A fascinating second look at a long-buried mystery
When the Saturday Evening Post sent an "investigative reporter" to check the story of the Dare stones in 1939, they did not disclose that the reporter was also on the dole of the official Roanoke state park and was therefore far from an unbiased, impartial observer. The hack job Mr. Sparkes did on Brenau College professor Haywood Pierce ruined that man's reputation and effectively skewered his credentials in academia. But it did not answer the questions about the authenticity of the Dare stones. Indeed, it only raised more questions, since no serious, long-term study was ever done on the stones after Sparkes discredited them. Author Robert White has a passionate interest in the stones and believes they deserve a serious inquiry--instead of a hasty dismissal motivated by Depression-Era politics and government funding. While White is not exactly an unbiased observer himself (he is ready to believe in the authenticity of the stones from the outset), he still raises excellent questions and makes a cogent case for the truth of the story told by the stones. It would certainly be wonderful if someone raised the funds to thoroughly investigate the stones from a geological, archaeological, entomological, and sociological standpoint. This mystery deserves to be examined, and this book is a wonderful introduction to it!
