James Horn'sA Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke [Hardcover]

by James Horn

In 1587, John White and 117 men, women, and children landed off the coast of North Carolina on Roanoke Island, hoping to carve a colony from fearsome wilderness. A mere month later, facing quickly diminishing supplies and a fierce native population, White sailed back to England in desperation. He persuaded the wealthy Sir Walter Raleigh, the expeditionâ€s sponsor, to rescue the imperiled colonists, but by the time White returned with aid the colonists of Roanoke were nowhere to be found. He never saw his friends or family again.In this gripping account based on new archival material, colonial historian James Horn tells for the first time the complete story of what happened to the Roanoke colonists and their descendants. A compellingly original examination of one of the great unsolved mysteries of American history, A Kingdom Strange will be essential reading for anyone interested in our national origins.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Historical, 16th Century, World History, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Colonial Williamsburg Vice President

Reviews

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

On my recent trip to North Carolina, I took a very short time to see Roanoke Island & the National Park there. It piqued my interest in the lost colony. I chose this book from the library because it had good reviews and was a small book. It is very well documented. Two things I fault the book on is that it spends a great deal of time on English events and that the reproductions of drawings and maps of the era are useless because of the size of the book. As to the former, is does give a concise history of England of that period. I just got tired of all the wars and political wrangling. That being said, I did enjoy reading the book. Though some reviewers say it doesn't give any additional light on what happened to the settlers of Roanoke, I knew almost nothing about the colony; so it was informative to me. It is amazing that people were willing to undergo such a harrowing trip to an unknown spot and risk their life (and in the case of the settlers, that of their children). Another surprising thing to me was how the English and Spanish adventurers thought nothing of attacking each others ships and settlements and take bounty. Why worry about pirates when the nations' sea captains did the same thing. Though no one really knows what happened to the original settlers left to fend for themselves for over two years, I was glad to learn that there is some evidence that some of them survived and perhaps were integrated into the friendly native tribes. For a quick overview of the Roanoke colony, I recommend the book. Think now maybe I'll look for a novel concerning this early start of settlement of the continent.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was well-written, and it is a complete account of the Roanoke colony to be sure, but its jacket is a bit misleading. I don't believe that Horn truly shed any more light on the mystery of the Lost Colony than works done before his. He did bring some things together in one place in the last couple of chapters that hadn't been before, but we're still left wondering. I do recommend this book if it strikes your interest at all, but don't go into it expecting to be blown away by new revelations.

[Sage · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I finally read something again! This is an angle on 16th-17th C imperialism that I haven't ever read before, focusing more on Shakespearean history and Spanish/Vatican colonialism. Turns out the basics from World Civ II barely scratched the surface.

I'm left with some thoughts.
1. Dear god the horrific whitewashing of US history. I am so appalled.
2. Sir Walter Raleigh, what the hell was WRONG with you, and how did you have so many successes amid your crazy abject failures?
3. Thank goodness Horn didn't spend pages on groundless speculation. I appreciate the evidence based approach and the extensive research into contemporary non-English and English primary sources.
4. Heartache, because wow.
5. Disgust.
6. Bitter hilarity that the very same resentment by rural English at London's dominance over the national economy existed in the late 1500s still exists today. It's spurring Brexit idiocy now as it did the feuding with Europe then.

Oh, also, the end notes/annotations were worth the read.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been fascinated with the mysterious disappearance of the colonists on Roanoke Island ever since 5th grade, when I slipped a biography of Virginia Dare off the shelf next to me and read it instead of attending to the excruciatingly boring English grammar lesson in progress. (And thank you, Mrs. Schornhorst, for letting me do this, as I'm sure you knew I had this book hidden inside my larger English grammar text.) What did happen to Virginia Dare and all the other hapless colonists abandoned to fate in a trackless wilderness?

James Horn does a creditable job of taking the bits and pieces of what is known, including obscure accounts of Native American oral history, and coming up with a plausible answer to this question. Though his account is not gripping historical writing, it is well-researched and his conclusion sensible. His discourse also leaves one with a less judgmental attitude about John White, who rather than callously abandoning his friends and family to a difficult (and probably tragic) ending, did try to return to them but was thwarted at every turn by both the political realities of the time and the weather.

