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Who Do You Think You Are

Medieval historian Nick Barratt's latest book is described as an accompaniment to understanding your ancestors' lives rather than a research guide to identifying who they were, though tries to do both.

Constructed in four sections, the first provides an overview of some basic resources that can be used in genealogical research. The second section concentrates on how to research your ancestral home in England and Wales, competently covering documents such as manorial records, the Chancery system and other legal records. The third section, entitled "Tracing the History of your Area", concentrates on occupational records, whilst the final section examines how to create an online personal archive.

Discover my Past, England and Scotland

I was pleased to be able to review this book as i thought it was likely to be interesting- and so it proved. Dr Nick Barratt is a well respected archivist and commentator on matters historical and genealogical. The book is well researched and presented, with lots for the beginner to family history and also much to interest the more experienced reader. Social history and context are presented alongside the more usual lines of family history research.

The four sections of the book are Tracing Your Family Tree, Tracing Your Ancestral Home, Tracing the History of Your Area and a short piece on Creating an Online Personal Archive.

All the usual sources are listed including websites. Some of the information on tracing house histories was new to me and it certainly gave me plenty of ideas to persue e.g. checking maps over a period of time to trace properties. The social history chapters cover such areas as land records, transport and school information.

All in all i enjoyed the book and found it very informative.

Anglo German Family History Society

Unlike the majority of family history research books, Nick Barratt encourages you to go much further than simply recovering a name, for a name does not make a person. This is the perfect Christmas gift for the enthusiastic genealogist. Anyone who has a genealogist in the family will have endured lists of faceless names, which relate to other faceless ancestors accompanied with unmemorable dates, so would it not be a welcomed thing to find out the personal lives to make these numbers into people? Nick guides both novice and expert researcher a like from starting point; forming that first family tree, to learning just what kind of people our ancestors truly were. The heading segregated layout provides easy access to specific blocks of information and will soon have you pulling up old area maps and registrars for social clubs and ritual gatherings your ancestors may have been present at. This guide is like Facebook for the deceased, uncovering all the different social activities in which our late relatives updated their status. An essential companion for anyone who wishes to individualise their extensive tree of Sarah's and John's.

Tom

In fact it is three books in one with sections on researching family history, houses and local history, although most chapters are of equal interest to family historians.

Simon Fowler, Reviews

Dr. Nick Barratt is best known for 'Who Do You Think You Are?', the popular BBC television series aimed at taking celebrities into their family's past. With 'Nick Barratt's Guide to Your Ancestors' Lives', he performs a similar service for everyone who wants to discover more about their roots, describing with admirable clarity how to begin the quest and how to carry it through. So easy does he make it look...that he has doubtless sown the seeds for a whole forest of family trees.

Evergreen

Best known for his role in the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, Nick Barratt explains how there is more to family history than just who your ancestors were.
Combining family and social history, he examines the houses, streets, communities and ways of life that shaped the world around us and, in particular, the precise circumstances that made us who we are.
The book explains how and where to undertake his personal detective process, as well as how to organise and shape your findings, and create your own personal archive using the latest technology and online resources.

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