Genealogy Books

One of my own sweet sisters gave this book to me for Christmas several years ago. I read it every year to remind myself not to be crass about Christmas and to fling myself joyously into secrets, sharing, and good spirit. The book is a gift to all who celebrate old fashioned values.

Although I grew up in Indiana and am a few years younger than these sisters, I can relate to many of the stories in this book. I read it every December. I also love the recipes - simple, basic, good food. It's one of my favorite books. : )

My wife and I both loved this book--it brought back so many fond memories. Shortly before Christmas, this year, I saw a sequel to this book--but now, I can't remember the name of it; or even if Holly Burkhalter wrote it. Can anyone out there help me with the title / author to the sequel to Four Midwestern Sisters Christmas Book, please?

This books has become an essential part of my own holiday traditions. I read it every year as I prepare for the holidays, and in difficult years I find it cheers me when nothing else will. The recipes are typically simple and Mmmm!. Holly has a bold no-nonsense approach to doing what it takes to have fun during the holidays, while still being sensitive, tender and funny. As a quilter, I particularly loved her recommendation about favorite holiday fabrics (Buy the bolt!). For anyone who either lives, has lived, or who romanticizes rural living, AND loves Christmas, this is a pure pleasure. Thank you, 4 Burkhalter sisters!

This was an easy and fun-to-read book because I also grew up in Iowa, the eldest of four sisters (and six brothers). The traditions and the recipes brought back many memories of wonderful Christmases past.

I'm trying to find four more copies for the four adult daughters of a friend of mine who died this past year. I've told their dad what a meaningful gift it would be for each of them.

This was truly a special book for me to read. And it reminded me how much I treasure my family.

Genealogy 101 by Barbara Renick is a College course in a 241 page book. A perfect book for the beginner or experienced family researcher. Each chapter is full of resources like online websites and addresses for societies and other services that every researcher may need.

Barbara Renick then adds her own stories of success and frustration to help drive each lesson home. Her stories re-enforce a point plus add some entertainment. Barbara's advice will help save me time and frustration. Like the saying goes, those who do not know history are bound to repeat it.

I personally have a drawer full of photo copies, notes, letters and pictures from 20 years of gathering little tidbits of my family history from many different family members. Sometimes the thought of organizing this information seems so daunting a task. Where do I start?

After reading this book, I feel very prepared and confident of where to start. I have a plan and so many resources that my tree should rapidly grow with my ancestors and their stories. I see this book becoming a well worn tool and companion on my genealogical journey that can now begin.

I am getting into geneology to see if we are related to Cotton Mather, the famous 18th century preacher involved with the Salem witch trials. There has always been a unproven rumor in my family that he is a cousin through my maternal great grandfather Mather's side of the family tree. As a result, knowing nothing about geneology, but being retired and having time to do research, maybe now is the time. I therefore bought a book with the most logical title, Geneology 101, written by an accomplished and enthusiastic geneologist of her own family, Barbera Renick, to get some general idea of how to proceed and what the ground-rules are.

Barbera Reneck has spent the last 30 years looking into her family history and seems almost like an evangelist for geneology. As a result,I found that her book was more information than I was looking for; but, then again, I need the lay of the land, and too much information might not necessarily be bad. She cautions us how important it is to cross-check and analyze information; for example, it is a good idea to double-check dates to make sure a person's age at birth, marriage, first child, and death flow and coordinate properly. Also, one should analyze the relative accuracies of the sources. A case in point is a death certificate, which is likely to be more accurate than an article in the paper covering the death, or a note in the family bible covering the death. She also recommended hooking up with a geneology society, reading geneological articles and newsletters, taking classes, and doing whatever you can do to get connected with the subject matter you are seeking.

I was a little surprised that she seemed to want to find every distant cousin and great great uncle in every branch of the family tree. Maybe I'll change my mind later, but now I am just interested in tracing my heritage back in time in a focused way, just going after direct ancestors. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind later, and expand my research.

Since I hope to do most of my research online, I was pleased for the websites she recommended, and especially for recommending a follow-up book called Online Roots.

The book seems like a good starting point for someone new like myself. I'll let you know later.

As a member of the board of directors of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Barbara Renick brings a special expertise to Genealogy 101: How To Trace Your Family's History And Heritage. This handy and practical guide covers all of the steps of learning more about one's family, ranging from the tools available to a novice genealogist; to dealing with issues such as culture shock; and the good and bad aspects of using the internet as a resource. Genealogy 101 is strongly recommended as being a superbly organized and presented beginner's instructional manual. Also very highly recommended for the genealogical instructional reference shelf and published by Rutledge Hill Press is Online Roots: How To Discover Your Family's History And Heritage With The Power Of The Internet, the expert and collaborative effort of professional genealogists Pamela Boyer Porter and Amy Johnson Crow.

