[.ca] Roanoke (ISBN 0142002283)

Unreadable:
The writing is terrible! The author uses italics within practically every sentence to indicate the inclusion of phrases from primary sources. The phrases add nothing to the story except constant distraction. Primary sources are great, but a real researcher knows how to paraphrase at times. Worse yet, there are big gaps in logic. Ms. Miller draws conclusions that aren't supported by the evidence--at least, she doesn't show the reader how she got from A to B. She fills much of the book asking questions like "Who is this person?" "Why are they here?" "Why did they disappear?" Instead of coming up with any convincing explanations, she just lets the questions hang there, as if the reader is expected to tell her! After reading as much as I could stand of "Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony," it is more unclear than ever.

Portrait of Elizabethan England:
Just a brief note: In addition to being the last word in the Roanoke Colony debate this book gives the best BRIEF account of the powerful courtiers around Elizabeth that I've seen. I've read this material in many different forms and this analysis of figures such as Walsingham, Leicester, Drake, Ralieigh and the rest are CLEAR and incisive. A good book for understanding Elizabethan court politics without getting into trivial detail.

Lots of Detailed Information:
The writing style is a bit choppy and takes some getting used to. But the extra effort is well worth it. Since the story is presented as a mystery, important clues can appear anywhere so that a very careful reading is necessary at all times and you may have to reread many paragraphs to follow the logic. Most impressive is the level of detail provided...you will not forget the main characters(White,Lane, Fernandez,Raleigh etc..) The story is presented in a sort of reverse order..beginning with the last roanoke voyage, and then giving us a detailed account of the second and first voyages and how they set the stage for the final tragedy. If this is the first book a reader should choose for this subject, it could be a bit confusing. The use of italics for exact quotes is initially jarring...but is put to better use as the book progresses and when examining the motives of the English players involved. Also, the author does not take journal entries at face value but takes into account their motives. The author is of Indian heritage and her insights into English politics and London living conditions is also extremely informative and detailed. The final chapter 'Who are the Mandoag' was a bit unneccesarily detailed, but the author makes a case for her theory. Overall, the book gets off to a choppy start...seems to ask a lot of questions, but once underway, answers and insights are provided. I give it 5 stars for the exceptional detail and the entertaining method of presentation.

Case Closed:
Most Americans are probably familiar with the bare outlines of the story of Raleigh's colony at Roanoke. Many will, like me, remember history text pictures of the stunned John White staring in awestruck perplexity at that awful word, CROATOAN. Few will, like me, have mothers who explained that the Croatians came for them. The basic story is familiar. Miller presents us with the entire story, from the Spanish pressure on England that led to privateering, to the court intrigues. We learn about the social and political situation in England, with much interesting detail that helps us understand how these people lived. Lane's dealings with the Native Americans, killing and burning for a wretched silver cup, are sickening. The poor Indians must have felt that unwonted doom had descended on them out of a clear blue sky. Miller's research is highly impressive. All the pieces slide into place, even the preposterous Welsh Indians. I know nothing about American languages, so I cannot comment authoritatively on her conclusions there, but if this stands up to peer review, it should settle the case. If nothing else, she has convinced me. (Samuel Morison's Oxford History of the American People says the Lumbee Indians believe the blood of Raleigh's colonists runs in their veins. I wonder what Miller says about that.) The case should be settled, but the melodramatic writing style has caused comment. A writing gimmick, used sparingly, is clever, often repeated becomes distracting, obnoxious, and causes you to wonder about the writer. Her health. Her qi. She can barely build up the steam to write a complete sentence. Fragments. Almost the whole book. She's okay when she's concentrating on scholarly evidence, and oh how she piles on the footnotes! But when she's telling a story, you want to stand by her desk and cheer, Take a deep breath, Lee, push that pen! All the way to the end! You can do it, you can do it! Push that pen! Rah rah rah! If you can muck your way through all those fragments, you will find a superb story, nailed down with meticulous scholarship. One thought will not leave my mind. The lost colonists who survived must have heard that their countrymen were searching in the region, but as slaves they were unable to meet them. Pity their despair!

A cozy history mystery:
Lee Miller as armchair detective sets about solving a case of 200-plus missing persons from four hundred years ago. While her writing style (full of too many of her own fragments and far too many italics citing the original documentation) is a little bumpy, she outlines the crime scene, gives you the suspects, and goes as far as telling you where all those missing people ended up. I personally love books that solve unsolvable mysteries (The Burmuda Triangle Mystery: Solved!, Severed: the true story of the Black Dahlia, etc.), even when I don't fully agree with the solution. It's great fun following Lee's trail of logic.