Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book for the purposes of review and I have received other books from Genealogical Publishing Company, also for review. However, my opinions are my own and not influenced by outside sources.
Elizabeth Shown Mills is a well-known and respected American genealogist who created the formats for citing sources used in genealogical research. Her work culminated in the latest edition of Evidence Explained, Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 4th Edition in 2024. EE, as it is often referred to, is a massive 739-page volume, which can be overwhelming to use, especially for a novice researcher.
Not to worry! Help has arrived with her latest book, Your Stripped Bare Guide to Citing & Using Sources, which is hot off the press in 2025.
A streamlined Table of Contents is provided for a very easy-to-use book:
Contents
Foreword
Part One: Fundamentals
Source Usage & Evidence Analysis
Documentation
Part Two: Constructing Citations
Construction Basics
Universal Templates
Appendixes
Glossary
Further Study
Index
Further, there is a list of seven Figures, as they are called, which highlight salient points, in each section:
Figures
- Guidelines for Analyzing Evidence
- Guidelines for Documentation
- Two Functions of a Source Note
- Placement of Note Numbers
- Abbreviation Tips
- Stylistic Tips for Source Notes
- Bibliographic Tips
I love this book, which is really a mini-manual on best research practices that require analysis and evaluation of our genealogical sources and how to correctly cite them.
Part One, as stated, presents the basics in understanding why and how to document research sources.
Part Two is the heart of the book as it guides the reader through the basics of citations and then through the process of creating them using fourteen universal templates, complete with examples embedded in them.
The format is straight forward and easy to understand for any level of researcher.
It’s hard to believe that a 700+ book can be edited into an essential 138-page manual, but Elizabeth Shown Mills has done it.
For those find the cost of EE too expensive or the 700+ pages too overwhelming, this Stripped Bare Guide is a perfect alternative. It’s also a handy alternative to pack if you are on a family history road trip.
I’d also recommend this book for those who already own Evidence Explained, as it is a great little guide to have on the reference shelf if you have a quick question about citation formats.
Your Stripped Bare Guide to Citing & Using History Sources can be purchased online for $27.50 (paperback) or $19.50 (Bookshelf eBook, but BE SURE to read the guidelines as it is not the typical download to your computer.)
I would love to own a copy of this book, but the company refuses to ship to Canada and I boycott Amazon… very frustrating. Will check to see if my indie bookstore can special order it for me.
I like that ESM has distilled her templates to 14 generic ones – I can see them in CiteBuilder and think they’re very helpful for newer genealogists as they’re not so intimidating as those in the full EE.
Not sure I can convince our Head of Acquisitions to buy this one as well as we already own EE 4th ed.
Teresa, Barnes & Noble will ship this book to Canada! Take a look: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/your-stripped-bare-guide-to-citing-using-history-sources-elizabeth-shown-mills/1147747681?ean=9780806321523
Thanks for the info. I’ll try my indie first, as here in Canada, we’re focussed on buying Canadian or via Canadian businesses right now.
That said, I appreciate knowing B&N will do it if necessary 😊
Not a typical download, indeed. Some platform named “Bookshelf” that I’ve never used. All about controlling access.
from the guidelines:
> As a publisher, what we particularly like about the platform is the protection it affords to our authors. While it facilitates copying and printing of useful segments, at no time do you have a file of the book that could be sent to others.
Hard pass on the ebook.