Genealogy Books - Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace

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Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating:

Summary: Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace
Comment: This is the "bible" of genealogy citation. The layout of the book makes it easy to find the source
and how to cite it correctly on research.

Customer Rating:

Summary: The new standard in its field -- replacing the old standard by the same author!
Comment: I admit it -- when a new book is announced by Elizabeth Mills, I immediately put in an advance
order, without even reading any reviews. I've heard her speak at dozens of conferences and seminars,
local and national, and I've read (I think) all of her published articles. My regard for her
professional expertise is such that anything she cares to say, I want to hear.

Taken by
the main title alone, and by the announced length of the book, I was hoping for a grand collection
of the author's thoughts on the ferreting out of sources, the evaluation of evidence gleaned from
them, and the knitting of that evidence into a provable case. Sort of a distillation of her
forty-plus years of accumulated wisdom in an area of family research in she is arguably the leading
expert. The subtitle, though, is more accurate. Only twenty-two pages at the beginning address the
subject of evidence and what to do with it.

The bulk of the volume is given over to a
series of topical chapters of various types of source materials -- published books and articles,
unpublished manuscripts, business and institutional records, census, church, and cemetery records,
local and state records produced by courts and clerks, national governmental records, and laws and
court cases. Another sizable section covers handwritten and electronic correspondence, records and
other materials (often ephemeral) found on the Internet, and broadcast or televised source material.
Each chapter and section is preceded by a "QuickCheck" list of concise models and examples of the
citation formats under discussion. (Those for electronic sources expand on Mills's "QuickSheet:
Citing Online Historical Resources," a four-page laminated ready-reference tool also published by
Genealogical Publishing (revised edition, 2007). There's an immense amount of detail here, far more
than in Mills's classic and now standard _Evidence!_ (1997). If you need to know how to cite the
contents of the Norwegian Lutheran Church's registers, you'll find it on pages 362-65. In that
regard, this volume should be considered the genealogical equivalent of the _Chicago Manual of
Style,_ and as such, it's going to be the immediate standard for genealogical writing for
publication. But it will probably be regarded as overkill for most hobby-level researchers. (The
author would argue that every effort should be made to produce the best work possible, whether the
researcher is a professional working for pay or a weekend hobbyist, . . . and I would agree. But
still.) Perhaps this book would have been better conceived (and marketed) as a substantial expansion
of _Evidence!_ And I'm still hoping to see that future work with Elizabeth Mills's name on it,
called perhaps "Everything I Know About Genealogy."

Finally: Not to cavil, but one
error on the very first page caught my eye, where the author quotes Lawrence of Arabia's warning
that "All sources lie," and then refers to him (twice) as "Sir Lawrence." Actually, Col. T. E.
Lawrence's given names were "Thomas Edward," and the proper style is therefore "Sir Thomas." The
copyeditor really should have caught that.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Evidence Explained
Comment: Service in getting this book was both quick and easy. The book is great and has been very helpful
in my family research.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Excellent Resource & Reference Book
Comment: "Evidence Explained" by Elizabeth Shown Mills is by far the most comprehensive resource I have seen
for accurately and effectively citing historical sources. The book is well organized and the author
provides excellent citation examples for just about every source imaginable. Whether you are a
novice or experienced researcher, I would highly recommend this book.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Effective Tool
Comment: I have only begun to use this reference tool but have been very impressed so far. I needed a guide
to thorough citing of sources in my genealogical and historical research. I am an amateur and is has
been many years since I learned documentation. I was thoroughly confused about how to document
electronic sources.

This book gives numerous and specific examples of citations for a
wide range of possible sources. Even if you don't choose to use an established style, you can
easily discern what information is needed to provide for a return to the source of your information.
It is very much worth the purchase price if you are desirous of effective documentation of your
work.

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