Genealogy Books

This is the definitive source on the British peerage up to 1938. (Vol. XIV, printed recently and sold separately, updates the saga to the late 1990's.) This 4 to 1 microprint version of the original pages still leaves reasonably legible print; having a reader's magnifier might also be useful for some. The vols are well produced and come in an embossed slipcase, and though sturdy my slipcase was significantly damaged in transit (two front-to-back edges totally broken so that the case would not hold together) with subsequent pleas for amends falling on deaf ears.

This is a reprint, printed in 2000, reducing 4-1 the pages of the orignal 13 volumes into 6 volumes. The orignal was published between 1910 and 1938, so this set does not include information more recent then 1938. Be sure to track down Vol. XIV, published in 1998, to complete the information. Otherwise this is excellent information.

Begun by George E. Cokayne, the Clarenceaux King-of-Arms, this set is to the British peerage what the Oxford English Dictionary is to the English language -- absolutely the best thing of its kind. Citations to primary sources frequently fill 3/4 of the page and anecdotal text-notes put some meat on the bones. Far superior to the 19th century Burke's Peerage publications. Don't attempt serious British research without it! The numerous appendices at the ends of the volumes also are highly recommended as instructive essays.

This is by far the most complete and enjoyable peerage resource, in that it gives the full history of EVERY peerage created up to the 20th century. You cannot get more complete than this. The new edition means that people can actually buy it without going bankrupt and it will be an invaluable resource for genealogists and for people who like to look up old books just for fun as well. Christopher Catherwood, author of CHURCHILL'S FOLLY: HOW WINSTON CHURCHILL CREATED MODERN IRAQ (Carroll and Graf, 2004)

This is a treasure chest of information on the different types of indexes used in local courthouses. It never would have occurred to me that there were so many different indexes in use. It seems each region had its own preferred method. This is invaluable information for someone who is trying to access court records.

For those who have never done research in a Courthouse this task can be daunting to say the least. It can be very time consuming, especially when the courthouse employees are less than helpful. It can also be very expensive when they charge $.25 per copy of a document. Best to be prepared to have all the information you can get (dates, places, names, neighbors, etc.) before you get there and be prepared to spend days researching unless you are researching a very famous person who is well known to the local community (a previous Civil War Hero, a famous General, a Mayor of the City or Governor of the State).

All the details you need to use just about any courthouse index, and small enough to take to the courthouse with you

Having just returned from two weeks in Virginia and leaving this week for Texas for three weeks, I have not had an opportunity to completely review this fine book. I will; however, be taking it with me to Texas to be able to better understand the research I will be doing in the courthouse in Conroe, TX. I appreciate your fine service, - books arrive promptly and in excellent space. Thank you, Sandra Jane Tapper

If i could i would rate this 6 stars. It is simply extraordinary, i am at a loss for superlatives to describe it. Thanks to both of the authors for a very pleasant and challenging week spent reading this book.

That is the bad news, it is a very hard read. More than once i wanted to get out a large sheet of paper and begin to diagram the book's information rich structure. Who studied where and with whom? what set of principles did he have? what principles did he invent or significantly modify? what ideas was he principly interested in saving, which was he fighting with? on with words like: transmutation, preformationism, aristotelian embryology etc and names like: democritus, empedocles, von Faer, kant, newton etc etc and that is just 2 paragraphs of a random page. Information dense, detailed, insightful, principled ... again i am at a loss for words.

First, this is obviously not a book for beginners into the field of evolutionary biology, or for that matter, philosophy, history or even math. It presupposes a graduate level vocabulary, and an undergrad smattering of the sciences. Even then it is a joy to discover new words and new worlds, new friends and old acquaintances in new clothing. Simply one of the best books i've read. Or more precisely, the best 3 books i've read. For it is divided into 3 parts, with the common theme the treatment of the history of Darwinian thought and the separation is roughly something like but not quite as broad as a Kuhnian paradigm revolution.

So to reflect that division, i thought of writing 3 reviews. But figured that only those with the desire to read the book would finish even one. So to them i address the rest of this review, an unabased desire to encourage you to get and read this book.

