Google Your Family Tree

Dan Lynch has written an excellent new book called, "Google Your Family Tree." I have a pre-release copy of the book and can tell you that it is top-notch. Dan went the "extra mile" to create a valuable book for online genealogists. I hope he sells a million of these books; it's that good.

Here is the announcement of the book from the publishers:

FamilyLink.com, Inc. Announces New Guidebook for Free Online Genealogy - Google Your Family Tree

PROVO, UT, October 10, 2008 --- FamilyLink.com, Inc. announced today the availability of Google Your Family Tree, a new book that teaches family historians how to unlock the hidden power of the Internet's most popular search engine. Written by Daniel M. Lynch, the book received an enthusiastic reception in Philadelphia last month when it was unveiled at the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) annual conference. Pre-orders for the book have been brisk, and it is expected to ship within two weeks.

"This book is well positioned to become the best-selling genealogy book of all time," said Paul Allen, chief executive officer of FamilyLink.com. "It is the right content, by the right author, at the right time. We couldn't be more pleased to be releasing this book this month as millions of people in the United States celebrate Family History Month." FamilyLink.com, Inc. and Lynch agreed to the deal in March of this year. "Dan has done an exceptional job documenting the hidden power Google offers to family history enthusiasts worldwide," Allen said. "It is the first such book written specifically for genealogists by an accomplished genealogist and technology expert."

Lynch was recently on the KSL NewsRadio Relatively Speaking Radio Genealogy Show with KSL NewsRadio personality and genealogy author Mary Slawson. During the show, Slawson commented about the book, "I just finished reading it today, and it's incredible. It's up there with Elizabeth Shown Mills' Evidence book. It will be in every major professional researcher's library and hopefully in most of the beginners' libraries. It's a great book!"

Lynch began his career in the technology industry in 1984 and has also been involved in genealogy research for nearly 30 years. A frequent lecturer and writer, he began sharing his Google tips with fellow genealogists at the local and national level shortly after the search engine launched ten years ago. As the capabilities of Google have expanded, so too have its applications for use by family historians. "Google is easily the most important tool available for anyone engaged in family history research," noted Lynch. The book is 352 pages and sells for $34.95 (USD). To learn more about the book, or to reserve a copy, go to www.GoogleYourFamilyTree.com.

About FamilyLink.com, Inc.

FamilyLink.com, Inc. is a family of services that includes WorldVitalRecords.com, FamilyHistoryLink.com, WebTree.com, and the We're Related and My Family applications on Facebook. The company's focus is to provide innovative tools to connect families. FamilyLink.com, Inc. has more than 3.4 million unique global visitors each month and 27.3 million page views per month. WorldVitalRecords.com provides affordable access to genealogy databases and family history tools. More than 30,000 individuals have subscribed to WorldVitalRecords.com. With more than a billion names in thousands of databases-including birth, death, military, census, and parish records-WorldVitalRecords.com makes it easy to fill in missing information in your family tree. Some of its partners include Everton Publishers, Quintin Publications, Archive CD Books Australia, Gould Genealogy, Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild, Archive CD Books Canada, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., SmallTownPapers®, Accessible Archives, Genealogical Publishing Company, Find My Past, Godfrey Memorial Library, Find A Grave, and FamilySearch. Investors include vSpring Capital and several angel investors.

Comments

[Joy Rich]

I'm fortunate enough to have a pre-release copy of Dan's book too. I agree with Dick that it's top-notch.

Dan and I are members of the New York Metro Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Two years ago, he gave a presentation about Google at a chapter meeting. The presentation was thorough and detailed, and he made the subject very easy to understand. Dan has a gift for communicating.

[Joanna Selier]

> "Dan went the "extra mile" to create a valuable book for online genealogists. I hope he sells a million of these books; it's that good."

Dick, you apparently read it? Please tell, WHY is it good? Is it any use if I know Google already?

[theKiwi]

--> Is it any use if I know Google already?

That was my quick reaction too, but then I'm thinking - were I to write a book about Google it surely wouldn't be 352 pages - it likely wouldn't even be 3 pages unless I used really big screen shots.