This is a great book!! And a must-have for beginning and intermediate genealogists. I wish that it had been in the bookstores when I started working on my family history two years ago. Not only the rudimentary basics of querying family members are covered but also strategies for searching online--databases, library catalogs, and repositories.

Renick assists readers in developing a research strategy and tutors in the importance of accurate documentation. Get this book!!

Because genealogy is possibly the most popular hobby or avocation in the U.S. today, there is no shortage of how-to books aimed at the novice - though very few of them are really useful. Still, anyone publishing a new basic textbook faces stiff competition. The more expert and experienced the author, the more accurate the information presented is going to be, and Renick is certainly a widely-known and respected author and lecturer, as well as an experienced teacher. Moreover, she combines attention to the most essential lessons in fundamental genealogical instruction with an easy, informal style, successfully walking the narrow line between textbookishness and superficial offhandedness. She expects her audience to include not only complete novices, but those who attempted unsuccessfully to carry out family research without foreknowledge of methods and sources, and also those who have picked up bits of information on the Internet and don't quite know what to do with them. Of course, any well-written text can also serve as a refresher for the experienced family researcher.

For all these classes of reader, the author makes her key points early and often: Start with yourself. Record everything you find, and everything you don't find. Cite your sources for all of it. Don't throw anything out or disregard information that might be useful later, or to someone else. Don't make assumptions about names or dates or places, or anything else. There are excellent chapters on basic method (including answers to such beginners' questions as "How far back can I go?"), interviewing relatives (because Renick assumes you're interested primarily in researching your own family first, not someone else's), assembling your results in a logical way that identifies your next set of questions (organization is everything), and why and how to profitably use computers in keeping track of your research (without taking sides over the question of "best" software, though she uses Legacy for examples). She tends to spend less time on the best genealogical use of Internet resources, referring the reader instead to Online Roots, another volume in this series which is reviewed below. She'll show you in detail how to begin what she calls the Survey Phase and how to progress through it to the Research Phase, including how to document your search, how genealogists prefer to handle dates and abbreviations (and why), and goal-setting as a research tool. She covers libraries of all types, writing and reading queries, commercial electronic databases (though I wish she hadn't mentioned Brøderbund's World Family Tree series so uncritically), and the evaluation of compiled sources and published family histories. Then comes the Evaluation Phase, including how to properly evaluate data and construct hypotheses for testing, and how to recognize success when you experience it. (It's not always obvious.)

Finally, she addresses the questions of publishing what you've discovered (not just to stroke egos but to preserve your labors for future researchers), preserving photographs and fragile documents, whether or not you should consider joining lineage societies, and the role of serendipity, which genealogists learn early never to underestimate. You may need to consult a professional at some point, perhaps to carry out research for you overseas, and she provides excellent advice on all aspects of this complex subject. You may even want to become a "professional" of some kind yourself. And throughout all of this, Renick strews carefully targeted, tightly drawn anecdotes, taken mostly from her own diverse family, as illustrations of what she's saying.

So: Is this the "best book available"? It may well be. It's certainly a very strong contender. Anyone teaching a basic genealogy class could do far worse than to adopt this as their textbook. If you have a younger relative you're trying to interest in taking up the family's history, give them a copy. If you think you're too experienced to need a book with "101" in the title, read it anyway. You won't regret it.

This is a REAL HIGHLIGHT out of the last "creative period" of Nietzsche, dating from about one and a half year before he fell in that cruel mental illness (NOT syphillis, as is told in the streets...), that lead him to his death: HE WROTE THIS BOOK IN ONE BREATHE, WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, IN 3 WEEKS: FROM JULY 10th UNTIL JULY 30th OF 1887 !!! In his "Genealogy" we find back some basic concepts, principles of ethics as there are "GOOD AND EVIL", "GUILT AND CONSCIENCE" and "THE ASCETIC IDEAL". These subjects stay central anywhere in the book. But the author DOES NOT AT ALL "TREAT" these notions conform to their normal usage in the philosophy of morality. He is NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT THEY (the morals) MEAN, or in THEIR VALUE in whatever kind of morality, NOR in their NORMATIVE VALUE OR MERIT. Instead he is in search of their "BIRTH", their "ORIGIN" and in how they "FUNCTION" in an organised society.

