Who Do You Think You Are?: The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History

I have been doing my family history and genealogical research for over 7 years now and I wanted a basic primer book to review so I wouldn't miss anything. This is a great starting point for novice genealogists.

Although promoted as a "companion" to the popular TV series, this good and enjoyable guide to beginning genealogy really has little to do with the show, except for a color section in the middle covering each of the participants. Instead it's a nuts-and-bolts guide to 1) getting started on your family-history quest, and 2) the most commonly-used (and some not-so-common) records.Smolenyak writes enthusiastically and well. She is passionate about her subject and it shows.In some ways, the book suffers for the same reasons that the TV show suffers: it makes it look too easy. This is probably unavoidable in a beginning guide or a popular TV show since covering all the caveats might turn off the audience. That said, I wish there had been at least some emphasis on how one might go about developing skills, such as taking classes (which are often free or inexpensive), attending conferences, etc. Also lacking is any meaningful discussion of evaluation of and analysis of all of the various pieces of evidence one finds; obviously this can't be done thoroughly in a book like this, but it should at least be addressed.The author works for [...], the giant online genealogical service; although it is noted on the jacket blurb, in the interest of full disclosure she could have been a little more forthcoming about that relationship throughout the book when one of ancestry's features or databases takes center stage. Her recommendation of [...]'s member tree feature (as her first suggestion for software to use for your data) is ludicrous; I would be very surprised if that is her own database software of choice. (Save the comments: I'm a whole-world subscriber to ancestry.com and think it's a fabulous and essential resource.)What I especially like about this book, in addition to the writing, is its begin-at-the-beginning approach (start with yourself and work back); this may seem obvious, but it's not obvious to many beginners. There is a good section on home sources, talking to relatives, etc. The record examples and illustrations are great: generally from the famous or infamous (Chef Boyardee and Al Capone, to name a couple). Smolenyak's chapter about her search for President Obama's Irish ancestors is one of the best parts of the book because it illustrates difficult aspects to resolving a genealogical problem and, in this case, doesn't make it look easy.I recommend this book for anyone who wants to begin researching their family and to more experienced researchers who will probably find, as I did, some new (particularly online) resources.

"Who Do You Think You Are?""Who Do Think You Are?" The Essential Guide to Tracing Your Family History, A companion To The NBC SeriesBy Megan Smolenyak [2], Chief Genealogical ConsultantViking Penguin2009ISBN 978-0-670-02163-5When my preordered book arrived, it was probably one of the most anticipated books I had ordered in quite some time!Having been a fan of Megan's for a long time, I already knew it was going to be good.Megan takes us on a journey, in plain, simple language, and easy understanding, to find our ancestors.She fully explains the "tools of the trade" for someone who knows absolutely not one thing about genealogy, other than having a desire to trace their family history. But she does it in such a way that those of us who have been doing just such research for many years, finds it a pleasant recall and entertaining! Never is it boring, stuffy or redundant.She touches on each of the NBC series participants, without giving so much away that we are let down when we actually watch the appropriate episode. Instead, we find ourselves saying, "I'm so glad she didn't give too much away! What a great show!"In nine, easy-to-read chapters, Megan takes us through preparing for the search; using the Internet to assist us in our search; how to utilize the census records; using vital records [birth, marriage and death]; military records; performing research in other countries; and passing on our research through sharing.If you haven't purchased your copy of "Who Do You Think You Are?" yet, I highly encourage you to get one now. Even if you've been researching for a long time, you're going to find some great vital information that you either didn't know about, or you have forgotten about! And if you are new to the "genie" bug, then I can't think of a better book to help you get started!

"Who Do You Think You Are? The Essential Guide To Tracing Your Family History" is not only a superb starter manual for those just beginning to do their family research, but is also a great refresher for the more advanced genealogist. I know this to be true from experience. While I have owned this book for months now, it has taken me quite awhile to finish it because I kept stopping to take notes and getting sidetracked by checking out the websites listed in the book.And its not enough that this book has provided many new avenues for my genealogy research, but being an enjoyable read as well differentiates it from a mere instruction manual. Not only did I enjoy the humor which is sprinkled throughout, like when Megan refers to herself as, "...the most proportionate new citizen", but I also thought that her examples using the famous and infamous made the illustrations much more interesting. For instance, you will never guess the occupation listed on Al Capone's WWI draft registration, its rather amusing!The middle of the book contains a glossy paper section with color photos of the celebrities profiled on the first season of the U.S. version of "Who Do You Think You Are?". If you have not yet viewed these shows (which are available online on NBC's website) then I'd recommend you wait to read this section as it may contain "spoilers" for you. The great thing about these profiles is that they contain little golden nuggets of information that do not appear in the shows. One example is the book shares a fact about what Lisa Kudrow's father did upon retirement that isn't mentioned in the show. But I'm not going to spoil it for you, you'll just have to watch the show and read the book to find out what it is!

American version, so be aware.....look for the UK version

Book was as described but didn’t call out that it is aimed at American research rather than UK - still interesting if you have US lines in your tree

A great book and full of helpful facts and contact details. Useful if you reach a dead-end, and it suggests alternative approaches. Very good when I was trying to research Ireland and kept hitting problems.

Great book full of tips to starting family history.

bought as a gift