Genealogy eBooks – Amazon Kindle

A lot of us would like to take our genealogy and genealogy-related books, magazines, and reference guides along with us, without having to haul a lot of bulk and weight around. Ideally, it’d be great to have a lot of it in an eBook or other portable format, that we could take with us on a portable/mobile device, whether it’s an eBook reader, a mobile phone, or a laptop. One way you can do that is with Amazon’s Kindle platform, which is available for different mobile devices and operating systems. I don’t necessarily recommend that you use the iPhone/iPod Touch or BlackBerry as a primary device for reading a lot of these books – it won’t be the most comfortable or easiest reading, however at the same time some of these could be quite useful to have around, especially as a quick reference. As long as it’s one account, some of the publishers allow you to have the same books loaded on multiple devices with Kindle without paying extra, so you could have them on a Kindle, on your PC or Mac, and on an iPhone or BlackBerry (check for individual limitations before purchase).

Below is a list of compatible devices and below that is a list of genealogy-related books available through Amazon’s Kindle Store.

Kindle is available for the following devices:
Amazon Kindle (of course)
Amazon Kindle DX (see differences below)
Apple iPhone and iPod TouchApple iTunes App Store (Direct Link)
BlackBerry (visit www.amazon.com/kindlebb for compatible devices)
– Apple iPad (after launch) – use link above for iPhone/iPod Touch
Windows PCs (see Kindle Support for free download)
Apple Mac/Macintosh (See Kindle Support for free download)

There are two Kindles, as listed above, the Kindle and Kindle DX:
– Kindle has a 6″ display, the larger DX has a 9.7″ display
– Kindle holds around 1,500 books, the DX around 3,500 books
– Kindle = $259, Kindle DX = $489

Recommended Genealogy Books/eBooks available through Amazon’s Kindle Store:
Basics of Genealogy Reference: A Librarian’s Guide
by Jack Simpson (Curator of local/family history at NewBerry Library and co-creator of ChicagoAncestors.org) (2008, 192 pages, $44 – on sale for $35.20) Summary: Exactly what it sounds like – a look at genealogy research from the perspective of a librarian or local researcher/historian.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Genealogy, 2nd Edition (Kindle)
by Christine Rose (2006, 384 pages, $18.95 on sale for $9.99) Summary: Beginner’s guide to genealogy

Family Tree Case Study: Break Down Your Genealogy Brick Wall in 5 Steps
by Nancy Hendrickson (2009, $2.99) Summary: Hendrickson (contributing editor to Family Tree Magazine, owner of AncestorNews.com) goes through a 5-step process of using various internet resources to research ancestors.

Genealogy 101: How to Trace Your Family’s History and Heritage
by Barbara Renick (2003, 192 pages, $19.99 on sale for $9.99) Summary: Another book on how to do genealogy research, how to organize your information, how to use the internet in your research.

The Genealogy Sourcebook
by Sharon De Bartolo Carmack (Contributing Editor to Family Tree Magazine, host of Roots Books on RootsTelevision.com) (1998, 288 Pages, $17.95 on sale for $9.99) Summary: A bit dated, it’s still a good guide. I would highly recommend it, but keep in mind the date.

How to Do Everything Genealogy – Second Edition
by George G. Morgan (2009, 456 pages, $24.99 – on sale for $14.84) Summary: Explains basic rules of genealogical evidence, citation, sources, internet research, etc. Includes using DNA records, blogs, and high-tech means. Note: Optimized for larger displays (Kindle DX, PC, or Mac)

How to Trace Your Frontier Ancestors, Beginner’s Guide to Genealogy on the Great Plains
by Nancy Hendrickson (2008, $2.99) Summary: A look at genealogy research for those whose ancestors wound up on the American frontier

Of Irish Descent: Origin Stories, Genealogy, & the Politics of Belonging
by Catherine Nash (Professor of Human Geography, University of London) (2008, Syracuse University Press, 352 pages, $29.95 on sale for $16.47) Summary: This is another one of those books where the title perfectly sums it up – it looks at those of Irish descent and exactly what that means and how it relates to geography and history (whether it be Ireland or the United States). It also gets into genetic/DNA research.

Lest we forget – Genealogy Blogs:
GeneaBloggers – $1.99 a month, Summary: technical topics, articles, research, etc.

IDTG – $0.99 a month, Summary: Kimon Andreou’s blog on heraldry, genealogy, history

This is by no means a comprehensive list – these are mainly books and/or authors that I’m familiar with. If you’d like to look at more genealogy-related offerings, check out the full genealogy listing for the Kindle.

This page last updated: March 26, 2010