Again, it is NOT IMPORTANT to Nietzsche what is the VALUE of this or that action. WHAT IS REALLY OF IMPORTANCE HERE IS THE VALUE/MERIT OF THIS OR THAT VALUE ITSELF. As he wrote (and said so many times): "WE NEED A CRITICISM OF MORAL VALUES: FIRST OF ALL, THE VALUE OF THESE VALUES MUST BE QUESTIONED." As to him there doesn't exist anything like a linear, progressive development of morality: the latter is the RESULT of the eternal combat between "masters and slaves", between "those who govern and those that are being reigned over". Each of these "GROUPS" tries - ALWAYS AND EVERYWHERE - to acquire as much power as possible versus the other.
MORALITY ("MORALS") IS THE MOST IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT - IF NOT BY EXCELLENCE - IN THIS FIGHT, THIS COMBAT, WHICH IS THE RESULT OF THE DRIFT, THE PASSION OF EACH MAN OR GROUP: THE WILL FOR POWER.

This MASTERPIECE from the giant German philosopher DOES NOT READ like a novel. BUT THE BOOK IS SO IMPORTANT FOR THE THOUGHTS, THIS HIGHEST-LEVEL THINKING of this genius concerning morals which he describes, even DISSECTS here. "Not an easy read" DOES NOT MEAN that it can't and/or shouldn't be read! ON THE CONTRARY: THANKS TO THE ENORMOUS LITERARY TALENT OF NIETZSCHE, THE THEMES AND THOUGHTS THAT TOUCH, AFFECT ALL OF US EVERY DAY, THIS WORK "NEEDS" OUR ATTENTION (and vice versa).
TO EVERY READER WHO KNOWS THE IMPORTANCE OF INTROSPECTION, AND WHO WANTS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF "OUR MORALS", I RECOMMEND THIS "GENEALOGY" (OH YES, HE CHOSE THE RIGHT WORDS...) OUT OF MY HEART AND REASON. NONE OF YOU WILL EVER REGRET HAVING READ THIS SO "MATURE" MASTERPIECE, WHICH TOUCHES ALL OF OUR BEINGS AND SOULS.

What Socrates tried to build troughout his whole life, Nietzsche almost destroyed in couple of books. Said like this, it seems simplistic enough, but it is far from that. To understand Nietzsche, one has to reach much deeper than Nietzsche's words suggest. One has to know Schoppenhauer, has to now french philosophers, contractualist, and most of all one has to know greek philosophy. And greek culture. The place where it all began. At least for the westerners. Nietzsche was also great admirer and critic of Indian, Vedanta tradition, so to understand Nietzsche one will eventualy have to travel even to those horisons, which are in itself something completely different.

Why am I saying all of this?

Because it is often proven that it is too easy to misread Nietzsche, calling him an emerging point from which Nacism rose, and putting him, with Plato in a place where inventors of fascist state sleep their eternal sleep.

One has to be careful when reading Nietzsche. It is too easy to insert meaning which are not present in the text. And in that manner, it is easy to create philosophy totaly alien from its author.

If one wants to travel deep inside the Nietzsches core, one should start his journey with this book. It seems to be the most grateful for begginners. Not to mention that it is excellent for trying different approach to history of morals, approach that is in a way revolutionary if we were not customed to it nowadays. But in time of Nietzsches life, this sounded outrageous.

It may stand as constant reminder, if some of you forgot that, how radical criticism is not looked upon with kindness.

These are just few words which doesen't explain a thing in fact, but if you are at least interested in history (or geneaology) of morals, and conceptual problems which rise from it, you should definitely read this book.

Nietzsche, like no other philosopher that I have read, has changed the way that I see the world. This is a book to read if you want to learn something about yourself. Nietzsche may have gone insane and had delusions that he was God, but he revolutionised modern thought. There is a special place in hell for German philosophers, but it's a place that's worth visiting.

This particular piece of Nietzsche's writing is a marvelous work - it is interesting and lively, much as Nietzsche's own writing and tendency toward the dramatic was noted by his contemporaries.

Nietzsche's father was a Lutheran minister, but he died five years after Nietzsche's birth in 1844. Nietzsche was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunts; later in his life, his sister would become executor of his estate (after Nietzsche had become incapable of managing his own affairs) and reshape his philosophy and writings in her own idea - this becomes a running motif in later anthologies of Nietzsche; editors can quote and clip to fit their own agendas. In some ways, that is true of the text here, but in much less inappropriate ways than others, particularly Nietzsche's first editor, his sister.

Nietzsche was a star pupil from his earliest days at university in Bonn and Leipzig. His formal study was in classical philology, but his attentions turned in various directions quickly during his writing and professional life - he had an intense interest in drama and the arts, with Wagner's music and Greek drama in principal interest. His first book was devoted to these topics - 'The Birth of Tragedy'. It was not highly regarded at the time, but has since become much more appreciated as an anticipation of later developments in philosophy and aesthetics.

Nietzsche's life after this period was a very choppy one - he left the university, claiming illness, and while this developed later to be a true situation, at the time is was probably academic politics and difficulties fitting in with the establishment he was trying to break. He had a formal falling-out with Wagner, even writing later a piece entitled ' Nietzsche contra Wagner', finished just a few week prior to his going insane.

