Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85713 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-18
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Synopsis
To accompany the third series of the award-winning BBC television series, this book gives the amateur genealogist all the tools to trace their ancestors back over six centuries, taking them on a fascinating historical journey into the past. For the first time in a popular genealogy book, author Anton Gill and "Who Do You Think You Are?" family history expert Nick Barratt have created a wonderfully readable book which takes the reader back through time past the usual family tree landmark of 1837, when birth, marriage and death registration were made mandatory, to allow the reader to trace their ancestors back to Tudor times. Much more detailed than the previous tie-ins, this book will explore the history which led to the dispersion of the population, it will look at local genealogy and connect the history of Britain with the people who lived during the times and the records they left.

Whether your 17th-century ancestor was a merchant seamen listed on the muster rolls, or of a trade registered through the Livery guilds of Newcastle, Yorkshire or London; a midwife licensed by the church from medieval times (in case they had to baptise a sick baby at birth); an alehouse owner (victualler) who was licensed from the 1500s onwards; or an afro-Caribbean immigrant from the 1700s, this book fills the gaps in your family tree and gives you the resources to search out your medieval ancestors. This book is a guide to tracing your family tree back for six centuries, into the time of Tudor kings and peasant uprisings, through a fascinating array of historical resources. It is also a fascinating social history of the peoples of the United Kingdom and how they were shaped by the events of their times.

About the Author
Anton Gill has written several plays and features for radio and television, novels and many distinguished works of non-fiction, including The Journey Back From Hell: Conversations with Concentration Camp Survivors, which won the H.H. Wingate Prize in 1988. He has also written Berlin To Bucharest; An Honourable Defeat: A History Of The German Resistance To Hitler; And The Devil's Mariner: A Biography Of William Dampier.
Dr Nick Barratt trained as a medieval historian and now acts as a historical consultant and researcher in the media. He has been the primary genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? From the first series and was consultant on the Bafta nominated Seven Wonders of the Industrial World. He is also a columnist for the `Daily Telegraph'.

Customer Reviews

Neither one thing nor...
The bulk of this book is the author's history of Britain. No doubt fun for him to write, but if I wanted a popular history, I'd go for Starkey, Schama, etc.
The interleaved episodes refer back to the programs in the previous series of WDYTYA - unfortunately, they are only thin reminders of those stories and don't tell the people's stories nor help anyone understand the Family History side.
Yes, there's a list of contacts and odd things, but nothing that can't be gained from Google, GenUKI, Cyndi's List, etc.

Basically an 11 year old's history book...
I think I must have ordered this book based on the incorrect review mentioned below. It certainly isn't the valuable resource I expected (in fairness I haven't inspected the last chapter yet where all the links & resources are listed); it is basically a (very) potted history of Britain and mostly of England. It reminds me of a school history book where the lives and achievements of the Kings and Queens are glossed over simply for young readers. This is a classic TV spin-off for merchandising purposes only.

All gloss - no substance
As a general read and as an "add-on" to the recent TV series, this is an interesting book but as a useful geanealogy research reference book, it is practically useless. It is little more than a glossy companion to a TV series but for any serious researcher, the advice must be - look elsewhere.