Though I wouldn't recommend this to the reader with only a casual interest in history, I do think those with a particular interest in North American colonial history will find it interesting. (And who doesn't like the answer to a good unsolved historical mystery, anyway?) As for that long-ago children's biography of Virginia Dare, which was, of necessity, wholly fabricated? Turns out having her grow up with the Indians might not have been far off the mark.

[Ben Kehres · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book called The Kingdom Of Strange by James Horn which is about the lost colony of Roanoke and the events that lead up to that. Well people never actually found out what happened to the colonist at Roanoke but there are a lot of conspiracy theories behind it. The book will give its own conspiracy theory which is very interesting. This book was one of my favorite history books to read because it went into detail about a lot of things that happened in these people's lives. It also gave visuals of maps that they created back then which I thought was very cool. I would recommend this book to a person that likes history and someone open for new conspiracy theories.

[Kristin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been several chapter shorter and you wouldn't have lost much information. If you pick this book up, you're more interested in the colonists and what happened to them than what Sir Walter is having for breakfast in 1682. The ending was satisfying; it's just getting to that point that is frustrating. That and I noticed several typos that made my brain ache. That pictures of all the old maps were cool though.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hey, you guys wanna go to a strange land and start a colony? We'll send everything you need to get you started and continually send more supplies and people to help. You can make a lot of money and be part of a new world!

NAH!! Just kidding! We're gonna drop ya off and see what happens. Maybe drop by in a few years. And did I mention I'm not going with you? Yeah, I'll be staying here, but you go. Have a blast.

That pretty much sums up Roanoke. Proof once again that politics has always been a corrupt business. Yup, no such thing as the "good ole days" when it comes to politics.

The book was pretty good at parts. But gave a lot of info I cared nothing about as well. Not a bad read and definitely an interesting event. Sad.....yes. Maddening.....yes. But interesting none the less.

[Erin Entrada Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written, well-researched, largely objective account of the Roanoke colony. I devoured it. The only issue I had was around pp 48-50, when Horn gives an overview of the Native Americans’ belief system. IMO, he should have been more specific in his phraseology to make it clear that these belief systems were unique to the Indians in this specific area. He mentions it casually, but phrases like “The Indians’ chief god was Ahone ...” implies a monolith. I would have preferred more accurate phrasing.

All in all, though—this was a compelling read.

[Diane Gladstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and easy to follow history of the lead up to the English exploration of the North Carolina coast and the difficulties encountered. Highly recommend

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially thought this book was a novel. And since the story of the Roanoke colony has always intrigued me, I thought it would be a fun read.

Of course, I was wrong. About the novel part, not the fun part.

Turns out, it's a non-fiction account of the first English colonies in North America. And after realizing my mistake and embracing the book for what it was, I really enjoyed it.

Originally started as part of a two-part vision - one, to be a home base for English privateers feasting off Spanish ships and two, to exploit the riches of the continent and discover a passage to the Pacific Ocean, thereby establishing England as a legitimate world power - the first colonies nevertheless failed to live up to their promise. Surrounded by native tribes - some tentative allies, some not - and a wild land they were unfamiliar with, the colonists struggled to survive. One attempt at widespread colonization after another failed.

The Roanoke Colony officially began in 1587, with the blessing of Queen Elizabeth I and the backing of Sir Walter Ralegh. After establishing themselves on Roanoke Island, with plans to move somewhere on the Chesapeake Bay as soon as possible, they were left to fend for themselves with promises that reinforcements in the form of people and supplies would be forthcoming from England.

Years passed. Priorities changed. Sir Walter Ralegh, the champion of English colonization, fell out of favor with the queen. War with Spain began. Very few were left who had any interest in that part of America where the colonists were left behind, since very little in terms of riches had been discovered. The first attempt to reach the colonies failed. And when another voyage was finally put together three years later - this time culminating in a successful landing at Roanoke - no traces of the colonists were found, the only clue the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. To this day, the fate of the colonists is unknown.

The majority of the book deals with the history of English colonization in America and the trials and tribulations of the earliest settlers. The very last section deals with the speculation of the fate of the lost colonists. Based on the scant evidence available, it seems likely that while many of the colonists died, either from illness or attack, some of them survived, integrating into native societies. No hard proof exists to support this, of course, which is what makes Roanoke's Lost Colony one of history's most enduring mysteries.