In another edition, Walter Kaufmann states that Nietzsche's real career took off after his active life was over; under his sister's direction, many of the writings Nietzsche had managed to do and not get published, or which were published but forgotten, really took off in major directions. While his major works of Zarathustra, Ecce Homo, Will to Power and Genealogy of Morals were in various editions of disrepair (indeed, the Will to Power was never more complete than a series of notes), Nietzsche had a knack for language that made him very quotable, and his influence continued to grow well into the first half of the twentieth century, influencing art, philosophy, history, and politics in dramatic ways, if not always the ways in which Nietzsche envisioned.

For example, Nietzsche was not particularly impressed with the 'typical' German anti-semitism, which later erupted into the Nazi movement. He considered it rather bourgeois, and while he undoubted had his own issues with Jews (Nietzsche had issues with almost everyone, particularly any group, Christians included, who had a religious connection), the Nazi use of Nietzsche's work owes more to Nietzsche's sister's influence than anyone else.

'The Genealogy of Morals' is perhaps the closest in form to English-speaking philosophical discourse. This is a discussion that involves philosophy, psychology and linguistic theory, looking at morality in three different essays. The first essay explores the idea of good and evil as good and bad; Nietzsche develops the idea of master and slave morality - the slave resists the ideas of the master, and thus values things that are less likely to gain power - Nietzsche sees Christianity as an example of slave morality.

The second essay looks at the issues of conscience and guilt, and how these spawned the invention of gods. The third essay concludes the work with a look at ascetic ideas, how these relate to aesthetic ideas, and where in Nietzsche's opinion the great philosophers of the past have gone wrong.

In his book Ecce Homo (first published posthumously), Nietzsche analyses his own work piece by piece, as well as gives an overall assessment of his life. Nietzsche's insights into his own writings in hindsight is fascinating to behold. His own idea of 'The Genealogy of Morals' can be found in this piece as follows:

'Regarding expression, intention, and the art of suprise, the three inquiries which constitute this Genealogy are perhaps uncannier than anything else written so far. Dionysus is, as is known, also the god of darkness.'

Nietzsce is not easy reading, and this work is not the best for casual reading or the first-time reader of Nietzsche. However, for those who have already made some headway into understanding him, this is a good volume.

This is the intelligent man or woman's bible. It shows just how morals came to be. How they have dictated our lives ever since they have been created. How they have changed our society, and especially how they have silenced the common man. Nietzsche is, for lack of a better word, brillant. His writing never ever loses its passion. He believes in what he writes and he supports it even more, with not just what Christians call "athiest dogma" but with theory and evne fact.

He outlines how "Good and Evil" really came to be. How what we define as good is only what the people in power (the rich and people of religion) tell us is good. They only share with us the good that keeps us in line, not what sets us free. This is what Nietzsche outlines so very well. This book is brillant, one of a kind, and possibly one of his most important novels.

No matter your race, religion, or creed, I hope you check this book out. It is worth your time, trust me. What he talks about affects us all and should be shared in the public. It really is a shame that even today, long after his death, his words still have not had the affect they should have had.

If you've ever had a question about preserving a single headstones or need a complete primer to fully restore a historic graveyard, this book tells how. I admit I was unaware the "Association For Gravestone Studies" existed before reading this book, but the AGS has compliled a wealth of information and photos here. The book is concise, less than 200 pages, but proof a book doesn't need be thick and heavy as a 10 Lb. bag of kitty litter to cover a topic thoroughly. The wealth of actual grave marker photos are very interesting in themselves. Dozens of actual photos illustrate, no better way to understand how correct and incorrect methods can damage or beautifully restore 18th and 19th century headstones. For projects bigger than preserving a single headstone or family plot, information is included on everything from understanding symbolism on historic markers to acquiring funding for graveyard restoration, assessment, cleaning, landscaping, rules posting, survey forms, involving voluteers, even legislation proposal. There is also an appendix of sources to contact for Contractors, Conservators and Carvers in your area. This book is well worth the money, and will not end up in your next yard sale!

The Graveyard Preservation Primer is a must read for anyone interested in the reasons to save old graveyards and how to go about doing so in a respectful and historically accurate manner. Her book is well researched and well written. It is straightforward and simple enough for novices, yet has enough insightful information for even the most informed reader. Her topics range from how to organize volunteers to do gravestone and graveyard cleaning to photographic techniques to get outstanding records of the stones. Her suggestions for cleaning techniques are well researched and very sound. Overall, this is just a superb manual. A must read before any work is done on an old graveyard. It will also enhance the experience of the graveyard afficionado, by exposing them to a whole new set of ways to observe the gravestones and yard.

