Writing Family Histories and Memoirs: Polking, Kirk: 9781558703940: Amazon.com: Books

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Writing Family Histories and Memoirs Paperback – April 1, 1995

by Kirk Polking (Author)

22 ratings

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$9.01

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$21.95

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Print length

272 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Writers Digest Books
Publication date

April 1, 1995
Dimensions

6.25 x 0.75 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1558703942
ISBN-13

978-1558703940
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Whether you want to whip up a light and fluffy story of your family for the next holiday gathering, or craft the world's greatest novel by drawing upon your personal and family history, this is a very practical writing guide appropriate for experienced writers and complete novices alike.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Writers Digest Books; 1st edition (April 1, 1995)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1558703942
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1558703940
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,584 in Research Reference Books
- #2,016 in Genealogy (Books)
- #4,695 in Writing Skill Reference (Books)

Customer Reviews:
22 ratings

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4 star		27%
3 star		8%
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Top reviews from the United States

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Concise Guide for Writing Histories

Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2016

Verified Purchase

Excellent condition as described; received promptly. A few penciled underlined phrases; however, this is not a distraction and they are erasable. The book is organized nicely and the Table of Contents enables the reader to locate specific sections easily, through the outlined sub-headings. A well written, concise book with Bibliography and Index.

One person found this helpful

Wonderful information, just what I needed for the three ...

Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2016

Verified Purchase

Wonderful information, just what I needed for the three books I want to write. One of the better books on this subject.

Francita L. Gasche

Good for both memoirs and family history narration

Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good for both memoirs and family history narration. FG

An excellent resource

Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2016

Verified Purchase

An excellent book, very readable, and thoughtfully written, with the voice of experience.
A bit dated with references to recording cassette tapes, but this does not take away from
the overall excellence.

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

Good resource

FOund good suggestions

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2013

Verified Purchase

Polking presented good suggestions on how to write family memoirs. I found it helpful as I started to write my own.

foltz@writewithyou.com

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2000

I wish I had written this book. It is balanced and complete. I discovered it only after I had self-published a much smaller and simpler guide to writing family stories. Where my brief encouragement to older family members is intended to give them the confidence to write, Kirk Polking's 250-page summary will help even a seasoned writer in putting the family histories and memoirs on paper. My only reservation in recommending the book is that it definitely is not for the beginning writer. The writing examples are excellent and demonstrate her points well. However, one must assume that the would-be writer is well-versed in the rules of English usage and familiar with the finer concepts such as voice and tone.
I had intended to write a second guide to help my new storywriters in fine-tuning their actual writing content and individual writing stye. That is already covered quite well in Chapter 15, Self Editing Your FInal Manusctript. I especially appreciate the Twenty Rules for Good Writing, which Polking attributes to the Writer's Digest School, which she once directed.
My third book would have been intended for the more sophisticated taste and style of a good writer; exactly what Kirk Polking's manual has done for us. That is why I envy her accomplishment.
I recommend the book as a fine reference at a fair price.

55 people found this helpful

Family Historian

Exactly what I was looking for

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2009

Very useful book! Not only does it provide topic ideas for writing about your family history, it provides excerpts from memoirs that demonstrate how to approach the task in an entertaining fashion rather than writing, "so and so begat so and so and so and so did such and such." This book led me to Shirley Abbott's "Womenfolks: Growing Up Down South," which I truly loved for its approach and for the historical and sociological background it provided.

2 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Faithead

Good but resources are all for the United States so buyer be aware

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2017

Verified Purchase

The writing itself seems quite user friendly but all of the resources are for the United States so it is utterly useless as a source material book for a writer in the UK. I feel this should have been made more clear as if I had been aware I probably wouldn't have bought it. That being said, there seems to be a fair amount on how to go about the practicalities of gathering family stories & actually settling down to write so I don't feel this is a completely wasted purchase.

Darlene Davidson

Writing family histories and memors

Reviewed in Canada on June 4, 2016

Verified Purchase

The best book I have read related to writing family histories. Many wonderful examples presented which clearly provides guidelines for thinking about how one might write their own histories or memoirs. There are also clear and concise ideas about format and style. I highly recommend this book.

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2017

Verified Purchase

The book was/is in excellent condition, much beyond my expectation.

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