Areas of primary concern in your research, such as vital records, census records, and ships’ passenger lists, are covered definitively by such books as Thomas Kemp’s International Vital Records Handbook, Thorndale and Dollarhide’s indispensable Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses, 1790-1920, and Michael Tepper’s scholarly American Passenger Arrival Records. The Yellow Pages figure into everybody’s information searches, and three such directories by Elizabeth Bentley are essential in genealogical research: The Genealogist’s Address Book, County Courthouse Book, and Directory of Family Associations.

For those hoping to reach back to their ancestral homeland there are books here on English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, German, Italian, Polish, and even world genealogy. There are books here on names, on Jewish genealogy, on handwriting, on CD-ROM, on naturalizations, and on the Internet, in particular Cyndi Howell’s famous Netting Your Ancestors as well as her internationally-known Cyndi’s List: A Comprehensive List of 70,000 Genealogy Sites on the Internet. And just to emphasize the balance in this list there are books on women’s genealogy and Native-American genealogy; in fact, there are books here to suit almost every taste and every need.