So I imagine there's something in there for everyone. But at $35 I'm not so sure. At $20 it's a different proposition.

plink plink

Roger

[John]

Sounds good.... but the internet and its countless resources change every day. Will the book still be useful a year from now? I might spend $35 for something that will last.

[Mariann]

My problem is that all my research has to take place in Italy and because of their privacy laws you can't find it on the internet. How would this book help me especially for $35??

[Del Ritchhart]

I agree with one of the earlier comments that I welcome a book on using Google, as it has great capabilities; but I would expect it to be at most 150 pages. Hopefully, he is as entertaining as claimed, because we will be reading a lot of "fill". However, I will probably still buy the book.

[Harold McClendon]

The press release contains several statements from individuals who say it is a good book without providing one example to support their statements. I trust that the individuals are being honest but for this price I need to know more about what I am buying. Perhaps they could give Dick permission to place first chapter online so readers can judge for themselves.

[Elaine McIver]

I attended a class once where the instructor showed us some very sophisticated ways to enter searches on Google. He obtained results which would not otherwise have been possible. I'm hoping for more of the same -- I'm buying the book.

[Dick Eastman]

---> Dick, you apparently read it?

I read every word of it one day on a flight from Boston to London. It took most of the 6 1/2 hours to read the entire book.

Dan Lynch sent me a copy of his manuscript before it was sent to the publisher. I think he sent copies to a number of other people as well. He asked us to review the book and offer suggestions for improvements. I suspect the final book is slightly different from my manuscript copy but probably not radically different. He goes in depth into many searches that are of interest to genealogists, complete with step-by-step examples.

I also like Dan's writing style: he covers the topic well while not being too technical. His writing style is also easy to read.

- Dick Eastman

[Dan Lynch]

I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate for me to 'chime in' here since I wrote the book, then I thought - I do add comments from time to time on this blog when I have something specific to share, so why not now.

First - thanks Dick for the kind words and also from others. Even the questions and comments are valuable. The Table of Contents is posted online at www.GoogleYourFamilyTree.com and that should help answer SOME, but not all questions. In March, I sent 12 draft copies out to some of the best genealogy authors, industry insiders, and acomplished researchers I knew (most in the U.S. but also a couple Internationally too). At the time, I think the manuscript was 288 pages. Feedback was great - but, as I hoped, was not all just 'atta boy. I got some very specific critiques and with that was able to make the end-product so much better. (And what can I say about the amazing work of Matthew Wright, Managing Editor for this book. With 8 years in Ancestry publishing, Editor of the APG Quarterly, and other experience under his belt - he put the polish to this project that I simply could not have.)

The book grew to 352 pages - 85 of which delve very deeply into command structure, syntax, and filtering. That's 25% of the book - but that's also the foundation for almost everything Google does. Once you master these, you are so well suited for using nearly every part of Google. For anyone who has read my articles in various genealogy magazines or seen me present, you'll know there isn't any 'filler'. Now, that said, some of the feedback received months ago was to add some 'Getting Started in Genealogy' for those that might be picking up the book without a framework for how to approach family history in general.

For several years, I've had soo many seminar attendees tell me 'You Should Write a Book' as they hand me their email address to get my notes from my lecture. Well - I finally have. And it is wonderful when acomplished genealogists like Dick Eastman, Mary Slawson, Maureen Taylor, Halvor Moorshead, Paul Allen, and others tell me they liked the book and that they learned something about Google they didn't know already.

As to the question about whether the book will be relevant 1 year from now - excellent question. For this very reason, I created a companion website at www.GoogleYourFamilyTree.com and in the coming weeks, will add a blog component. I won't blog in general - Dick and so many others have that covered so well - BUT, I will share via this site the updates, changes, and new features that are helpful to family historians. I've already written to Google several times explaining how we search and asking for certain commands to be supported. We'll see if I get a reply some day.

