Akenson’s “Some Family”, a review from the Montreal Review of Books
A recent review of Akenson’s Some Family from the Montreal Review of Books —
"The Mormon Genealogical Project (once called the International Genealogical Index) started in 1894, and was grown to be the world’s largest collection of genealogical data. Most genealogists, it is safe to say, use the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ material with unquestionning gratitude. Akenson’s evaluation of the material — how it has been collected, and how it is used — should give them pause. One of the central themes of this book is that there are four main genealogical forms whereas the LDS material uses only one. There are other cautionary tales to be found in the appendices, including the statistical likelihood of false paternity, wrongly attributed maternity, and incest blurring the nice, neat family tree. Akenson’s insistence on the family as narrative is an evocative one, the "kernel" of each tale leading to the kernel of the next. His scholarly insistence on referring to "Yeshua of Nazareth" and "Miriam" can grate, but he is an equal-opportunity offender: Catholics, Jews, Mormons, genealogists, and historians can all find something to be annoyed about. They can also find much to chuckle about as Akenson is a witty and charming writer. This book should be required reading not only for all genealogists, but also for all those bureaucrats who mistakenly believe that the microfiche copies the LDS members provided of the the original books of record are the real deal."
– Montreal Review of Books
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