This provides exactly the information one needs to (a) appreciate the historical and material sensitivity of gravestones/markers; and the techniques, tools, and materials available to the interested amateur as well as professional to appropriately salvage, restore and protect these sensitive, often forgotten, resources. Especially useful for 17th-19th century graveyards and markers.

You'd think to clean an old gravestone all you'd need is a wire brush and some bleach, right? Or maybe a sand blaster? Turns out, that couldn't be more wrong. A Graveyard Preservation Primer is the most up to date guide for those wishing to conserve the old stones in their local graveyards, without unwittingly causing more damage. Materials and techniques for safely ridding stones of lichen, molds, and just plain dirt are explained, and they turn out to be surprisingly simple. But get ready to apply some good old fashioned elbow grease. As far as conserving/repairing stones that have already incurred damage, this has now become science, and Strangstad warns that it should not be undertaken by amateurs, however well-intentioned. Suggestions for locating professional assistance are included in this comprehensive manual. Anyone interested in cemetery preservation should begin by reading this work.

This is a great concise, basic book on graveyard preservation - a real "primer" indeed. Anyone interested in such work should read this through at least once before ever attempting it, then it can be a quick reference after that. Covers briefly yet thoroughly all aspects of gravesite preservation, explaining what you'll have to think about even if it can't give you precise instruction. Lynnette Strangstad, writing for the Association for Gravestone Studies (AGS), does a fine job and includes bibliography and even some possible contacts for proceeding on preservation.

Was actually searching Google for something and up popped sites for this previously unheard of (by me) trilogy. By amazing chance, what should come up on one site was P50, vol 1, and there I found our family and the distressing sentence, "Sadly, this family would appear to be extinct in the present generation."! I felt myself all over, breathed in and out and looked at myself in the mirror: "One with the Dodo and the Brontosaurus? Hmmm, I Don't FEEL extinct." We may not be churchmen any more, last was Rev Dugald, (d 1842)or even church-GOERS but we still consider ourselves Slioch an Easbuig (I thought Slioch took a 'd' at the end?)

Slainte, anyway...

Jas. A. C. Derham-Reid
13th of Auchinellan.

This is an incredibly thorough early history of Clan Campbell, including its possible origins. I might suggest that any reader have some broad understanding of Scottish history before diving into this book as it's not really an "introductory" level read. But for those with some prior knowledge, this will satisfy very nicely.

This book has openned up a new environment to me. My history as a campbell has always been hidden from me, this book taught me much about our histories and that we were better than any MAcDonald clan.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in researching the origins of the Campbell Clan. It is a treasure trove of information.

Alastair Campbell of Airds has made the history of the Campbell Clan a thoroughly readable mixture of fact and conjecture. A particularly interesting feature, in my opinion, is the family tree which begins with God and includes Adam, Constantine and King Arthur. Volume 1 covers the clan's origins in about 1263 through the Battle of Flodden in 1513 where many of the Campbell chiefs and their men died alongside their king, James IV. This is an outstanding reference book, a "must read" for anyone interested in Scottish history, and should be in all Campbell libraries. I look forward to Volume 2, to be published in 2002.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments v
Foreword vii
Introduction to Europe 1
The LDS Church Records 9
Jewish Records 19
Albania 31
Andorra 32
Austria 33
Belarus 48
Belgium 50
Bosnia and Herzegovina 58
Bulgaria 60
Croatia 63
Cyprus 66
The Czech Republic 68
Denmark 78
Estonia 88
Finland 90
France 98
Germany 111
Greece 158
Herzegovina (see also Bosnia and Herzegovina) 161
Hungary 162
Iceland 172
Italy 176
Kosovo (see Yugoslavia)
Latvia 185
Liechtenstein 188
Lithuania 190
Luxembourg 192
Macedonia 194
Malta 196
Moldova 198
Monaco 199
Montenegro (see Yugoslavia)
The Netherlands (Holland) 201
Norway 220
Poland 230
Portugal 240
Romania 247
Russia 251
San Marino 257
Serbia (see Yugoslavia)
Slovakia 258
Slovenia 262
Spain 264
Sweden 273
Switzerland 281
Ukraine 292
Vojvodina (see Yogoslavia)
Yugoslavia 294
Bibliography 303
Genealogical Societies and Web Sites 309
Index 313

This is the best all around book on European Genealogy. The chapter on Italy is very complete and up to date.

Flavio Andreatta, President
The Italian Genealogy and Heraldry Society of Canada

Unless your ancestors walked the land bridge 10000 years ago, you will want this book to learn how you got here. In addition to learning details about emigrating from your particular homeland, you can find out about some European history in general terms that you may have missed in college. Although written before the breakup of the USSR, the section dealing with the former soviet republics gives a hint as to the chances of success you may expect if that was your home. Details such as the data in Canada from the Russian consul, and the small number of embarkation points in European ports should prove to be invaluable as you start your search.

