This was a very comprehensive guide to a site that can be quite tricky to navigate. I have used ancestry for quite awhile, but I was still able to learn a lot from this guide. Thanks to this guide I was finally able to discover some missing pieces to my tree that have alluding me for some time!

I was expecting more tips. This is a great guide if you’ve never used the site before. I was looking for a bit more.

This book is filled with valuable information for the Genealogy Beginner. You are not going to find everything in this book. If someone were to write a tell all about Ancestry then we would need 15 volumes at least.
This book allows a beginner a place to start, a reason to search. As the beginner gets more advanced, and learns how to use the web-site, there are more resources available.
I love that she has updated this book because many changes have happened on Ancestry since the first edition was published.

This updated version of the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com is a worthwhile reference book to own. I am an Ancestry user, and I consider myself more than a beginner. I picked up some new tips and tricks. While the book is aimed at the new or novice site user, it is a great refresher course as well. The book is easy to use, contains a great deal of information, and is written conversationally.

This is an excellent book to help focus your efforts to explore and discover your family history using Ancestry.com. The technology is so incredible that it is very easy to wildly add members to your family tree. This book helps you do it the correct way, finding more sources, forming and attempting to answer questions, adding, not only people but stories photos and documents. Going beyond the useful, ubiquitous, green leaf hints and searching the collections is a daunting process

I have just started on my ancestry journey, and this book is going to be a huge help. I haven't been in a position to use all of the information yet, but what has bee applicable so far has been very helpful. I recommend this book to anyone working on their genealogy.

Thanks to Family Tree Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great reference book for Ancestry.com research. Starts out with the basics, then delves deep into the mysteries of researching your ancestors. I have been using Ancestry for over ten years now, and I still found so many new ideas and techniques to use. I especially appreciated the chapters on DNA. I took a DNA test through Ancestry, and now I have a whole slate of new possibilities to research and explore. A definite addition to my library that I will refer to again and again!

A very detailed and comprehensive guide to the world of Ancestry.com. It gives a lot of valuable information.

This is a helpful guide. If you are interested in learning more about your ancestry and working with Ancestry.com this is a helpful guide and way to lead you to sources.

Thanks to NetGalley and Family Tree Books (F+W Media) for the opportunity to read and review the Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com by Nancy Hendrickson. Informative guide showing the basics plus so much more on how to use the ancestry.com website. Instructions and information of layout, memberships, searching tips and all the different ways to find information on ancestry.com-military records, census records, primary sources, wills, tax information, school directories and church histories are included. Getting DNA results and interpreting them and other websites to connect to for even more information and research, each discussed within their own chapters and are also a large part of this book. Insets, photos and helpful images show what can be found on this website, full of historical and genealogical information, to bring fruition to your family history work. 5 stars for a book that will guide you every step of the way during your family history research and more!

Great adjunct and navigational tool for beginning researcher such as I.
Very helpful and informative.

I needed this book. I have dipped in and out of ancestry for years but struggled to use it efficiently and this has helped me navigate the site better and save time. This is important if using the sites free days. I wish I had read this book when I started out.
I have RootsMagic sitting on my PC gathering dust so this has inspired me to use it and be more organised and dedicated in my search for my family tree.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a ARC to read for review.
I enjoyed reading this great reference book about ancestry.com. I have utilized the site for years for research and found it quite overwhelming. The author has written a clear concise guide that any user of the site can use to better their research skills and have a successful search. Utilizing this book has saved me countless hours and given me a new enjoyment of ancestry. com . I highly recommend this book.

A few years ago, I got the ‘ancestry bug’, an overwhelming desire to find out more about my family tree. Not knowing where to start, and too impatient to do much reading into the best ways to start a family tree, I signed up to Ancestry.com.
I’m still on there – though my initial energy for finding out more has died down a bit, mainly because there are so many records and so many hints being flagged for me, I feel overwhelmed.
The Unofficial Guide to Ancestry.com promises to help people like me find their way around the site and get the most out of their searches, something I think I need if I’m every to finish my family tree.
Having used the book while in the ancestry.com site, I have to say it lives up to it’s promise with step by step guides for each stage of the process from what to do before you sign up to how to search for people in your family tree. There are lots of screen shots running alongside these guides, using the author’s own searches, and these are really helpful.
The only downside for me was the book was written for an American audience, not a UK one. So, while the guides still stand and the searches work, the references make the book feel a less relevant than it is – I don’t have any ancestors that fought in the civil war, for example, and I’m not trying to find out when my relatives landed at Ellis Island.
This is a light niggle, however, and wouldn’t stop me recommending the book for anyone who wants to start researching their family history using Ancestry.com.

Author Nancy Hendrickson describes using the Ancestry.com site. The book, aimed at new researchers more than experienced ones, contains good comment, but often comes up a bit short. For example, although she cautions new users about accepting information from trees if it appears wrong, she really fails to tell them they should never add the tree as a source but instead should verify the information and add it manually after it is verified. While she is correct that uploading information from a GEDcom file is quicker, she fails to mention reasons for not doing so--and many exist. In the chapters on using AncestryDNA, she fails to mention some of the tips leading genetic genealogists suggest. For example, she tells readers to email those who do not have a tree without telling them how they may be able to find an unattached tree by checking the match's profile or how the connection may be determined by looking at "shared matches." In fact, she never mentions "shared matches." She also failed to mention and caution users about some of the weaker databases such as some of the public records collections lacking dates and some of the collections drawn from older user-submitted sources which contain errors. Of course, the author could not anticipate the problems tree sync users currently experience due to some data migration issues. She could not anticipate the problems with the Rootsweb portions of the site which resulted in long outages for some resources and continuing outages for others. Most supplemental resources suggested appear to be mostly sources from the book's publisher rather than using the "best sources" for acquiring additional subject information. Recommended only for true beginners, but with the caution to supplement with additional resources and webinars to gain a better picture of the power of Ancestry and to understand the genealogical proof standard which did not appear to be a consideration of the author. I received an electronic copy for review purposes from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.

I am still working my way through all of the ancestry ideas and tips in this book, but I definitely have gotten ideas and other places to research. I have been exploring my ancestry off and on for many years so I am always on the lookout for new ideas as to where to look. There are plenty of false places to visit that give you wrong or inaccurate information. I am grateful for books like this that are most helpful.
I voluntarily reviewed an reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

A big thank you to NetGalley and VS Media and Family Tree Books for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. I am a geneaologist, I have been doing genealogy for over 35 years. I have seen a lot of changes. Today Ancestry is such a great starting point. Thanks book is geared toward the beginner but has great tips and reminders for us all. I would recommend this book to new people or people who are stuck to get a new perspective.

Thank you to Nancy Hendrickson and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book. I chose to read it because my mother is currently very obsessed with Ancestry.com. I learned things from this book that helped her with her genealogy search :)

There was nothing here that I couldn't figure out on my own... Maybe for someone who needs a tutor, this would be helpful.

What a great research tool to enhance your navigation to Ancestry.com.

I have been using Ancestry.com for over ten years and thought I knew all the tricks but I learned quite a few form this book. My passion for genealogy has been sparked again.

The screenshots are great especially for newbies. As a newbie you can read the entire book or as an experienced user of the sight flip to the section you need.

You won't be sorry to add this to your genealogy bookshelf.

I received a copy from Family Tree Books through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the review are my own.