Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #810182 in Books
• Published on: 1997-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 232 pages

From Library Journal
This oral family history handbook takes a different approach from similar books by including new material on memory and advice on jogging memories for the interviewer and the interviewee. There are also examples from real interviews. As do the standard books, this also gives practical advice on handling microphones and audio and videotape, interviewing techniques, suggested interview questions, and preserving and using tapes. For the standard topics, the best available work is William Fletcher's Recording Your Family History: A Guide to Preserving Oral History with Videotape, Audiotape, Suggested Topics and Questions, Interview Techniques (Ten Speed Pr., 1989). On balance, however, Rosenbluth's book could be useful in libraries and for the home market.
- Judith P. Reid, Library of Congress
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Keeping Family Stories Alive
Excellent book! I reviewed several books found on an annotated bibliography regarding doing oral history interviews. This one was by far the best.

The book I recommend to anyone interested in family stories.
As president of the Association of Personal Historians (an international network of professionals who help others preserve their life stories and family history), I was often asked to recommend books for people interested either in preserving their own family history or in getting into the business of doing this for others. There are many books on this topic, but Vera Rosenbluth's excellent book was always my number one recommendation. It is well-written, easy to understand and filled with helpful information.

Still a classic
Numerous oral history guides have come out since Vera Rosenbluth wrote the first edition of, and then expanded (2nd edition, 1997) Keeping Family Stories Alive, but Rosenbluth's book still is tops for what it aspires to do. Her approach works for any caring person who seeks to preserve the treasury of family lore. She also outlines solid oral history technique and gives careful attention to sensitive issues, making this book an equally valuable resource for the professional personal historian. Speaking as a seasoned professional, this is the book I would aspire to write if Vera Rosenbluth hadn't already done it.