Collins Tracing Your Family History [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Anthony Adolph (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2004

The definitive handbook for anyone interested in tracing their family's past Firmly practical in its approach, yet entertaining in its style, this reference guide will be the indispensable companion for all who are seeking a reliable, one-source volume to use while tracking down their family origins. The book gives comprehensive guidance on the full variety of governmental, religious and more obscure records available to the family history sleuth. The guide also contains highly useful advice on how to expand and reinvigorate a search when the trail runs cold -- as it inevitably will. Tips on using the Internet as both a starting point and a supplement to more traditional searches are especially useful and timesaving. Author Anthony Adolph balances detailed instruction and guidance with humorous anecdotes and illuminating history lessons, ensuring an informative and entertaining read. In contrast to previous genealogy books, this guide is conscious of the multicultural background of contemporary Britain, and will be an essential tool for anyone whose ancestors came from outside of the UK. With a highly modern look and engaging style, this book should become the standard guide to amateur genalogy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Suits the novice genealogist or casual reader.” -- Library Journal

About the Author

Anthony Adolph was co-presenter of Channel 4's Extraordinary Ancestors, and is the research director of the UK's oldest firm of private genealogists.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 350 pages
• Publisher: Harper UK; illustrated edition edition (October 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007158920
• ISBN-13: 978-0007158928
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,454,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Collins Tracing Your Family History, February 2, 2006

By 

Dr J. Martin (Suffolk, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tracing Your Family History (Collins S.) (Hardcover)

This is an updated edition of a book that was first published in 2004. It is well produced and lavishly illustrated, though some sections could have done with a bit of basic, old-fashioned editorial work and proof-reading. The author, an experienced professional genealogist, covers all the standard sources: oral evidence; birth, marriage and death certificates; census returns; wills, and so on. But there are also useful sections on subjects not touched on by earlier books on family history, such as the implications of DNA technology for genealogists, and the tracing of ancestors who were not born in Great Britain. It is particularly helpful to have an up-to-date address list, which includes some of the most useful websites. In all, a valuable addition to any family historian's library, whether they are a beginner or an old hand.

4.0 out of 5 stars Reference book, January 28, 2006

By 

Chris Pomery (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tracing Your Family History (Collins S.) (Hardcover)

'Tracing Your Family History' is an excellent guide and reference book that will be useful for any genealogist starting out on a serious family history quest. Not owning Mark Herber's similarly aimed book, 'Ancestral Trails', which at a whopping 840 pages is more than twice the size of Adolph's volume, I can't compare the two, but TYFH is certainly a book that's designed to be used and would make an excellent present for someone starting out in their research. It's the kind of book that's worth dipping in to, and returning to from time to time, as well as reading from cover to cover.

Its chapters are structured by category of record, which means that it is easy find everything you need about specific types or sets of records in one place. This is useful as, once your family history investigation gets under way, this is usually the way one organises the research process.

One danger facing any author in this field is that the internet references quickly become dated. TYFH has a large number of URLs that can be usefully followed up, in fact more than enough to keep an assiduous researcher fully occupied for many, many months. However, if you're the kind of researcher that has to nail down every reference or potential website record then you probably need Peter Christian's 'The Genealogist's Internet', now in its third edition, as well.

It's hard to imagine any single book containing everything that a present-day genealogist would ever want, the range of documentary materials transcribed and online records available is simply too great, but this is an exellent single-volume description of the field that covers the full scope that almost all family history projects will ever need.

5.0 out of 5 stars A fountain of excellent practical advice, January 18, 2006

By 

J. Essinger (Canterbury UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tracing Your Family History (Collins S.) (Hardcover)

This book is informed with the intelligence, love of the subject and sheer practical utility that the genealogist Anthony Adolph brings to his numerous television appearances. It is a fountain of excellent practical advice and a splendid introduction to this utterly fascinating subject. Highly recommended!