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It's All Relative

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It’s All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World’s Family Tree by A. J. Jacobs was published by Simon Schuster in 2017.  Jacobs is a New York Times bestseller, previously publishing The Know-It-All and The Year of Living Biblically.  It’s All Relative is his exploration into genealogy and his personal family tree and how it connects to the family history of the entire world, the concept of family, and our place in the world. It explains the basics of genealogy, the brief history and problems that have arisen from it, and how it fits into modern science as well as Jacob’s attempt to have the largest family reunion in the world.

I read this for my library’s Science Book Club. I’ve already been a hobby genealogist for a few years but this book did respark my interest.

Jacobs is a funny and informative narrator, easily shifting between detailed information about getting started, resources, and tips and tricks for beginner genealogists, and personal stories about his experiences traveling, searching, and exploring his own family tree through the different resources that he presents. And this book does not shy away from moral questions about family structure or past atrocities that genealogists often come across. Is the family unit as seen in western culture good or harmful? What about the issue of privacy and how it relates to online genealogy sites? Jacobs also notes that genealogy was originally used to prove “purity of blood” and offers especially difficult – and often painful—hurdles for minorities because of American history such as slavery and the genocide of native people. These are hard questions that don’t always have clear answers though he does offer his own opinions on them.  One particularly interesting line states “How much guilt should I inherit, if any, for the sins of my ancestors?” Again, no clear answers but an interesting thing to think about. 

With that being said, this book is aimed for beginners, so anyone who’s already done a bit of research won’t find a lot of it hugely impactful. For anyone interested in starting or just curious about  what genealogy is, this is a good place to start, but other than that, I found it to be more of an amusing read than anything else.

I am an affiliate with Z Publishing House. If you're interested in reading the works of emerging writers, this is a great place to start. http://www.zpublishinghouse.com?rfsn=1831564.e6264
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