{{Short description|American journalist and author (born 1961)}} {{infobox writer | name = Andrew Lawler | birth_name = Andrew Francis Lawler | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1961|5|25}} | occupation = {{flatlist| *Journalist *author }} | website = {{URL|https://www.andrewlawler.com}} | caption = Lawler in 2020 | image = Andrewlawler.jpg }}
'''Andrew Francis Lawler''' (born May 25, 1961) is an American journalist and author.
== Career == He has written for ''The New York Times'', ''National Geographic'', ''Smithsonian'', ''Science'', ''Archaeology'', ''Scientific American''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |date=2022-04-01 |title=Jerusalem Archaeology Modernizes but Runs into Ancient Problems |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/jerusalem-archaeology-modernizes-but-runs-into-ancient-problems/ |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref> and other publications. Lawler investigated the looting of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad<ref>{{cite web |title=Years after Widespread Looting of Museums, Iraq's Antiquities Remain Vulnerable |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/middle_east-jan-june07-artifacts_04-30 |website=pbs.org |publisher=PBS NewsHour |ref=5}}</ref> as well as ancient sites during the American-led 2003 Iraq invasion. He also reported on cultural heritage destruction in Afghanistan<ref>{{cite web |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=The Taliban destroyed Afghanistan's ancient treasures. Will history repeat itself? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/taliban-destroyed-afghanistan-ancient-treasures-will-history-repeat-itself |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813231808/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/taliban-destroyed-afghanistan-ancient-treasures-will-history-repeat-itself |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 13, 2021 |website=nationalgeographic.com |publisher=National Geographic |ref=6}}</ref> from the Taliban’s 2001 fall from power until their return in 2021.
Lawler has written four books, including the national bestseller ''The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Le Beau Lucchesi |first=Emily |title=The Lingering Mystery Behind the Lost Roanoke Colony |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-lingering-mystery-behind-the-lost-roanoke-colony |website=discovermagazine.com |publisher=Discover Magazine |ref=12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Gregory S. |title=The confusing, impossible mystery of the lost colony of Roanoke |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-confusing-impossible-mystery-of-the-lost-colony-of-roanoke/2018/07/19/045eb2c0-4f19-11e8-84a0-458a1aa9ac0a_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |ref=13}}</ref> "Mr. Lawler is an intrepid guide to this treacherous territory," noted ''The Economist'', which called ''The Secret Token'' "lively and engaging,"<ref>{{cite news |title=The tale of the "Lost Colony" is a chronicle of delusion |url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/06/07/the-tale-of-the-lost-colony-is-a-chronicle-of-delusion |newspaper=The Economist |ref=7}}</ref> though ''The Wall Street Journal'' chided the author for giving a "social justice" spin to the tale.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ekirch |first=A. Roger |title='The Secret Token' Review: America's First Unsolved Mystery |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-secret-token-review-americas-first-unsolved-mystery-1529258523 |website=wsj.com |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |ref=8}}</ref> His third book is ''Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City'',<ref>{{cite journal |last=Levy |first=Thomas E. |title=Interpreting Jerusalem |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn0362#pill-con |website=science.org |publisher=Science Magazine |doi=10.1126/science.abn0362 |ref=9|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Williams |first=Nadya |title=Heavy Is the History of Jerusalem: A Very Select Starter |url=https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2022/05/heavy-is-the-history-of-jerusalem-a-very-select-starter-reading-list/ |website=patheos.com |publisher=Patheos }}</ref> which ''The Washington Post'' called "a sweeping tale of archaeological exploits and their cultural and political consequences told with a historian's penchant for detail and a journalist's flair for narration."<ref>{{cite news |last=Eisner |first=Jane |title=Jerusalem's subterranean discoveries and disputes |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/jerusalems-subterranean-discoveries-and-disputes/2021/12/08/37aef02a-4643-11ec-95dc-5f2a96e00fa3_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post }}</ref> The book received the 2024 Felicia A. Holton Award from the ''Archaeological Institute of America'', with the award committee praising "Mr. Lawler’s skillful use of prose" that highlighted "archaeology’s impact on the modern world."<ref>{{cite web |title=Felicia A. Holton Book Award |url=https://www.archaeological.org/grant/holton-book-award/ |website=archaeological.org |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America }}</ref>
His fourth book, ''A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution'' was published in 2025. ''The New York Times'' wrote that "the absorbing result of his meticulous research" is "a sharp-eyed look at the messy, sometimes absurd, often cruel birth pangs of a nation."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Coe |first=Alexis |date=2025-01-27 |title=The Ironic Fight Against Liberty in the American Revolution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/books/review/a-perfect-frenzy-andrew-lawler.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sU4.7gKl.BXH5NSOhqRZv&smid=url-share |access-date=2025-03-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ''The Wall Street Journal'' called it a "compelling, impeccably researched account."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Helferich |first=Gerard |title='A Perfect Frenzy' Review: The Virginia Rising |url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/a-perfect-frenzy-review-the-virginia-rising-639cfb3b |access-date=2025-09-01 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Works== *{{Cite book |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |url=https://search.worldcat.org/title/1455110980?oclcNum=1455110980 |title=A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution |date=2025 |isbn=978-0802164131 |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |location=New York}} *{{Cite book |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World's Most Contested City |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-385-54685-0 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |oclc=1235903466}} *{{Cite book |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke |title-link=The Secret Token |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-385-54201-2 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |oclc=1003666494}} *{{Cite book |last=Lawler |first=Andrew |title=Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization |date=2014 |isbn=978-1-4767-2989-3 |publisher=Atria Books |location=New York |oclc=873006410}}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.andrewlawler.com}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawler, Andrew}} Category:1961 births Category:The New York Times journalists Category:21st-century American journalists Category:20th-century American journalists Category:20th-century American male journalists Category:National Geographic people Category:21st-century American male writers Category:20th-century American male writers Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers Category:Living people Category:21st-century American male journalists