Review
An enormous amount of research in seldom-utilized records has enabled Ms. Bennett to write a beautifully documented, in-depth account. ... Reading this book is an enriching experience; the story is finely detailed; the pictures are unexpectedly numerous and fine. --
Rowan County, North Carolina Register, Review, May 1996Ancestry unlocked: Katie Brown Bennett defied the 'experts' and traced her personal history to slaves in North Carolina during 1700s. --
The Raleigh North Carolina News & Observer, October 11, 1996Bennett's book isn't a mere remodeling of Alex Haley's famed "Roots" saga; it's intended as a guidebook for people who want to trace their heritage, especially those who may become discouraged by the lack of information on slave families. --
Connecticut Post, January 13, 1997Bennett's chronicle of her African American ancestry is an interesting account of eight generations... the author has compiled an impressive body of data. Enhancements are good, including maps, photographs of black and white ancestors, and reproductions of such original records as bills of sale, lists of slaves, and records from the Freedmen's Bureau.
The work is a useful contribution to African American genealogy. Through extensive research, Bennett demonstrates that nonwhites can trace their family history before the Civil War. -- National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Review, September 1997
Evident throughout her book is Ms. Bennett's great pride in her family heritage. Historical research has been emphasized; with great care she has placed her ancestors into the context of contemporary life. The story of her family, racially blended in the generation of her second great grandparents (Hiram Brown 1821 - 1879 and Malinda, a slave, 1819-1885) is told with honesty and pride. She is a good writer and characters from the past leap to life on every page. -- North Carolina Genealogical Society, Review, October, 1996
Her discoveries were made on a long, twisting, frustrating fascinating and ultimately rewarding journey through three centuries. Along the way she met scores of relatives, living and dead, whom she presents in her book not as faceless names on a genealogical list, but as diverse and compelling people in a real-life drama, all connected by the inescapable bond of family. -- The Advocate, Greenwich, CT Time, February 9, 1997
Katie Brown Bennett would add that family stories just might save your life. Her digging did more than forge an emotional kinship with the ancestors whose survival ensured her existence: It yielded medical clues to chronic asthma - which killed her paternal grand-father and a maternal great-great uncle. -- The Atlanta Journal/The Atlanta Constitution, February 16, 1997
Tar heel roots: Katie Brown Bennett's search for her ancestors brought her face to face with slave records from North Carolina. Now her genealogy book is being hailed as a historical record of slave life in this area. -- The Durham, North Carolina Herald Sun, October 20, 1996
They said it couldn't be done - that Blacks can't easily trace their ancestry -- but Katie Bennett ... has proved them wrong. Bennett ... unraveled the tangled branches of her family tree to identify her slave ancestors. Soaking the Yule Log is her story of how she accomplished it, and how other African-American (and White) families can use her methods to discover their genealogies. -- Colorado Springs, CO, Gazette Telegraph, February 4, 1996
From the Publisher
Soaking the Yule Log is a MUST for your library. In addition to PEOPLE Magazine (Nov. 16, 1998), this book has been featured in hundreds of major newspapers throughout the country. The National Geneaolgical Society, which selects relatively few books for critical review, chose Soaking the Yule Log and stated '... the author has compiled an impressive body of data .... the work is a useful contribution to African American genealogy .... Through extensive research, Bennett demonstrates that nonwhites CAN trace their family history before the Civil War'" (Volume 85, Number 3, September 1997)