All in all, an interesting read. Obviously, starting from scratch in a foreign land is a daunting task, made even more arduous by the greed and ambition of men like Sir Walter Ralegh who, instead of focusing on reinforcing the colonists who were already there, decided to embarrass himself with an ill-fated exploration of Peru and the search for the mythical city of El Dorado. It seems the search for immeasurable fortune knows no limit.

I really would like to read a novel about the Roanoke Colony, though.

[Harold Titus · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Kingdom Strange: the Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke" is a well-researched account of Sir Walter Raleigh’s failed attempts to establish an English settlement in North America. Raleigh wished to found a thriving colony to accomplish four purposes: to attack more effectively Spanish treasure ships returning to Spain from Central and South America; to keep Spanish settlement out of North America; to obtain great wealth by harvesting the land’s natural resources, in particular gold and silver; and to discover an easy passage to the Pacific Ocean and the trade-rich orient.

Historian James Horn takes us methodically through the separate voyages to North Carolina’s Outer Banks and Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds beginning with the exploratory voyage of Arthur Barlowe and Philip Amadas in 1584 and ending with John White’s tragic attempt in 1590 to re-connect with the settlement he as governor had been forced to leave three years earlier to address in London the settlement’s need for relocation and its shortage of food and supplies.

Horn introduces us to the local Native American culture. He narrates effectively the arrogance and brutality of Captain Richard Grenville and Governor Ralph Lane and the eventual recognition by tribal leaders that these foreigners and their men are not gods nor allies but avaricious enemies. We see the measures taken by the Secotan Indians to rid themselves of these Englishmen, and we witness Governor Lane’s vicious retaliation. We feel artist-turned-idealistic governor John White’s frustration and anguish as he attempts to plant a new colony after Lane and his soldiers return to England. We recognize White’s need to return to London to arrange for additional settlers and supplies to be transported to Roanoke to enable the settlement to move to a safer geographic location. We learn why three years elapse before he is able to return. We see the little evidence he finds that leads him to believe where the people of his abandoned village have relocated. We feel his despair as he is prevented the opportunity to verify his supposition. We then judge the validity of the author’s theory of the fate of White’s “lost” colony.

Immediately after I retired from teaching, I researched this subject matter and wrote a brief YA manuscript that if copied future Orinda, CA eighth grade students could have read. Horn’s narration, published years afterward (2010), has provided me tidbits of information I didn’t known. (Example: Walter Raleigh’s promotional efforts, planning, and preparatory actions that preceded each voyage) Horn’s footnotes offered me additional information. His timeline of events that affected discovery and colonization in America from 1492 to 1701 is also useful.

If I choose to write a full-length novel about the clash of English explorers and settlers and Native Americans at Roanoke, James Horn’s book will serve as an important secondary source. Concise yet detailed, quite readable, it would benefit any reader seeking to learn about the origins of our country’s past.

[Phil Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the more approachable books on the subject of the Lost Colony. A colony doomed from the outset, not only due to the elements of the New World, but also because of the whimsical politics of England at the time. Horn does a decent job of setting the political and sociological stage of the late 16th century and the players involved; the relationship of Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth, John White and his struggle against whim and bureaucracy to put together a rescue voyage in the middle of countries at war; the war between England and Spain; Captain John Smith's claimed attempts to find out what happened to the people of Roanoke Island. Still though, despite all the claimed evidence by people like Smith (who was a notorious bragger in his memoirs), you have to wonder if some of the witness testimony claimed by Europeans are valid or just generating Tall Tales for the history books. Ultimately there is no real solid evidence (so far) of what exactly happened (Horn speculates the whole dang mystery in the last 5 or six pages), and anyone who knows the story already will not find much revelation here, although it IS a good book that puts it all in one place in an approachable narrative. A decent read, but I would really like to see a more archeological book be published on the subject, much like Dr. William Kelso's book Jamestown: the Buried Truth.

[Billy · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF ~ page 70...