No genealogist should be without this book.

Now in a completely revised, updated, and expanded fourth edition, Angus Baxter's In Search Of Your European Roots continues to be the premier guide for the novice genealogist seeking trace ancestors in any and every country throughout Europe. The location of each country's national and municipal archives is recorded, in addition to the location of church records, census returns, the system of civil registrations of births, marriages, and deaths, along with pertinent recommendations on finding and using such records as foundling books, orphans' lists, certificates of domicile, guild records, internal passports, confirmation records, and vaccination lists. Here are a highly recommended wealth of telephone numbers, email addresses, fax numbers, and website addresses for most of the major European archives and genealogically relevant organizations. Of special note in this new edition is the attention paid to the changes brought about by German reunification, the break-up of the Soviet Union, and the dismemberments of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia into smaller political states.

This book provides excellent genealogical resources to help you find your European ancestors from Portugal to Greece.

Baxter explains some of the considerations that are unique to each country. For example, France has a '100 years law' that limits the information that you can access if an individual's record is within the last 100 years. In Italy, there is a record called the Certificate of Family Genealogy (Certificato dello Stato di Famiglia) that can be especially useful. Research in Scandinavian countries, Wales and some areas of the Netherlands and Germany can be difficult because the surnames often changed with each generation.

Some countries receive more or less coverage in this book. For Albania, where most of the church records have been destroyed, there is just a short history. For other countries, there are lists of records, major family names, archives with addresses that you can write to, and information about how records are kept in that country. Often dates are provided indicating when the country first began census and/or church records.

Overall, this book has great details!

It was with utter amazement that I read this very well researched story which began in Civil War times and continued on until the present. Carol has a unique way of expressing her thoughts and let me assure you, she has many deep thoughts. There is nothing artificial or unbelievable about her. I appreciate the painstaking care she has given this story and will not spoil the book by attempting to retell it.

She has the distinction of being related to one of The Great Locomotive Chase heroes. This movie made quite an impression on me as a young person and I am now inspired to watch it again.

This book belongs in a Civil War museum and certainly should be required reading for anyone majoring in history.
Why do I say this? Because it is so well recorded you feel as though you were there.

Anything Carol Troestler writes I will buy--here's hoping there is a lot more.

Alice Crooker

For me this book was a slow start, and then it grabbed my complete attention finding it hard to put down. It is compelling and factual. The author makes history come alive with real characters who were heroic and who made a significant contribution to the development and advancement of technology in America.

Abe F. March
Author - To Beirut and Back

With the creative ability she shares with her ancestors, Carol Troestler has a gift for gathering the remnants of historical research on her family and creating stories in full raiment to enlighten and delight her readers.

Remembering the days when a history lesson was merely a laundry list of dates, names and places, I found Carol's newest novel, Iowa Born & Bred, a much more pleasant, realistic and entertaining way to learn about our country's heritage through the lives of those who experienced it, including her own.

Thus, a person, whether student or reader, can enter into the story of Alf Wilson's capture, escape, and travels on foot and by boat during the Civil War, as he returns to his homeland and receives a medal of honor for bravery and service to his country. We learn of his emotions, thoughts, fears and hopes for our country, and his willingness to fight for it.

Woven within the tales are intimate moments of reflection by the author who describes herself as a restless, creative spirit among like souls. As I read of Carol's trip by train as a child, after saving her money to buy the ticket to California to see her Great Grandmother, I was caught up in her emotions as I recalled the time my own daughter after high school graduation, traveled with a family by car to the west to meet her own grandmother for the first time. There is in all of us a deep need to reconnect with our roots. Carol has learned how to do this and does it well.

She writes of her great-great grandfather, Martin Luther Kellar, who wentfrom farmer to preacher, never satisfied until he could attach theoccupation in his heart to his name, and Martin Lyle Nelson, her grandfather, "who claimed no other profession than inventor." These and others influenced Carol's journey to having her own business, writing and developing activities of the mind. My own Georgia relatives went from farming to occupations in government, law and medical fields. Thus, I could identify with them.

Carol describes some of Martin Lyle's inventions for which he held 100 patents. Having worked for an inventor myself, Wallace Coulter, who invented the first "blood counter" in a Chicago basement, I was reacquainted with the awesome feeling of being in the presence of a gifted man for over 11 years and getting to know him as a person. This must be the feeling Carol had as she describes some of his patents.

When writing "The Listening Tree," one goal of mine was to encourage others to tell their family stories so a group of family storytellers would emerge at the grass roots level of American life to enlighten and inspire future generations of children and adults. I am happy to write I have found such a group within PublishAmerica. Carol has written a tribute to American ideals and the people who lived them.

