Customer Reviews

Netting Your Ancestors : Genealogical Research on the Internet

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...depending on how Net-savvy you already are.

For those who aren't techies, Cyndi gives a very good overview of how to use the Internet to do research and conduct correspondence. That much it does very well.

For those who know how to use the Internet well, and were hoping to find lots of information and leads you couldn't get from search engines or major genealogy sites (such as her own fabulous site), you could be disappointed. Most of the information will be basic, refresher-level stuff that you probably already know.

I'd highly recommend it for people who aren't savvy with computers or the Internet -- for those folks, I'd give this 5 stars out of 5. For those who already know how to use the Internet's resources for research and information-gathering, I can only give it 2 stars. I'm guessing the book is geared toward the former, so my overall ranking of 4 stars is skewed toward a focus on the less tech-savvy among us.

In short -- very good book for those new to this information...but the information is at a very introductory level, and if you understand and accept that before diving in, you won't be disappointed.

Do yourself a favor: buy this book ONLY if you have absolutely NO (and I stress NO) experience with email or the Web. This book came with the geneology software I bought from Amazon. The software is great, but I ask you, would you even buy software if you were so techno-clueless that this book would be even remotely useful? It literally explains how to access a program: "Click on Start - Programs ..."

If you know anything at all about the Internet, the book will be a waste of your time and money. (So if you found your way to this review, this book will be a waste of your time and money.) It is clearly intended for experienced geneologists who have never seen, much less used, a computer. The author claims that this book will be useful even if you have Internet experience. That is the only reason I'm giving this book one star. It's being marketed as if it were for all geneologists, but it could be useful for only a very small percentage of them.

Cyndi's book is just like her web site on genealogy researching -- very thorough. It explains the basics and also provides plenty of resources and instruction for the more advanced and experienced internet researcher looking for help in doing family history research. Don't miss this one if genealogy is your hobby!

I found Netting Your Ancestors to be very thorough in explaining how and where to look on the internet. I reccomend this book to anyone not just a beginning, geneologist but to all geneologist. To go along with this book is Cyndi's website that helps people find all sorts of information.

This book was very useful to me for demystifying the arcane world of the Internet.

The book's family history perspective and examples are directed toward the genealogical researcher who is new to the Internet.

It was a great help to me and I highly recommend it.

I don't know how Cyndi finds time to keep her fabulous web site up-to-date, let alone write a book that will get beginners in Internet genealogy off on the right foot, but she's done it. Now, if she'd just do a second miracle, and write a book for Internet oldbies, too!

I received a copy of this book with my purchase of the Generations family tree software programme.

Being new to the Internet but not to family history, I found this book to be well written in easy-to-understand text.

It was particularly helpful in explaining genealogy mailing lists and how best to participate.

I recommend this book to all of my friends now.

I recieved this book with my purchase of "Generations" family tree software.

As I had not spent much time on the Internet before this, I found the book to be very handy in explaining how to use the Internet effectively for my family tree research. I now keep the book next to my PC for easy reference.

The thing that stands out about this book is its emphasis on the less visible but more powerful parts of the Internet when working on your family tree. It does cover world wide web sites for genealogy but doesn't stop just with these. The effective use of e-mail and genealogy mailing lists are covered in great detail from a family tree researcher's perspective.

If you want to have your e-mail posts about your family tree get the right kind of response, this book tells you how to do it.

I am Pamela Littlefair of Wellington, Ontario, Canada and would like to congratulate Cindy Howells on her super book. Because *Netting your ancestors* is written in a clear concise way, it is very easy to understand for someone who is not a computor geek. I have learned a tremendous lot from it and would certainly give it a high recommendation to anyone interested in Genealogy.

For those of us more familiar with the ins and outs of internet resources (e-mail, newsgroups, search engines, and internet databases), the book could be condensed down from a 182-page book to around 25 pages of lists of resources in a pamphlet. (Or simply by visiting her website.) She does an excellent job of taking the newbie through it all, but I'm a geneology newbie, not a computer newbie, and it's more important to me to know where to look and what to look for, not how to use the tools to do the looking. I miss having a "rating" for how relevant or useful some of the resources she lists are.