Following on from my post on the top 10 genealogy research books, I thought it would be a good idea to be less specific and look at the best selling genealogy books overall on Amazon.com. So here are the top 12:
A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes
This is the #1 bestselling genealogy book on Amazon at the moment. It is also a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice (“Nothing less than a tour de force – a heady amalgam of science, history, a little bit of anthropology and plenty of nuanced, captivating storytelling”) and it’s a National Geographic Best Book of 2017.
Acclaimed science writer Adam Rutherford explains exactly how genomics is completely rewriting the human story—from 100,000 years ago to the present.
The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogy
Blaine T Bettinger writes the Genetic Genealogist blog. This easy to read book shows how to effectively use DNA testing for genealogy. It explains DNA terms and concepts and gives guidance on which test tests are available and which ones are right for your research.
It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree
This is the story of a journey the author took, trying to understand …”genetics and genealogy, tradition and tribalism, identity and connection.” This was after he had received an email that said “You don’t know me, but I’m your eighth cousin. And we have over 80,000 relatives of yours in our database.”
My European Family: The First 54,000 Years
“My European Family tells the story of Europe and its people through its genetic legacy, from the first wave of immigration to the present day, weaving in the latest archaeological findings. The author goes deep in search of her genealogy; by having her DNA sequenced she was able to trace the path of her ancestors back through the Viking and Bronze ages to the Neolithic and beyond into prehistory, even back to a time when Neanderthals ran the European show. Travelling to dozens of countries to follow the story, she learns about early farmers in the Middle East and flute-playing cavemen in Germany and France, and a whole host of other fascinating characters.”
Photo Organizing Made Easy: Going from Overwhelmed to Overjoyed
Most of us have loads of photographs in albums, in boxes or anywhere else we can put them. This book has suggested steps so that we can organize, maintain and enjoy our photos. There are chapters on organizing your printed and digital photos and home movies as well as one on scanning printed photos and one on sharing them with your friends and family.
The Book of Myself A Do-It-Yourself Autobiography In 201 Questions
This book is one that you write yourself. Using 200 prompts, you fill in sections entitled, Family, Friends, Education, Work/Responsibilities and The World, so towards the end of your life you should have a completed autobiography.
Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-To Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website
This book is a follow up to Nancy Hendrickson’s successful “Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com” (see below) and discusses how to search Ancestry’s main record sets effectively. Each section is followed up by illustrated tutorials, case studies and worksheets so that you can put into practice what you’ve learnt. There are introductions to the seven most important record groups on Ancestry and a section on AncestryDNA.
Painfully Rich
I was surprised to see this on the Amazon genealogy bestseller list as it’s the book that the recently released movie “All The Money In The World” was based on. But I guess as it’s about a family history, then it belongs here. It is of course about the Getty family.
The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. 4th Edition
This is both a text book and an all purpose reference book on researching American genealogy. This fourth edition updates this respected work to bring it up to date with the latest trends in online researching.
Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy
This book is similar to “The Book of Myself” above in that you effectively write it yourself. After a detailed introduction, you complete chapters on information about yourself, stories from early family life, stories from childhood, from school, from your professional life, about your own family etc.
The Genealogy Do-Over Workbook Kindle Edition
This workbook by genealogy author, blogger and tutor Thomas MacEntee encourages you to go back over your own family history research and revisit everything you’ve done taking into account the latest tools, technologies and methodologies.
Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com: How to Find Your Family History on the No. 1 Genealogy Website
The author, Nancy Hendrickson, writes the popular Ancestor News blog. This book is a guide to getting the most out of the World’s largest genealogy website. It takes a detailed look at all of the site’s historical record collections as well as showing you how to make the most of the Search function and how to make the best use of Ancestry’s card catalogue. The book also gives tips on creating and managing your Ancestry family tree.
This book was originally published in 2014 and has recently been updated. Ms Hendrickson has also published a companion volume to this guide: Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook: A How-To Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website (see above).
More genealogy books can be found in the Resources section here.
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