This book is one I've wanted to read for years, a decade at least, but in reading I am finding it flawed and annoying. What is presented is promised to be a look at new information and new understanding about 'The Lost Colony,' but there is nothing new excepting the author's postulations. Here the book breaks down under the weight of what we have already known for decades, centuries. And the author's use of words like 'may' or 'could' or 'might' or 'suggests,' well, you get the point, are not offering any new or concrete information.
Almost every book referenced on this topic is dated from long ago and ownable, and I do, own most of them, that is.
The Notes section pays attention to what those who know this topic have already read. There is no new information aside from what the author SUGGESTS or GUESSES or puts forward as a possible explanation of what happened.
Having read the majority of the books referenced in the Notes and the subjects covered and listed in the Index, I am extremely disappointed. Ah, well, at least I bought it a cheap price...
I can't recommend this book to anyone.
If you want to learn, there are plenty of books on this subject and the books referenced are all able to be bought or, sometimes better, downloaded free as PDF documents.
Skip this one...

[☯Emily Ginder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the lost English colony at Roanoke. James Horn gives the historic background for the establishment of the colony, emphasizing the role Walter Ralegh played in its beginning. It was to be a base for the English to attack Spanish ships as they crossed the Atlantic from South America. The settlers were to provide needed raw goods to England and in their spare time look for gold and silver and a passage to the Pacific. They were dropped off, began to settle on the land and waited for much needed food and supplies. However, these never arrived because the Spanish decided it was time to invade England. After the Spanish Armada was destroyed, there were a series of mishaps that prevented any ships to arrive at the small colony. The last chapter deals with several theories of what happened to the English settlers. I found the book to have lots of speculation and not solid facts, but again there are not a lot of facts to go on...that is why it is one of America's mysteries.

[Gary Schantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of my many, many reads to learn all of American history so I can be a bit critical as to whether books are thorough enough to leave me with a good understanding of a particular subject matter.

This is a good book that explains how the Roanoke colony was founded, who funded it, why it was created to begin with and what possibly became of it. So how was it lost?

After reading this book, I concluded that the Lost Colony of Roanoke is more myth than a mystery. It was simply disbanded over time and the people (after waiting three years) dispersed believing that no one was going to come back for them.

[Terri R · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title is definitely accurate. What were Elizabethans thinking when they sent people out to colonize without teaching them how to survive? I borrowed this book from the library on a recommendation from a nice lady at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and it has definitely quenched my thirst about the Lost Colony. Because the author pieced together innumerable historical sources and accounts, it requires patience and perhaps a little imagination to enjoy. I give it 3 stars for scholarship.

[Dawn King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theories about the fate of North Carolina's Lost Colony can be deary or fascinating. Many just dredge up old stories. This book makes a compelling case for sabotage and intrigue within Queen Elizabeth's court. Sir Walter Raleigh's political enemies may have planted a saboteur to make sure the colony did not land well and got off to a poor start. This book was well written and researched. It is in my library on NC history.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having just finished the wonderful Horwitz book (A Voyage Long and Strange...Early America), I was ready to immerse myself in this era. Unfortunately, this book was too full of irrelevant detail, side notes, "maybe"s, "perhaps" and "probably"s. It was more geography and European history than I expected or wanted. There were also at least 2 typos- the month and year are squished together at least twice. One of these is on page 195 of the pb edition. Disappointing read, in my opinion.

[- The Polybrary - · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and seems well-researched, with copious footnotes and a good timeline. It's very much a history though, so don't pick it up expecting a run-down of the various theories of what happened to the Roanoke colony (what I originally thought when I bought it, only later reading the *history* part of the title).

[Yuliya Astapova · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read about all the background events going on that impacted the colony and its people, but I feel like I could have read the last 30 pages to get the speculation about what happened to them without sitting through the (kind of tedious) preamble.

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it doesn't really shed light on the Roanoke mystery, it us a fascinating account of planting America.

[Eric Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

On August 16, 1590, John White stepped ashore on Roanoke Island. He had left his friends and comrades, including his daughter and grand-daughter, three years before to seek additional support for the colony from its English backers. His return trip was delayed by war with Spain, double-crossing privateers, hurricanes, and ill-luck. What he found on that summer day was what he feared – the colony was gone, seemingly vanished with only the word “CROATOAN” carved into a tree as a clue.

This much of the story matched what I had learned in school. James Horn, in “A Kingdom Strange, The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke” fills in all the gaps and solves the mystery. Along the way, his narrative is gripping and reads like an adventure novel. It’s the best kind of history writing, filled with characters who come alive, swept along by grand currents and seeking to navigate their way through happenstance and tragedy towards improbable success.

