Most people are curious about their ancestry - in our age of information, genealogical research has become one of the most popular activities in the world and the Family History Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most important resources. Started in 1894, the Mormon genealogical project has grown to include 2 billion names, 2.4 million rolls of microfilm, and 278,000 books - making it the worlds largest collection of genealogical information. Donald Akenson explains and evaluates the history and functioning of this massive undertaking, in the process providing an insightful study of the Mormon scriptures and their implications for genealogical work. One of his central arguments is that there are four basic genealogical forms.