The book is a historical analysis of Darwinian evolutionary biology's(EB) THEORY. "this book is about the intellectual constructs by which discoveries about evolution are guided, assembled, and justified as contributions to knowledge." 1st page introduction.

What is the big picture?
Darwinism as (metaphysical) research program.
It begins with the idea of natural selection(NS) as the core concept of a research tradition that is to be judged on its explanatory power, fruitfulness, and dynamics. The secondary big issue is common descent, which doesnt play nearly as big a role as NS. Its history is to be understood in the scientific context of the day, and the changes that occur over the 150 years between us and Darwin. In particular what was the model science of Newtonian physics and its philosophic principles, to be emulated in EB, that was Darwin's big contribution, he built a system that was seen by the various factions in biology as a biology in the manner of Newton.

From there the authors take off running. A very complex but terribly interesting story emerges from Darwin's education, his family, his Voyage of the Beagle, his social and cultural milieu. Not in general hand-waving platitudes but in detailed, closely watched, carefully argued specifics. Something like the division of labor in Adam Smith and the relationship of it to adaptions of creatures into biological niches in the midst of a general construction of adaption and transformation takes 4 pages.With a whole chapter 5 "The newton of a blade of grass: darwin and the political economists", my initial reason for picking up the book.

The three parts represent a watershed change(paradigm revolution?) in the way math fed into physics and then into EB. Newton and calculus for part 1, Boltzmann, and statistics for part 2, and chaos theory/non linear dynamics for part 3. (deterministic, probabilistic, chaotic)

The nicest thing about the book is to see the effect of the world on EB theory. Not just things like the analogy of capitalist competition compared to biological competition. But things like fruit flies to Russia, then Russia becoming a huge outdoors genetics lab contributor to the world and sending people back to the US to carry on the insights and feed them back into biology theory. Just neat stuff, insightful, a human story of science that you don't often get from a textbook.

So get the book. just leave a week to read it....worth every minute. i ended up wishing i had diagrammed the book, or was a fraction as smart or as clever as these authors.

This book will certainly challenge the non-scientist. It is not an ideal introduction to evolutionary thought. However, this book is filled with interesting insights that make it worth the effort. While their core metaphor, the contention that evolutionary science has appropriated developments in the physical sciences, does not always work, their analysis of historical developments in science and the philosophy of science is inevitably thought provoking and worth the effort to grasp. If you are looking for a straight-forward explanation of developments in Darwinian evolutionary theory, I am sure that there are better places to start than this book. If you are looking for a thoughtful examination of how and why those developments happened the way that they did, this book will serve you quite well.

An excellent and articulate summary/commentary of the history of natural selection. Complexity theory is covered with taste and intelligence, and not with the silliness that dominates many popular science books. Highly recommended.

This overlooked book is by far the best book in science I have read in a very long time and is as important as Kuhn. I urge readers interested in the major ideas of science - from Plato to nonlinear dynamics - to buy this book. It is beautifully written, elegant in its thought, embracing of the reader, and enormously suggestive.

I don't usually enjoy war stories but this one shows the war from a whole new perspective. I saw the caring by not only the medical doctors and staff but also of the soldiers for each other. I cried and I laughed. I think if someone lost a loved one in VN, the reader would find some comfort in reading this book.

Not having served in Vietnam, I particularly appreciated the ability of the author to make me feel that I was there - able to feel the anxieties of servicemen facing danger at every turn and to see the horrors of war. The author also did a superb job of showing me how humanitarian efforts can make a difference in such an environment.

This book left me with a much different perspective on the Vietnam conflict than I had previously experienced.

The Vietnam War has been covered in many books and feature films based on the accounts of soldiers, politicians, and protesters. This book will give you a completely different perspective. It will fill you with a tremendous amount of pride and admiration for all of those who served their country during those difficult years. Watch as a young patriotic doctor leaves his new wife and baby to serve his country a half a world away. Feel his struggles and his pain but at the same time watch him overcome all of this as he takes command of a large company of men while simultaneously saving hundreds of lives. Even though the setting of the story is a war with all its horrors, the real story of humanity at its finest shines throughout. So even if you've read most of the books and seen most of the films about the Vietnam War, read DELTA SIX, you will not be disappointed!