Horn begins with Sir Walter Raleigh’s first efforts to establish an outpost in North America as a base for legalized piracy against the Spanish. These attempts fell prey to disease, inadequate provisioning, squabbling, and a tragic ignorance when it came to dealing with the native peoples. Raleigh eventually realized that if he were going to have a self-sustaining outpost capable of plundering the Spanish treasure fleets, then he needed settler families and a better location.

The colony planned to reposition to the Chesapeake Bay, a better harborage with more access to the interior than the previous location on Roanoke Island, but weather and the lottery-like opportunity to catch a Spanish ship before the end of the season caused them to stop short and build a temporary settlement on Roanoke. Their new colony, on the foundations of the old outpost, couldn’t escape the past and violent confrontations with the natives combined with the less-than-optimal location drove them to send their leader, John White, back to England for additional support.

Horn never forgets that history is made by people making decisions based on what information they have and he doesn’t use hindsight to criticize his characters. The unfolding fate of the colony takes on the aspect of a Greek tragedy. We, the readers know the outcome, but the colonists do not. And we cannot help but to cheer them on, to encourage their success against what we know has already happened.

This book is a detective story, historical narrative, and family tragedy wrapped up into one tale. There’s no need to fill your rucksack with different flavors of books this summer – they are all here. And all those lingering questions from elementary school are finally answered.

[Patrick Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that explained he details of the founding of the "Lost Colony" at Roanoke and offered possible scenarios on what happened to the colony.

Right off the bat I ran into information that was not taught in school. That England had been sending ships to America since the 1480's. This confirms the fact that Columbus did not discover America (the Vikings were here 400 years before that) and although school touched on Jamestown I don't recall learning of the Lost Colony, most teaching gravitated to the Pilgrims and their landing in 1620 to ge away from religious persecution.

The book offered a list of settlers as well as information on the founding of the colony and issues they confronted both in America and in England. I would have preferred a bit less time explaining the English side, the war with Spain and France. All three countries along with the Dutch were jockeying for a foothold in America.

What happened to the colony? It's unknown, a number of scenarios are explored including the "absorption" of the English into the Native communities as the colonists ran out of supplies. Stories from Natives at the time as well as Native legends of their ancestry seem to confirm the absorption however there is nothing concrete to point at.

Bottom line, book is full of pertinent information on the subject but not much groundbreaking. It was an easy read and the 196 pages can be plowed through quickly.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A National Park Ranger recommended this book while we were doing a car trip up the eastern coast. We learned of the Lost Colony of Roanoke- a British colonial settlement that predated Jamestown.

Sir Walter Ralegh wanted to establish a colony in North America - as a challenge to the land claims primarily of the Spanish. Further, he felt that the presence of a strong British seaport would bring riches to England - natural goods of the New Land in trade with Europe. Probably more importantly, he wanted the British presence to pirate the Spanish ships along the coast. Plus, rumors were that inland from what is now North Carolina - there were great mines of gold, copper, even diamonds.

Ralegh sent John White in 1587 to Roanoke with 118 English men, women and children - and supplies to establish the first British settlement. Survival was hard as the settlers fought against the waring Indian tribes in the area . As their supplies dwindled, White promised to sail to England to bring back more settlers, goods to trade, food stuffs, guns, etc. He expected to be back within the year.

White left Roanoke in 1588; he did not return until 1590. When he returned, the entire colony of Roanoke and all of its settlers had disappeared. Horn's book is factual yet reads like an exciting historical adventure story. Some parts of the mysterious disappearance have been revealed by time and research; much of the story is still surmised.

[D. P. Lafayette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horn has a well crafted narrative of the English ventures to the eastern seaboard of modern North America. It places the English at many coves and lands of present-day North Carolina and Virginia — all of which was called Virginia by the English. The settlement was largely rested on the notions of being a bulwark against French and Spanish Catholics also active in the area, namely near Nova Scotia or Spanish controlled Florida. Colonization seemed mostly a guise for the more consistent, operational privateering that was occurring in the Atlantic at the behest of Queen Elizabeth. Not until King James took the helm did a more aggressive approach to commercial settlement become adopted. This is seen in the formal landing at Jamestown Island with the Jamestown settlement. This was under Captain Christopher Newport and involved the renowned John Smith.

