John P. Elcik

As a somewhat experienced family historian, I thought the information in this book was well-organized and presented in a positive, can-do manner that would be motivating for beginners. However, I also felt this book left out some important information that most genealogists wish they had known when they started. For example, while a full discussion of sources and citations might be intimidating to beginners, they should be encouraged to write down where they got the information. An example might be, if conducting a family interview, they should write down the interviewer, interviewee, date, and location, along with the questions and answers.
Perhaps this could be in the next edition.… (mehr)

I received this volume through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

I admit I am not in the target audience group for this book. I've been a genealogy hobbyist for a quarter of a century. So I forced myself to pretend I was a novice, looking for guidance on how to begin, where to go, how to document my findings. I concluded that this book is so annoyingly superficial that would have done me no good if I was a novice. Issues like conflicting evidence, which I've attended hour-long seminars learning about, are dealt with in a short paragraph in this book. Major web sites aren't dealt with in any detail. I could go on, but I'd be redundant. With the possible exception of DNA evidence, which is discussed in slightly more depth, this is not a worthwhile read.

Even more irritating was the tone of the author, who takes the voice of a little league coach cheering on “progress” which the novice has made. I found this condescending and amateurish. Not recommended.… (mehr)