Andrew Lawler unravels America’s oldest mystery in his bestselling book, “The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke.” He takes readers on a journey into a haunting tale that has intrigued and baffled generations of professional historians and amateur explorers. You can order his book online at Amazon for the Kindle, hardcover, audiobook, and paperback editions, or contact your local bookstore to reserve a copy.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke has long been the oldest unsolved riddle in American history. In the year 1587, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, 115 men, women, and children arrived on Roanoke Island on the coast of North Carolina to establish England’s first foothold in the New World. Their leader left for England on a resupply mission but war with Spain delayed his return. When he landed on Roanoke three years later, the island was deserted. The only clue was “a secret token” in the form of a word carved on a tree. A storm forced him to abandon the search, and the fate of the settlers remained unknown for more than four centuries.
When archaeologists recently began to dig for answers, journalist Andrew Lawler was on hand to record their fascinating finds. He pored over an old map at the British Museum that held a fresh clue hidden with invisible ink, watched as researchers analyzed a ring thought to have belonged to a colonist (the answer surprised them all), and tramped through dark swamps with amateur explorers obsessed with finding evidence of the lost settlers.
Andrew also discovered that while the Lost Colony is one of the nations’ most enduring historical mysteries, it is much more than just a riddle to be solved. Not only did Roanoke mark the start of the United States, it also birthed our current controversies surrounding race, gender, and immigration. The search for the settlers, it turns out, is really a search for our origins.
The Washington Post calls the book “crazy fun” and “surprisingly fresh and powerful.” The Wall Street Journal finds it “the most authoritative account of the Lost Colony to date.” The Economist noted that “Mr. Lawler is an intrepid guide to this treacherous territory. His willingness to chase down every lead, no matter how outlandish, and his enthusiasm for the journey as much as the destination, make The Secret Token a lively and engaging read.” Kirkus, the American book review magazine, adds that “In this enjoyable historical adventure, an unsolved mystery reveals violent political and economic rivalries and dire personal struggles”.
To learn more visit https://www.andrewlawler.com/the-secret-token-2/
About Andrew Lawler
Andrew Lawler is an award-winning journalist, correspondent, writer, a contributing editor for Archaeology, a contributing writer for Science and author of Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City; The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke; and Why did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization. Andrew has also written more than a thousand articles for newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, National Geographic, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, and reported from more than two dozen countries. Andrew’s work has been showcased in The Best of Science and Nature Writing.
###
Contact
Andrew Lawler
Website: https://www.andrewlawler.com/
