Book Review: "Generation by Generation: A Modern Approach to the Basics of Genealogy," by Drew Smith, 2023, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore

Despite all of the online resources available for beginning genealogists, I find books on this subject invaluable. In his new book, Drew Smith offers the latest methods and resources available for research.  It is organized into two parts: Preparing to Research and Doing the Research. I appreciate the first section, because it is so important to prepare for the undertaking, rather than just plunging in. Doing your homework first means less errors, less wasted time, and less frustration. Within each section there are well-organized chapters that are heavily illustrated. Smith covers subjects from DNA testing to online resources to setting your research goals. 

Smith’s resource suggestions are extensive. I find that some people think FamilySearch.org is a collection of people’s personal trees that vary in accuracy, but the site also contains a huge amount of records, a valuable research Wiki that can be searched by location, and a wonderful library of digitized books.

Generation by Generation is useful for researchers with experience too. I am guilty of having my favorite go-to tools for research, and books like this remind me of what I may be under-utilizing. I have been lax in using newspapers in my research in recent years and Smith gives many resources for using newspapers, including The Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries from the Library of Congress. This indicates which repositories hold copies of the newspaper you are interested in accessing, especially valuable for those who are not interested in a subscription online newspaper service. https://guides.loc.gov/directory-of-us-newspapers/introduction

Drew Smith has an impressive genealogical resume: he’s a genealogy librarian, co-host of a genealogy podcast, contributes to the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and administrator of a large genealogy Facebook group. 

This is a great book to access whenever guidance is needed in your research, perhaps learning about the value of probate records or organizing the growing amount of information you are gathering. Genealogical Publishing Company offers it as a softcover book and an e-book. 

Disclosure: Genealogical Publishing Company provided a copy of this book for me to review.