The Genealogist ‘s Google Toolbox, by Lisa Louise Cooke (2011)

If we were all in junior high school, I doubt that anyone would hang the moniker “Geek Girl” on Lisa Louise Cooke.  She just seems so socially well-adjusted.  But there has to be a little bit of  geek  in anybody who could write such a clear and cogent guide to expert use of Google.

Although titled The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox, just about anyone who uses a computer would find it useful and fascinating.  The book exposes little-known tips about Google and shows how to better utilize some of the well-known aspects of this more-than-a-search engine.  She has a great idea about turning your IGoogle page into a genealogical “dashboard” and discusses the gadgets available with which to do that. The book begins with the basic Google search and goes right through to cover Gmail, Youtube, and Google Earth, among other things.  Novice and expert alike will find something to enjoy about this book.

Lisa also highlights some sources that that can sometimes be overlooked, such as Google Books.  I’ve long been a fan of Google Books as a source of historical background and sometimes specific individual genealogical information.  I was glad to see it included in the book.

Google’s capacities are probably far under-utilized by many genealogists. This book will excite you about Google’s many  services, and perhaps even  help you break down a brick wall, or two.

It’s available from Lulu.com in both electronic form and hard copy. I bought the hard copy book, the first time I’ve ever purchased anything from Lulu.com.  I found the process easy and the shipping was swift.