This page contains a list of books that I have found useful in my research to date. You can purchase these books from Amazon by clicking on the cover image. I have used Amazon for a couple of years now and have always found them efficient and competitive in terms of price.
There is no additional cost to you when buying books through these pages but Amazon give me a small proportion of the revenue they raise as a result of my advertising. That helps, if only in a small way, to pay for the upkeep of this site.
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Mark Herber, Sutton Publishing, 1997, ISBN
0-7509-1418-1. An absolute goldmine of information! Covers the major record sources in great depth and discusses combining records, the more obscure records and record keeping. Also has chapters on research outside England and Wales and detailed coverage of non-conformist records. A "must buy" book for any genealogist or family historian. |
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Stella Colwell, Hodder & Stoughton, 1997, ISBN 0-340-59825-5 Useful beginner's guide to family history research, covering techniques for getting started, BMDs, census, etc. Includes some excellent worked examples and some good advice on interviewing and planning your research. Ideal pocket reference for trips to record offices. |
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Amanda Bevan, Public Record Office, 1999, ISBN 1-873162-61-8 Goes into even greater detail about the holdings at the PRO than Ancestral Trails. Not a beginner's book, but indispensible if you are planning to research in the complex records at the Public Record Office. A new edition is due out in February 2002 that includes information about new topics such as the 1901 census. |
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Cecil Humphery- Smith, Phillimore & Co Ltd, 1995, ISBN 0-85033-950-2 Simply the most important reference book for parish register research in England, Wales and Scotland. Most record offices will have a copy if you find the price tag daunting. |
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Cook & Stevenson, Addison Wesley Longman, 1996, ISBN 0-582-29304-9 Useful reference book for general historical background to family history research. Includes lots of statistics tables, chronologies and discussion of issues, such as welfare, religion, prices and wages. Very handy for putting some contemporary perspective into write-ups of your research. |
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Lyn MacDonald, Penguin, 1991, ISBN 0-14-014674-1 Compilation of first hand accounts and photographs from both sides of the First World War. A fascinating book and highly recommended for anyone with ancestors involved in World War I for whom there are no accounts of their experiences. A much more personal and revealing account than a "run-of-the-mill" World War I in pictures book. |
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John Keegan OBE, Pimlico, 1998, ISBN 0-7216-6645-1 A classic text by a revered author on the subject. Detailed analysis of the cause and effect of the First World War and the battles fought on both fronts. Heavy going and probably not something you would read all the way through but useful if you know of battles that your ancestor was involved in, or perhaps to gain a better understanding of the wider issues surrounding a World War I service record. |
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Edward Royle, Arnold, 1997, ISBN 0-340-57944-7 Detailed analysis of issues affecting Britain's social development since 1750. Covers topics such as religion, work, leisure, migration in some depth. Quite readable in small doses, especially to establish some context for a period of your family history research. |
Richard van Riel, Sutton Publishing, 1993, ISBN 1-84015-053-XA collection of photographs from Pontefract Museum or donated by those with Pontefract connections.
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