François Weil (1) (1961–)

Note: Did Not Finish - Made it to Page 41

I had hoped for arguments and conclusions not just collections of historical quotes, mostly from people who no one has ever heard of and without adequate context to make them interesting or useful. The author made only the vaguest assertions that people wanted the respect that a coat of arms would bring so they mostly faked them - throughout all history. And that people generally wanted to know who their ancestors were because they either felt it was good to know that you could be better than or as good as they were. No psychological insights into WHY any of this mattered to them or what impact this had on society. Supremely boring when I hoped it would be interesting, exciting, and possibly even provocative.… (mer)

Given its popularity, I've long been surprised that not much attention has been devoted to the history of genealogical research and pursuit. François Weil's Family Trees starts to correct that trend in a meaningful way, offering a scholarly exploration of several key elements and themes of genealogical pursuit in America from the colonial period to the internet age. The book is by no means comprehensive, and there is much more that might have been said, but Weil's thematic and chronological treatment works very well for what it is, and he manages to get to the roots (no pun intended) of a few of the very different ways genealogical research has been used and viewed by Americans since the colonial period.

Aside from a faulty transcription (the "long s" is not an "f"!) that bugged me, I didn't find much to complain about here; I might have stressed different points here and there, but on the whole I found this book quite well done.

Not by any means a breezy read, but certainly an informative and fascinating one.… (mer)