Genuine examples of freedom and hope for ourselves and other nations are needed more than ever in this age as the world grows smaller and smaller through the communication media. I look forward to reading more of Carol's research and writing in the future and sharing it.

Finally, in quoting Pope Benedict XVI, she writes "Each of us is a result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed; each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary."

*****

Joyce Ann Edmondson
Author
The Listening Tree, Falling Petals,
In the Arms of the Shepherd

For many people recording their family history is a cold exercise of names, dates, and occasional by-lines of notable events, but in her book, Iowa Born and Bred, Carol Troestler reveals an intimate look at life in the middle years of the United States from the viewpoint of the amazing women in her immediate ancestry. Troestler's power is not in the rather stilted dialogue which by her own admission is strictly the creative contribution of her keen imagination to this engaging story, but in her extensive research and loving, historical accounts of the emotions and dreams which compelled her foremothers to pioneer in the American heartland during the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
With Iowa Born and Bred, Carol Troestler generously offers her hand to any that are willing to travel with her as she retraces the steps of her remarkable matriarchs. Take Iowa Born and Bred in hand and reflect in awe that you too are but three handshakes away from history! By deVoll Fisher for deVoll Reviews, author of Caleb's Branch: An Incomplete Tale of Unfinished Lives

Review: Iowa Born and Bred by Carol Troestler
It has been a privilege to read this wonderful book. Carol Troestler has woven facts about her ancestors and the accounts of their lives into the realistic lifestyles of that era to create a treasured novel for her descendents, and an unforgettable read for those who love history and genealogy. It is the story of Sophia and Martin Luther Kellar as their young lives start out prior to and in the first years of the Civil War. Their children and their moves from Iowa to other states are documented by Carol. Conversations are orchestrated by Carol by carefully weaving the events and facts of her ancestors into them. Separations of family members to move on to different ways of life and vocations cause much pain to Mothers and heartches to Fathers who take it in stride as to that being the way children are suppossed to do to answer their own calling in life. Accounts of the Civil War are told to the Kellar family over several nights of a nearly uninterupted monologue from Martin Kellars cousin, John Alfred Wilson, who was simply called ALF for short. As he keeps the family entranced to the stories he tells of his suffering and of other Union Soldiers by the hands of the Confederate and the escapes and daring events that filled their lives throughout their whole time of enlistment. He recalls the time he met Abraham Lincoln shortly before the brutal asassination of the president that startled and grieved this great nation of ours. Overall Carol gives us updates in a time released fashion that keeps us informed with the movements of the family, the new births, the deaths, and the accomplishments of her beloved ancestors. Leading up to and naming her grandfather Lyle Nelson and his many accomplishments in being a pioneer to industry and science is done with much clarity. Proving he helped get a young nation introduced to inventions brought on and patented by him that have changed all our lives with the beginning of the telephony system and by that system helped develop as many as 100 inventions that he had patents for. Carol's determination in writing down the facts and memories of her life and those of her ancestors from her great-great-grandfather Martin Luther Kellar who was a preacher, farmer, and inventor; to Martin's daughter Maria who was Lyle's mother, down to Alice who was Lyle's daughter and mother to Carol has been handed down from the Grandfather as in his recorded patents. His legacy will live on but not any more lovingly than the written word that Carol has left her family and the world. I loved the book and highly recommend it to everyone. Review done by Mary E. Preece author of In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow ISBN 1-4137-9399-1 _________________ In This Valley I Grew ISBN 1-4137-9399-1

I found this book online! I don't have it, but I know that I'm from Hope Howland!

Wow!!! John Howland is my great-grandfather x9. My family comes from his daughter Hannah, and her husband Johnathan Bosworth. There is so much family history, and so much to his story.

I'm the 9th Generation from John Howland.. He would have been my GreatGrandfather X8..There is so much history in this Familytree.. Just an example: John Howland fell off the Mayflower Ship and survived!John Howland is in the begining of my FamilyTree.

If you are descended from John Howland and Mary Lee, this is the book for you. It is full of all kinds of information . After I bought it I realized it wasn't my line but I still enjoyed it and will keep it. my line continues to Hope Howland and John chipman and wish I could find a book on this line.

I'm generation #9 From John Howland.. He is my Great Grandfather X8.... This is a must read! There is so much history in this familytree! Even in the many years that followed! I know I've the Familytree from 1592 to 2000..

This book, the second edition for Ellis, Balcomb and Ford, is a beautiful book for anyone interested in whales, their habitat and their behaviour. Focusing on the Orcas of the Pacific Northwest, this book details their lives from what they eat, to their social habits. It includes a wonderful photo chart of all the Northwest Orcas still alive when this book was published. It is a bit heavy reading, with many complex scientific terms. I would not reccommend for children, but if you know anyone with a facination with whales, this book will it into an obsession.

