Family history books
For families deciding what kind of book to make.
A family history book can be a short booklet of names and dates, a memoir in a parent's voice, or a researched history that sets the family in its towns and its times, with the original records and their translations. These guides explain the kinds, show an example page by page, and cover writing, printing and binding.
The guides are written for any family. Jewish families also know two older forms of the family book, the sefer zikaron written in memory of one person and the yizkor book of a whole town, and what a memorial book is sets them beside the others.
What a family history book is, the kinds families make, what each takes, and how to choose the one that fits.
The example
One family history in two volumes, shown page by page and traced step by step.
- Family history book examples, page by pageWorked exampleThe kinds of family history book, and one researched history shown page by page.
- Professional genealogy research, step by step: how the Tarko family history was madeWorked exampleThe example traced step by step, from the first papers to the printed volumes.
Writing the book
- How to write a family history book, with a free chapter outlineGuideThe whole method, from deciding what the book covers to sending it to print, with a free chapter outline to copy.
- How to make a family cookbook that keeps the stories with the recipesGuideGathering the recipes and their stories, testing and writing them out, Shabbos and holiday dishes, a template for one recipe page, and printing.
Printing and binding
- How to print a family history book, and what good copies costGuideSize, paper and binding, print on demand or a short run, proofs, ISBNs, how many copies, and what hardcover copies cost at printers that publish their prices.
Zichronos researches a family's history and publishes it as a finished hardcover book. How we work