Who Was Your Granny's Granny? by Paul Burke and Audrey Collins (Foulsham, £7.99)

MILLIONS of people around the world are gripped by the notion of researching their family history.

Where did they originate? Where did they live? What did they do? Was there anyone famous in the family? Is there a skeleton in the cupboard?

Blake and Collins' practical guide to unlocking the past indicates the starting points and signposts what routes to follow next.

Initial research should be with elderly relatives. It is they, after all, who will probably have first-hand information of one, two, maybe even three generations' past.

The next step should be the internet. There are a number of sites that are the most useful sources to 19th and 20th Century census returns and electoral rolls.

Say the authors: "Family history really begins with events within living memory. Memory is a great recorder of truth, although, don't forget that it can - and does - have lapses when flattery or fancy take over.

"Research takes time. The very last thing you should do is to rush it. As you start, you should ask yourself exactly whose family you want to discover. The choices are several, just the direct male line; the descent through the female members; or all branches of the family?"

Just how far anyone goes in rooting out their family tree is up to the individual, but Blake and Collins make a plea... always hold on to the findings.

For, however much or little is achieved, it could be of immense value to great-grandchildren when they want to learn about their ancestors.

David Chapman