Writing Family Histories and Memoirs

by Kirk Polking

From conducting solid research to producing a compelling book, the reader is led step by step through the process of recreating their past.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Reference, Research

272 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Kirk Polking is a pseudonym for Dorothy Polking, a writer, editor, and pilot from Cincinnati. She purposely obscured her gender throughout her career.

Polking wrote books on many topics, including flying and oceanography, and was the editor of Writer's Digest for several years.

Reviews

[AR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful book! Not only does it provide topic ideas for writing about your family history, it provides excerpts from memoirs that demonstrate how to approach the task in an entertaining fashion rather than writing, "so and so begat so and so and so and so did such and such." This book led me to Shirley Abbott's "Womenfolks: Growing Up Down South," which I truly loved for its approach and for the historical and sociological background it provided.

[Anson Cassel Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kirk Polking (1925-2017) was a long-time editor of Writer’s Digest and wrote more than twenty books—about flying and oceanography as well as writing per se. In this book, directed at amateurs with more enthusiasm than writing skill, Polking contributes her personal expertise along with appropriate examples from family historians and writers of memoirs. Unfortunately, the compendium is now more than thirty years old, written on the cusp of the internet revolution; much of its (even good) advice may strike a younger generation as hopelessly antiquated.

[Jo-Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book tremendously interesting, easy to read and full of down to earth tips for family history writing. I would recommend it for anyone in the Goodreads community who intends to write on either the history of their family, their community or writing in general.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

While perhaps a bit dated in technical information for 2019, I did find this book interesting. More importantly, it provided me with the motivation to familiarize myself with my grandfather’s genealogical research and compile a book of my family history. A fitting way to honor his memory.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book on the subject.




Two better books are You Can Write Your Family History" by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack and Katherine Scott Sturdevant's "Brining your Family History to Life through social history". Carmack, a genealogist and Sturdevant, a history professor colaborate and have developed the concept of social history in family history.