the Lost Colony.

This book reminded me of a good book called "Where is Dr. Leichhardt?" about a vanished expedition in Western Australia. Both have scant evidence to go on, both led to extensive searches that turned up very little, but you do come away from both books with a sense that you do generally know more than you started the books with. Is this audiobook worth your time? I'd say it is worth your time, but it's not the best book you'll ever read. It's a good book if you're interested in Roanoke. It's good enough.

Enthralling!

The detail to the events and in-depth approach to look at it from every side of the story is impressive and the amount of research is honestly astonishing and amazing. Well done and thank you!

the first half of this book is terrific

The first half of this book is good history, probably worth the $ for the entire audiobook. The second half is rambling. In the first half, Lawler tells the history of the voyage and colonization, include a good deal of background about what was going on in England around colonization in the late 1500s and some information that was new to me about the settlement. In the second half, he reverts to newspaper-style journalism rather than history and historical analysis. The one piece of history in the second half he uncovers, and is interesting, is about the Portuguese pirate/navigator/investor but this section isn't connected up to the broader theory of the lost colony, is perhaps irrelevant to it. To readers interested in the historical portions, you might (as I did) slow those sections to 1x, and in the journalistic and more rambling sections, speed the MP3 player to 1.5x (as I did). If I had had the physical book, I probably would have read the thesis statements at the head of each paragraph or section in the second half of the book, but that is not possible in the audio format.

I would still give a 5-5-5 star grade to the first half, and in the second half, a lower grade to the "story" portion. Which explains the overall score in the story category of 3. The narration performance is excellent throughout.