UK Research

If this book had been around when I first started my family research I would have reduced my learning curve by a year! I think the great thing about this book is the worked examples, using every available research path and opportunity in the British Isles. This is not a 'stodgy' reference book, but something you will pick up time and time again just to read. This book has fast become the most used book in my library, and I don't regret for a moment that I paid the full published price when it was first introduced. If all you ever buy is one book, then this should be the one. It covers everything you could think of, and then just loads of stuff you never knew about. On a scale of 1 to 5, this scores 6!

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Research in the British Isles

Volume lV of a series, I have placed this book before the others in the series because this book offers practical advice on a range of sources and methods that can be adopted to research family and community history. A completely different approach (compared to Ancestral Trails) is adopted whereby examples of the types of  sources of information that can be used are explained, and the book leans heavily toward an academic approach. If you are just focusing on family history, parts of this book will not be for you, however if your intent is to understand more about the social history and events that surrounded your ancestors, this book comes into it's own. You certainly don't need to be persuing an academic stance to want this book on your shelf. On a scale of 1 to 5, this scores 5

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Research in the British Isles

Volume 1 of the series, this is the book that helps you off the first rung of the ladder, away from simply compiling lists of your ancestors names to building a family history. The academic side of chapter 1 may put some folks off  this book, put perseverance will be rewarded, because after the 'hump' of chapter one, the book unfolds into helping the reader understand what life really was like in the 19th century. Leaning strongly toward an academic approach, nevertheless the explanations of strategies for academic research apply equally as well toward researching your own family history. This is a book that you may not get through at 'one take' however it is nicely broken up into readable sections that you can return to when the time is right for you. For example the differing types of family construction are explained, and it is great fun applying these construction theories to your own kith & kin. Not a dry book in any way! On a scale of 1 to 5, this scores 3.5

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Research in the British Isles

This is volume 2 of a series edited by W.T.R. Pryce and is an introduction to migration within the British Isles. This is the background to why our ancestors moved around so much, explaining the social and ethnic divisions within towns and villages around the British Isles. If you want to move beyond listing your family tree, then this book will give you the best possible grounding on how to delve into those grey areas of family history. This is a book that makes enjoyable reading, though does get a little heavy at times. This of course is perfectly understandable being aimed straight at the academic side of the business of family history. However, I guarantee that when you come to write your own family history, this is the book that you will refer to time and time again for that background information ... I know that I do! On a scale of 1 to 5, this scores 4

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Research in the British Isles

The whole 'Studying family & community history series', is one that any serious researcher should have on their book shelves. Volume 3 is the logical progression because the final interweaving of family and community histories are delved into, and helps throw light onto many of the activities of the past. As the reader you are able to place your own family into many of the situations described. By explaining how to research a community as a whole, this book often provides those little ideas that help move us away from the 'road block' in our family history research. Again, being part of a series, this book has a serious academic side, but once more is written in such a style that you will return to it time and time again to draw upon for inspiration in your own research. On a scale of 1 to 5, this scores 4

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