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This extraordinary story of one man's ten-year search for his family roots, though it focuses on one family, will entertain and inform anyone with an interest in his or her ancestors. Robert Burke's search, begun with a discovery of a 100-year-old letter by his great-grandmother, is an excellent example of the wealth of records and assistance that are available to the family historian, and the value of persistence and imagination in their use.

The variety of characters that emerge in this story is also astounding, including admirals, farmers, priests, nuns, rebels, conservatives, Irish, English, Americans and even New Zealanders. The most interesting part of this story, though, is the eerie mix of coincidence and chance that arose during the search, a phenomenon often shared by researchers.

The book deals with a family tree that focuses on Burkes but many other names are central to the search. An accompanying family tree database of 18,000 entries is available on the web.

Softcover, 179 pp., bibliography, index. The book deals with a family tree that focuses on Burkes