Roots Quest

February 1, 2019
When the television show Roots premiered in 1977, a genealogical fire was lit. Suddenly, people began combing through courthouse records, census reports, and newspapers in search of ancestors and countries of origin. This was not the first wave of interest in one's roots, according to Hogan, who presents a well-researched treatise on various aspects of genealogy. Rather than a how-to, this is an in-depth exploration of the emotional, social, philosophical, and psychological reasons why people want to know where they came from. She presents examples of why and how ancestors are remembered through stories, rituals, and death/feast days. The end result of a true roots quest, then, is not so much about solving a mystery as it is about deepening one's self-identity and sense of belonging. Additionally, readers will discover the limits of DNA testing and why vast differences separate a tourist searching for her Irish roots versus someone searching for his Ghanaian ones. Extensive notes and a bibliography predispose this book for use in a curricular setting, for which it would be a rich addition.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)