Monday 30 April 2018

Book Review: Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by Nancy Hendrickson

Title: Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com
Author:
Nancy Hendrickson
Publisher:
F&W Media

Publication Date: 29 May 2018
Pages:
272
Format:
eBook - PDF
Genre:
Non-Fiction/Genealogy
Source:
ARC via NetGalley

 


Discover the secrets to Ancestry.com success! This book will help you get the most out of your Ancestry.com subscription by showing you how to take advantage of what the world's biggest genealogy website has to offer--and how to find answers to your family tree questions within its billions of records and massive network of family trees. This newly updated guide reflects the site's many changes, with screenshots that demonstrate how to create family trees, navigate the site, and use Ancestry.com's search engines. A new section on AncestryDNA will also help you dive deeper into your research, with detailed guides to interpreting test results and applying them to research.

What you'll learn:Step-by-step strategies for structuring your searches to find what you're looking for fasterDetails on each of Ancestry.com's historical record categories, including what you can expect to find in themTips for creating and managing your family tree on Ancestry.com, as well as connecting your tree to others on the siteTimesaving tricks to maximize your Ancestry.com experience, including Hints (the "shaky leaf"), AncestryDNA, and the Ancestry.com mobile appWhether you've just begun dabbling in family history or you're a longtime Ancestry.com subscriber, this book will turn you into an Ancestry.com power user!


I have been using Ancestry to research my family tree for over a year now, so I was keen to see what the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com had to offer. It is certainly very thorough, covering everything from setting up your tree to searching within the various catalogues. Though aimed at the US site, the bulk of the information will be relevant for users elsewhere in the world too. For the most part, I would say it is of greater benefit to those just starting out with their research, since much of the site navigation etc. I had already worked out for myself after 14 months using it. However, it did offer me a few nuggets of useful advice, such as making use of the card catalogue. Overall, the book is nicely laid out, with helpful illustrations and examples. It is a book that you can read cover to cover or simply dip into to find a particular piece of information. I would certainly recommend it to those new to Ancestry who wish to get their research off to a good start and avoid the pitfalls such as giving too much credence to other peoples' trees or accepting every hint as fact. 4.5 stars.

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