I’ll stop there as it is well worth the read.

This book was decent due to the feature of endless chapters. A chapter might have many contemporaneous subjects going on and it makes for difficult reading despite its accessible nature.

If you intend to read, have your notes alongside you, or read in few sittings. Otherwise, you will open the book after a stint of repose and find yourself as lost as many of the ships were in the Atlantic desperately hoping for some apparition of the island Dominica.

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horn has here presented the general educated reader with a nicely researched and lucidly written account of the Lost Colony, taking us beyond sensationalist theories about the 16th-century disappearance to explain the military, political, and economic reasons why English colonists were deposited at Roanoke in the first place and then so summarily abandoned thereafter. Horn’s reconstruction of the historical background makes the crooked straight and the rough places plain.

The author’s own research contribution was an investigation of the colonists’ place of origin and their possible interconnections. I was fascinated by his suggestion that a number of the settlers might have been Puritans. (What might have been the Calvinist state of mind once the abandoned realized they would never again fellowship with fellow believers?) Likewise intriguing is Horn’s suggestion that the founding of Jamestown itself might have sealed the doom of the survivors. Though I personally would have enjoyed a chapter on the fakes and frauds later perpetrated in the name of the Lost Colony, Horn’s book nicely achieves his own objectives.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dry and somewhat boring read. The main reason I read the book was to learn about the colonists and the lost colony of Roanoke. Instead, the first half of the book focused mainly on Walter Ralegh. Finally, at about the midway point, we get a couple of chapters dealing with the colonists. Then, it's back to Ralegh, Queen Elizabeth, privateering and the Spanish Armada. I did like the way James Horn presented his suppositions of what happened to the colonists at the end, but I was really expecting more of the book to center on the colony and the people there. I guess the subtitle (The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke) is most appropriate. The parts dealing with the colony and colonists is indeed brief. Not only would I have appreciated more of the book centering on this group, but I would have liked a more detailed explanation or a chart of some kind to help with discerning between the multiple Native tribes. Many I had never heard of before and it was quite intriguing. I plan on doing some research of my own regarding the tribes in the Virginia and Carolina areas when the colonists arrived.

[Patti Procopi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was visiting the site of Lost Colony on Roanoke Island and wanted to learn more so I purchased this book. It was an interesting book including a lot of background on the plans of the English to colonize the New World to compete with the Spanish and to find a passage to India. A lot of the story revolves around Sir Walter Raleigh who was in the beginning a big supporter of establishing a colony in the New World. Unfortunately for the colonists a war with Spain erupted and no one was able to get back to the colony for three years at which time the colonists had disappeared. Horn includes his theory of what probably happened which seems reasonable. My only complaint about the book is that the illustrations and maps includes are reproduced very poorly to the point they can't even be really read. Also I think it would be helpful to include modern maps to give the reader a better idea of the various places landed, explored and settled.

[Mark Blanchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable narrative history of the political and economic forces that shaped 16th century English exploration of the New World and the subsequent settlement on Roanoke Island.

Using a variety of primary sources combined with an accessible style, Horn adequately describes the relationship between England and Spain and the struggle the English had to keep up with the Spanish conquistadors.

This is not an overly academic treatment of the subject, and at times, the author speculates about not only how events may have played out but also the motives and/or forces that led to those conjectures. But he is clear, in the footnotes mostly, when he is doing this, ensuring that the reader keeps distinct what is known and what is imagined.

For one who is looking for an introduction to the topic, Horn’s work provides an excellent overview for both the conflict at sea as well as the English entry into North America.

[Thomas Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone has heard on some level the mystery that is/was the lost colony of Roanoke. Historian James Horn does a fantastic job weaving said story that is thick with historical data, names dates places and based on the available evidence very justifiable theories. I was actually surprised by how much i didn't know. And the theory of what happened to the colonists seem very believable. The most haunting part of the book is imagining being one of those people, sailing across to a new world basically. Establishing a colony. Having a plan and clear expectations of what should have happened. Sending the only ship available to sail across the ocean and your leader back to England, waiting on him to return, but then as the months and years and decades pass hope dwindles and the sense of claustrophobia sets in with the surrounding unknown of the wilderness and the local native population.