This book, the second edition for Ellis, Balcomb and Ford, is a beautiful book for anyone interested in whales, their habitat and their behaviour. Focusing on the Orcas of the Pacific Northwest, this book details their lives from what they eat, to their social habits. It includes a wonderful photo chart of all the Northwest Orcas still alive when this book was published. It is a bit heavy reading, with many complex scientific terms. I would not reccommend for children, but if you know anyone with a facination with whales, this book will it into an obsession.

May I first say I have never encountered a better identification book then Killer Whales and Transients. Both books are written by THE wild orca authority in the Pacific Northwest. Catalouged pictures and organized information of each individual in every pod along the coast from WA to northern BC along with accurate info on feeding, behavioral and other habits of the pods in Puget Sound and British Columbia. Truly a great book, and as I plan on researching these animals in my adulthood, it has been a great boost to my knowledge on them.

I just returned from a kayaking trip in the Johnston Straight just East of North Vancouver Island known as the inside passage. We had first hand views of the Orcas. This book was used as a reference manual to identify some of the whales. It has wonderful reference pictures of the known pods (families) in the area. It goes into great detail on their eating habits, language, and family history. It also explains their social behavior, and the differences between the pods. It is a wonderful book full of pictures, and details.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in orca whales. It has mass amounts of great information, it's easy to read, there are great photographs, and the ID catalogue of orcas is nothing but the best. This book is a must have for any whale-lover, researcher, or someone with just a general interest.

This wonderful book allows the reader to experience a place and a people now gone. The "stars" of Ballymenone come alive again in story, song and the descriptions of their lives by Henry Glassie. Unlike most academic books, this one is written by a poet...lyrical, powerful and evocative prose by a writer with suberb descriptive powers and spiritual impact. My husband and I recently visited Ballymenone and spent the day searching for what we had read about...but the people described are mostly gone, the landscape altered, the old replaced by new. For anyone who loves Ireland and wants to understand its ways and its culture this book is a must.

I read this excellent book over a year ago and am amazed at how often my thoughts return to visit. I find that many of the folkways described by this extraordianary observer are part of my own everyday life as American Scotch Irish over two centuries removed from roots in Ulster, Ireland. The descriptions of the kitchen hospitality, even the arrangement of the kitchen furniture are very familiar to me. The gifts of storytelling and musicmaking so vividly described are as frequently celebrated in my current mileau. Thanks for an excellent piece of research and writing.

This wonderful book allows the reader to experience a place and a people now gone. The "stars" of Ballymenone come alive again in story, song and the descriptions of their lives by Henry Glassie. Unlike most academic books, this one is written by a poet...lyrical, powerful and evocative prose by a writer with suberb descriptive powers and spiritual impact. My husband and I recently visited Ballymenone and spent the day searching for what we had read about...but the people described are mostly gone, the landscape altered, the old replaced by new. For anyone who loves Ireland and wants to understand its ways and its culture this book is a must.

For years anthropologists and folklorists have often "looked down" on the subjects of their studies, attempting to fit their subjects into preconceived boxes and categories. Unfortunately some anthropologists and sociologists continue to regard their "subjects" with condescension or even amusement. Henry Glassie's work is a much needed antidote to such practices. _Passing the Time in Ballymenone_ is a jewel. Henry Glassie regards the people of Ballymenone with respect and affection, allowing them to describe their ideas, life-ways, and values on their own terms, not his. Recognizing that theirs is a mindset and lifestyle that must be seen as an integrated whole, Glassie studies everything about Ballymenone from traditional songs to entertainment to religious beliefs to architecture, liberally quoting from the people who welcomed him into their homes over his extended stays. Some of his insights are pure brilliance, such as recognizing the way the poets and storytellers of a rural Irish district have adapted ancient Gaelic metrics to the English they use today. You will learn more about Ireland and its people in this one book than in a host of others. You may also find yourself re-evaluating your own lifestyle after encountering the wisdom of these tradition bearers. The book also serves as an excellent model for those who plan to work and study in folklore or anthropology.

As a study of the folklife and history of a community in Ulster, this book is full, rich, fascinating, and moving. I've used it as a first reading for graduate classes in fieldwork because it merges useful ethnographic research techniques with insightful analysis and eloquent prose. Students find the book both practical and inspiring, and it is a tour de force of the best of folklore research. Glassie's insights are more than relevant today for thinking through contemporary concerns about a range of important social and political concerns including what it means to foster healthy community life and provide honor and respect to old masters and stars. It is also a wonderful read for anyone interested in storytelling and Irish history and culture.