Hope this helps. You can also listen to the Oct. 5th radio interview with Mary Slawson (KSL Radio, Relatively Speaking). I've never met Mary and had not spoken to her until the day of that interview, so her comments were certainly great to hear.
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=640045

Regards - Dan

[Joanna Selier]

Dan, thanks for your comments. I guess you can answer the questions we have, but we really want a independent review.
Have you sent copies to dedicated bloggers like Randy Seaver and technology experts like Tamura Jones? Is Maureen Taylor going to review it?
I am very disappointed by this blog item. Eastman just does his easy "it is great and here is the press release" routine. I asked him WHY he thinks the book is great, and still no answer :-(
I don't want a press release, I want an honest review. I want to know why you need 350 pages to cover a few google commands.

[Maureen Taylor]

I was one of initial reviewers of the book back when it only 249 pages. I thought I knew how to search in Google since I use it everyday. Within the first chapter were searching techniques I hadn't utilized. After reading Dan's book and making some minor suggestions, I asked if I could keep the review copy. I didn't want to part with all his tips and advice. I was amazed at how much I learned. I can't wait to see this book in it's final form. It's going on the bookshelf attached to my desk. That's where I put the resources that are so valuable I have to have them within reach.

I think it's going to be genealogical bestseller.

[Richard Tomlinson]

I was one of the early reviewers. As a founder, forty years ago, of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, genealogy has long been my passion. As a PhD in Electrical Engineering and someone who spends at least two hours a day online, I consider myself technically knowledgable. I urged Dan to expand the book beyond its initial smaller size, particularly by adding examples of specific searchs using the more complex strings of commands. For myself, a simple recitation of the results to be expected from a long command string formulation was not sufficient to make it intuitive. I will consult my copy many times to be sure I've left no stone unturned and squeezed the last drop of juice from the databases.

[Dan Taggart]

As one of the original founders of Ancestry.com, I was also given one of the pre-release copies of Dan Lynch's exceptional book, Google Your Family Tree, and I can say without reservation it is the most valuable genealogy book to come along in the last 10 years or more. I will be an instant classic and standard reference guide for anyone involved in genealogical research.

I have used Google since it's launch, and I thought I knew most of its capabilities. How wrong I was! I was amazed at how much more Google offered after reading Dan's book. Some people might think a 350+ page book about Genealogy on Google must have a lot of "filler" in it. The truth is, Dan had to pare it down considerably to get just the most important information into 352 pages. I couldn't find anything in this book that wasn't of high value to family history researchers.

I fully expect this book to sell a million copies in its first edition. And I certainly hope to see new editions come out ever few years. Thank you, Dan, for giving us all such a great resource.

[Annette Lasier]

I just read all the responses several times. Everyone is falling over each other to tell how great this book is, so it must be true but no one tells me WHY. What is in that book that I can't find on google's help pages?

[Nancy Rudolph]

I hate to sound critical when I haven't read the book but be reminded that "Googleing" still only gets us what others have put up on the internet. These are clues and very often in error. The internet is a great resource for maps and history but family names are generally suspect.

[Dennis]

From the reviewers' comments, it sounds like a great resource. But with Google updating itself and changing so very frequently, I still wonder if the book will be outdated in 3 months? I'm not sure anything published on paper can keep up.

[Joy Rich]

Dennis, you asked "From the reviewers' comments, it sounds like a great resource. But with Google updating itself and changing so very frequently, I still wonder if the book will be outdated in 3 months? I'm not sure anything published on paper can keep up."

Dennis, Dan has taken that into account. He said in his post that he's going to create a blog at www.GoogleYourFamilyTree.com so he can share updates, changes, and new features of Google.

Joy

[Peter Rauner]

Where's the review?

[Linda Denton]

So when will this book be released? Seems like it is taking longer then you thought, we have heard so much about it that we can't wait to get one and with xmas coming it will take longer to get with the mail slowing down, please hurry!!!!!!!!!

[Dick Eastman]

---> So when will this book be released?

It has been released. I don't know the exact date it was released but it was within the past week or two.

- Dick Eastman

[Joy Rich]

Additional reviews are at

http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-google-your-family-tree.html

http://lists.friendsofallencounty.org/pipermail/genealogygems/msg00051.html (paragraph 3 under "Giving Gifts That Last")

http://www.avotaynu.com/nu/V09N27.htm (item 3)

http://www.geneamusings.com/2008/11/book-review-google-your-family-tree.html

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/12/google-your-fam.html