Delta Six Soldier Surgeon is not your usual war story. Dr. Richard Snider has written the story of a dizzying transition- from his surgical internship at Yale, to draftee in the Army and finally to front-line doctor in the jungles of Vietnam. In this memoir, we do not encounter issues and positions, instead we find a primal view of personal experience and feeling- smells in the air, the color of the dust, the clapping of helicopter blades, the continuous stream of injured bodies, and constant danger of rocket propelled grenades. Through it all, Dr. Snider discovered a grace and nobility of the human spirit, in his soldier/patients, in the Vietnamese and in his co-workers, qualities that transcend even the wretched conditions of wartime.

If you've wondered how old your home is, what it used to look like, if those stories you heard are true, this is the book for you. Start with any chapter that piques your interest -- you're sure to find useful tips and things you never thought of, like using a metal detector in your yard. I found many good strategies and I've been researching homes since 1995. Green explains sources of information and how to access them, nationwide. Her glossary explains in simple language the legal terms you're likely to encounter. An excellent general introduction to the topic.

Discovering The History Of Your House And Your Neighborhood by noted house historian Betsy J. Green is a fun, simple, and "user friendly" step-by-step guide to researching the history of a private home. From surfing the Internet, to following a paper trail, Discovering The History Of Your House is a welcome and highly recommended primer to finding out everything you want or need to know about the architectural history of your own home, but didn't know who or how to ask.

Everyone can find interest in researching the history of past inhabitants of their house. This book gives step-by-step instructions to identify the names of past inhabitants, how to locate them or their relatives, and learn facts about their lives as well as obtain old photos showing your house in previous incarnations. One can learn about hidden mysteries ranging from hidden rooms to why in the world did they choose THAT interior decoration, etc.

For inspiration I recommend reading "If These Walls Had Ears," written by James Morgan. It is what you might write when you complete research like this.

Many people are familiar with the idea of tracing your family roots, and learning what history surrounds you. But, this book tells you how you can trace the history of the house you live in! Providing a great deal of suggestions and courses of action, this book tells you how you can find out all sorts of wonderful information on your house. If you are interested in the history of small things, then I highly recommend that your get this very useful book!

Although human genetics have been studied now for over 30 years, the application of DNA to family history is a phenomena of the new millennium. The results of the first study that tested people of the same surname to see if they shared the same male-line DNA were published in 2000. Since then, some 25,000 people have been tested commercially, and over 1,500 surname studies have been set up, half in the past 18 months, of which that on Wells is the largest, numbering 303 participants.

Chris Pomery, organiser of the Pomeroy DNA project, has written the first book explaining specifically how genetics can help genealogists. DNA can indicate whether people with the same surname are likely to be related, and sometimes can show that people supposedly related through the same family tree actually are not. It is a fantastic tool for studying surnames, and investigating groups of supposedly-related people, such as members of a caste, tribe or clan. The results of this brand new science often - and amazingly - bear out ancient, oral traditions attesting to common ancestry. DNA also enables us to map the migration of humans out of Africa, and determine our own places in that extraordinary story.

Excellent features of this book, besides its clear text and useful diagrams, are crisp, boxed summaries at the end of each chapter and a supporting website, www.DNAandFamilyHistory.com, which provides more detail and scientific background on many of the issues covered in the book.

This is no mere guide: this is Chris Pomery's manifesto to encourage us all to have DNA tests and set up surname studies, thus adding more genetic information to the growing databases of human DNA. The more DNA results there are, the more accurate and interesting results will be for everyone.

