Lee Miller (2) (1962–)

Few history books that are well-written and documented can be called "exciting." This is an exception. No novelist ever did a cleverer job of hooking the reader into the mystery and carrying him along through the investigation to the sad and troubling, but unavoidable, conclusion. I am an incurable history buff and I must say, "This is one of the best history books I have ever read!"

I give this 3.5 out of 4 stars. I would have given it more, but it reads like an essay and because of that I couldn't get into it and really connect with any characters. Still, it was interesting to hear her theory and it does make sense. Is this what happened? Who knows, but it does make you think. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys American history or mysteries.

My second cruise read is actually a book I found on board the ship. It was sitting in the library, and with my interest in the Lost Colony, I knew it was a must read.

And I am absolutely glad I did. Miller does some intense research to figure out what might have happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. Looking at the political situation in England, the religious climate, the situation between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, the war with Spain, what went wrong while Ralph Lane was in show more charge of the fort at Roanoke, how that affected relations with the Native American nations in the vicinity, the personality of John White, Walter Raleigh, and every other person at court possibly involved in the colonization project that sent 117 individuals to their doom in Roanoke.

Miller explores the history as a thrilling mystery to be solved. What happened? How did it happen? Why would someone want the project to fail? Why would they deliberately allow those colonists to come to harm? Why were they stranded in Roanoke when they were supposed to continue on to Chesapeake Bay? Who had the motive and the means? Did people really wish that much damage to Raleigh’s character? Why?

Like I said, some in-depth research goes into this book, and it is definitely worth a read. show less

I read this book along with Lisa Klein's Cate of the Lost Colony (a fairly recent YA novel) because the author mentioned that Lee Miller's book was one of the sources she used in her research. I was very glad that I had! This book is very well written snd informative, and is crammed full of pictures, drawings, and excerpts from documents related to the "lost" colony of Roanoke. Klein's book talked of the drawings of John White; this book shows you many excellent examples of them. Miller's show more text also helped to flesh out many of the things that were going on behind the scenes in Klein's novel, giving a more complete picture of what was going on to the reader than the characters of the novel necessarily knew. This book does not at all read like a "boring history book" but rather like a story book itself. Readers are encouraged to take the evidence that Miller offers and figure out who is behind the various things that happened in connection to the colony and why. It is probably more appropriate for older children, especially those who have learned about Roanoke at school or elsewhere, because much of the political machinations of the court of Elizabeth I would go right over the heads of younger children. Miller's book does, in addition, offer a more satisfying answer to the mystery than most current textbooks seem to. show less