A Student's Guide to Italian American Genealogy (Oryx American Family Tree Series) [Hardcover]

Terra Castiglia Brockman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 24, 1996 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up | Series: Oryx American Family Tree Series

This series of student research tools explains the process of genealogical research while creating opportunities to practice and integrate social studies skills. It aims to promote better student understanding of solid research techniques and enhances the American curriculum. The series supplements the thematic strands in the New Curriculum standards for social studies in American schools, such as: culture, time, continuity, and change; individual development and identity; power, authority, and governance; people, places, and environment; individuals, groups, and institutions; global connections. The series also aims to provide students with the opportunity to practice the historian's craft as they learn how to: collect data; use the latest electronic research tools; obtain and evaluate documents and sources; conduct and record eyewitness acounts of historical events in family life. Each volume also explains to students the "whys" and "hows" of tracing their roots if they are adopted or come from non-tradtional families.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up?Picking up where Lila Perl's The Great Ancestor Hunt (Clarion, 1989) leaves off, these books provide the actual details of researching ancestors from specific nationalities. Each one follows a similar format of introducing the country, ethnic group, and emigration to America. The organization of the books differs after these initial chapters, with each focusing on different ways to chronicle a family history. The authors are realistic about the research, cautioning readers about reluctant interviewees and the expense that might be incurred. The tone, however, remains enthusiastic in both. Both books also touch upon adoption and how one can search for birth parents. Extensive, annotated lists of resources appear at the end of each chapter, and include Internet sites, computer programs, and addresses and phone numbers of related government agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Full-color and black-and-white photos lend an attractive touch. These books should be the first stop for students interested in tracing their roots for a school or family project, or for personal knowledge about their heritage.?Carol Fazioli, Cardinal Hayes Library, Manhattan College, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“A Student's Guide to Italian American Genealogy teaches students to collect data, obtain and evaluate documents and use the latest electronic tools for researching, conducting and recording eyewitness accounts of historical events in family life.”–The National Italian American News Bureau

“The authors are realistic about the research, cautioning readers about reluctant interviewees and the expense that might be incurred....Extensive, annotated lists of resources appear at the end of each chapter, and include Internet sites, computer programs, and addresses and phone numbers of related government agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Full-color and black-and-white photos lend an attractive touch. These books should be the first stop for students interested in tracing their roots for a school or family project, or for personal knowledge about their heritage.”–School Library Journal

“...this guide is concisely written and packed with information....Particularly enjoyable to this reviewer was the special attention paid to immigrant women and nontraditional families, subjects not often covered in beginners books.”–Italian Genealogical Group

“Each volume provides an easy to understand overview of the history of immigration and culture in the U.S. for the particular ethnic group....Where these books shine, for the student and adult genealogist, is in the resource listings....For students, these books provide a great way of getting started in genealogy and learning about the life and heritage of their ancestors. For adult researchers these books provide excellent resources to move beyond the genealogical books into learning about the history, culture and experience of their ancestors.”–FGS Forum

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oryx Press; annotated edition edition (May 24, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897749731
• ISBN-13: 978-0897749732
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,247,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terra Brockman was born in Florida (where her father was earning his PhD in genetics, and where her older brother inadvertently chopped off part of her finger when she was two), but raised in central Illinois, where four generations of her family had farmed.

Of course she couldn't wait to leave what seemed a capital B Backwater, so she "lit out for the territories" when she was eighteen. After spending time at the University of Oregon and the University of California at Berkeley, and finishing up an undergraduate and graduate degree in English Literature and Biology at Illinois State University, she went to Japan and worked as a teacher, writer, and editor for five years, and then to New York City where she worked as a writer and editor for almost a decade.

During those years, she traveled extensively, from Nepal to Eritrea to Morocco to the Baltics. While visiting "third world" countries she found she often ate better foods than in the U.S. because their foods were fresh, local, and unprocessed. As she gradually returned to her roots in central Illinois, Terra realized that the best food in the world could and should be grown in the rich soils of Illinois and that it was a matter of national security that communities be able to feed themselves.

In 2001, she founded The Land Connection, a nonprofit working to save farmland, train new farmers, and connect consumers with fresh local foods. Terra has eaten bacon-wrapped duck testicles, but her favorite food is a lightly fried duck egg on toast.

Terra regularly writes and speaks on food and agriculture topics. More information is available at TerraBrockman"dot"com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the serious genealogy hobbiest, July 10, 2009

By 

Jesse G. Taylor "Songcatcher" (Tacoma, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Student's Guide to Italian American Genealogy (Oryx American Family Tree Series) (Hardcover)

I am attempting to research relatives that immigrated from Italy in the later 19th century. This book takes a lot of time to explain how to do genealogy, a little space to explain why these people immigrated in such large numbers at that time, and virtually no space devoted to researching records in Italy.

3.0 out of 5 stars Strong on history - short on strategies, March 10, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Student's Guide to Italian American Genealogy (Oryx American Family Tree Series) (Hardcover)

Chapter 2, The History of Italian Immigration, is very well done!! It really helped me understand why my grandparents would have left Gimigliano, Italy in 1906 and what their journey to Ellis Island might have been like. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Brockman told this tale. The remaining chapters on genealogical search strategies and resources were helpful - but duplicates of information you find elsewhere. The value of the book is in the first 86 pages.