One of the ironies of genetics is that, just as we are learning how to decode the data contained in our genes, the signal is being lost. Isolated populations, with their distinctive genetic codes, are being diluted into the increasingly homogenised soup of modern human DNA, so data gathered in the future will be far less informative. The traditional marriage of male-line Y chromosomes to hereditary (male-line) surnames is also breaking down. In a few generations' time, far fewer people will have the same surname as their male-line great grandfather, making surname-based DNA projects far less easy to organise. Hopefully, many people will be inspired by Chris Pomery's excellent book and get testing now.

I thought this book was very informative and helpful in my search for my genetic past.

Genetic genealogy is a blossoming market and the number of books in this space is rapidly growing. Major books include: Seven Daughters of Eve, Adam's Curse, Trace your Roots with DNA, and DNA and Family History.

Professor Bryan Sykes' book The Seven Daughters of Eve was a seminal work. This book focuses on mtDNA (Mitochondrial DNA) that is passed down the maternal line. This book is written in an easy to read style that creates the tone and tenor of a mystery novel. The punch line of this book is that all maternal lines can be traced back to seven theoretic women who lived at different places in the worlds at different times. This book is very light reading and similar to picking up a pop culture magazine. This book is not recommended other than as the most basic introduction to genetic genealogy. It also suffers from it's minimal discussion of paternal DNA testing (Y-chromosome) which is the most popular form of DNA testing today.

Sykes second book "Adam's Curse" discusses the long term de-evolution of the male chromosome. It's a shame that Sykes has stooped to pandering to sensationalistic popular culture instead in more serious genetic research. Sykes made a name for himself in this space, but it seems that this segment of science has passed him by.

Two excellent introductory books were published in 2004 -- "Trace Your Roots with DNA : Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree" by Megan Smolenyak and Ann Turner and "DNA and Family History: How Genetic Testing Can Advance Your Genealogical Research" by Chris Pomery.

In Trace your Roots, Smolenyak, who makes her living as a professional genealogist, branches out into genetics and DNA testing. She hooks up with Ann Turner, the past administrator of a key DNA message list, to create a good introductory book on genetic genealogy. This book covers all the basics for someone who is considering having a DNA test done. I was disappointed that almost half the book (90 out of 235 pages) was dedicated to starting and running a DNA project. I view this material as fluffy filler since most readers aren't likely to need this information.

A similar book is Chris Pomery's "DNA and Family History". This book also covers all the basics in a straightforward and informative way. This book focuses primary on the most popular form of DNA Testing -- testing of the paternal Y-chromosome line. The book includes numerous references to the book's online site (www.DNAandFamilyHistory.com). This site is supposed to contain supplementary information but many links don't seem to have been activated.

Pomery does a nice job contrasting genetic families that might be derived from a single ancestor with those that might be derived from multiple ancestors. He also discusses the origins of various classes of surnames which is important in understand this issue. Pomery also uses many examples from surname projects that can be found on the web.

One knock on both books is their minimal discussion of what DNA testing can't do. Neither book elaborates on the limitations of DNA testing for genealogists such as testing inability to definitively identify parents and brother and the small and biased sample sizes that home geneticists are using to make sweeping conclusions. Neither book describes in more than a paragraph or two the lasting thinking about haplogroups -- i.e., the origin of R, E, J, etc. Y-DNA clusters. In addition, neither book will aid the experienced DNA researcher.

My recommendation:
If you looking for one day's worth of beach reading, try Seven Daughters of Eve or Spencer Wells, Journey of Man. Also consider getting these books at the library as these seminal works are quick reads that you don't need cluttering up your shelves.

If you are a serious genealogist or are considering DNA testing or joining the National Geographic Genographics Project, then stick to Smolenyak or Pomery. After reading both, I find them both excellent and roughly equivalent. However, I clearly prefer DNA and Family History by Chris Pomery. The book simply contains more information which is presented in a more straightforward fashion.

Kevin Campbell
Campbell DNA Project Administrator

This book is required reading for those researching their English family history and thinking of seeking help from a DNA testing company.
It provides a comprehensive guide to the background for such research, bringing together in one volume elements such as the origin of English surnames, the organisation of a surname project, the choice of a DNA testing company, and a glossary of many of the confusing terms used by the experts in DNA analysis.

