Customer Reviews

How to Do Local History: Research * Write * Publish: A Guide for Historians and Clients

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Written by Gavin McLean (senior historian at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage) and illustrated with a handful of black-and-white photographs, How To Do Local History is a step-by-step guide for would-be local history writers. From how to handle "difficult" or touchy issues in local history, to formulating the right questions to ask while doing research, to investigating both online and offline historical resources, and considerations to keep in mind when publishing - whether just publishing on a website or printing up a book - How To Do Local History is a seminal primer ideal for genealogists, church and institutional historians, thesis writers, and the people who commission them. "Develop an economical writing style in which you 1) tell the main story and ignore most of the historical sidetracks; and 2) cut the waffle. Compression requires self-discipline and hard work, but the results are worth it. Use your computer's word-counting tool... Rewriting is the key to successful writing. And the key to rewriting is reduction." Though written especially with a New Zealand audience in mind, How To Do Local History is packed cover-to-cover with practical tips, tricks, and techniques sure to prove useful regardless of the reader's background.