I brought this book for my 6yr old son who loves dinosaurs. We were very pleased the pictures jumped off the pages. The details in this book really bring dinosaurs to life.

The age range specified for this book, as listed on the amazon web page, is 4-8 years old. I'm not an expert on kids that age, & they undoubtedly would be interested in the illustrations, but the text of this book is certainly more advanced than that. Phrases like "preposterously outsized" (p. 28), "chalk-forming single-celled organisms (p. 51), etc. would make the text comprehensible to a bit older group than 4-8 year olds. I'm not complaining about the way the book is written (it's written in a very clear, very straightforward, & informative style, using simple language), I'm just referring to the claimed target age group. The illustrations range from OK to outstanding, although there is some redundancy (the terrific Giganotosaurus illustration is used for the front cover, spread across pp. 4-5, & the same illustration is used again on pp. 8-9 in a different setting). Although the scope of this book is quite limited (it is, after all, only 64 pages), there is a lot of interesting information contained on the dinosaurs it does cover, & there are explanations of basic (& not so basic) facts answering often asked questions (like the reason many dinosaur forelimbs are so short). Adults with some knowledge of dinosaurs can learn quite a bit here as well. For example, p. 26 shows a skeletal layout of a Velociraptor & Protoceratops that I've seen before but never fully understood. Author David Lambert explains what probably happened to cause the positions of these two dinosaurs. A good book to have in your dinosaur library.

I bought this for my three year old boy last year hoping he would grow into it. As predicted, at first he only paid attention to the impressive photos of the dinosaurs that dominated each two-page section: but a year later, he is drawn to examine the smaller pictures and ask more questions about the animals. This book works so well, I think, because it can appeal to a wide age range of children and has something of interest in it appropriate to every stage of learning.

The best educational point about this book IMHO is that the dinosaurs featured are not the familiar ones we see in all the other dinosaur picture books (T rex, Brontosaurus, Triceratops, etc), but the author chooses to focus on less-known types such as Barosaurus, Gigantosaurus, Gastonia and Coelophysis, to name a few. Broader subjects include social behaviors, environmental factors that influenced body types and hide patterns/colors, and speculation on possible fates of the dinosaurs. Supplemented with a more traditional dinosaur picture book, your child will eventually have an uncommon knowledge on dinosaurs.

DK Guide to Dinosaurs is also one of the more well-illustrated dinosaur picture books for kids in their grade school years. (Actually, the main "illustrations" are photographs of quality museum models in realistic diorama environments). The unusual design layouts are grounded on black rather than the traditional white, lending a sophisticated look to a subject that is all too often overly textbook-ish in other natural history picture books of this type. More importantly however, the sidebars, timelines and graphical inserts are packed with information and placed in a way that flows well with the main page, leading the eye to points of interest along the page and teaching kids in a more subtle style.

This would be a very good choice for children starting grade school and I can foresee many years when it will be used as a reference for reports and other school projects. My only criticism is that the binding will not take continual abuse from the smaller children in the family, so keep it on a higher shelf...

There are thirty chapters in all, each consisting of two pages with illustrations, graphs and descriptions. For the two-page spread on reconstructing the past, this is done in full-length, so the book must be turned another way for you to view this chapter. My son likes the Feet and Footprints chapter along with the Migration and Killer Instinct. You can see the " Powerful jaws were Tyrannosaurus's main weapon."

In the chapter, Types of Dinosaurs it is broken down into the periods of Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous. For the Heads and Skulls chapter it is mentioned, " Suchomimus had a long, narrow head like a crocodile's, and teeth to match." Prehistoric Earth breaks down what each continent was like during the time period, for Triassic Life" The first dinosaurs appeared in the Triassic Period, about 230 million years ago." For the Cretaceous World "The Earth began to take on its present form in the Cretaceous."

DK Guide to Dinosaurs is suited for children who are interested in learning everything you could ever want to know about Dinosaurs as well as Adults who are curious about them. If you ever had to write a book report this would be the book to purchase on the subject of Dinosaurs.

We have borrowed numerous books over the course of a year on Dinosaurs and I would place this book at the top of the list in gaining knowledge and the vivid illustrations that bring this period to life through the pages of DK Guide to Dinosaurs.

My seven-year old says there are many pages in this book and he reads it at leisure a few chapters at a time. You can gain insight into the social life of Dinosaurs, what their favorite food was as well as which ones were carnivores. There are illustrations of dinosaur eggs and the meteors that were thought to destroy the land of the dinosaurs. The most colorful page is the DinoBirds where you see the red and blue feathered DinoTurkey, and wonder whether the Velociraptor was a DinoBird too.

There is a lot to absorb in DK Guide to Dinosaurs but not overwhelming if you pick and choose topics of interest first and delve in slowly. Inside the index you can easily find where claws are discussed, nasal bosses, plants, asteroids, volcanoes and snakes to name a few. Dorling Kindersley acknowledged many photographs that were reproduced within DK Guide to Dinosaurs, which would make a great gift for any Dinosaur loving fantatic! For some kids just learning the names of all the Dinosaurs can be a fun challenge. This over sized book would sit nicely on a coffee table and be ideal for reading in a classroom environment a chapter a day.

EVER TRUE sweeps the dust off history, reading makes one look forward to the next letter as if we were waiting for the postman.

A really great read for the Civil War history buff. Highly recommended, very readable and hard to put down. Excellent work by Lisa Saunders.

I started reading yesterday and could not put it down. It is so interesting to have a look at the Civil War through the eyes of those that lived it, and Saunders' historical notes are facsinating. It amazes me to think that those letters were waiting for her to find and bring back out to the light of day. I am eagerly looking forward to being able to read more later today!

"Ever True" is a stunning account of ordinary folks in extraordinary circumstances, folks who never lose their down-to-earth qualities while they learn the ways of a more sophisticated world.

David Sisson, Professor of English and avid genealogist

I hope they do a reprint of this book, as there are a few errors in it. As my family is included in book. My family & I bought this book for $25, and it shows a price of 150.00 . I cannot understand why...Please let me know, as it is a great book, and the inaccurate info can be re-written, (like spelling names of my first name, and sisters son's name...just to note a few.
It is a remarkable book, that I am proud to be a part of.

The book was fine and I would have loved it if it had turned out that this was my family. I must keep searching.

This book is a wonderful resource of information for my genealogical research of my family. This book covers the immigration of the Lewis family from Ireland in the early 1700's and the early settlement of Virginia. I enjoy it immensely and reference it often.

This book is just what you're looking for if your family line goes back to John Lewis. Plenty of information and great pictures.

This captivating book offers insight into the hearts of two persons who bear the heart of one. After starting this book, it is difficult to lay down as it compels the reader to keep asking what's next. Set in a modern day, this is romance but not in a torrid affair. Gently as a rose unfolding its pedals for the world to see, Ayers exposes two hurting souls as they unknowingly seek healing in the acceptance of a stranger. She has a message for the broken hearted and for the abused. Ayers has written a binding spell which can be read in one day.

In reading "Flights of the Herons" By Esther Royer Ayers
My heart breaks and bleeds for Katie. She needs to be set free from a controlling husband. She lacks the confidence in herself to take this step.Blessed be Frank who also has his problem. His wife died and he is unable to get on with his life.

Frank and Katie are indeed made for each other. Two people with problems will lift each other in flight.

A beautifully weitten book. This tells how verbal abuse effects a persons life. This abuse leaves Katie with no self esteem.

The idea of genealogical research being woven into a novel was what attracted me to "Flights of the Herons" in the first instance, but, as I got into the book, I realized it offered much more: insight into the life of Old Order Mennonites, a character study of a mentally (and at times physically) battered woman, and a touching love story. Rarely in my experience has so much been packed into such a small, but highly readable book.

This is an autobiography of the old-world meeting the modern world, at least for an individual from a tightly bound group of people trying to live as it was centuries ago from a religous point of view.