The chapters on Collecting References and Retrieving Notes and Compiling Family Sheets are the most useful chapters in the book. Dollarhide does a good job of teaching readers how to organize their notes and documents. His suggestions for numbering are somewhat different than the methods that I suggest, but the goal is the same: get your ancestral data organized so the information can be retrieved again.

Since the book is aimed at beginners, however, there appears to be an overemphasis on paper forms and manual numbering systems, especially since a majority of today's beginners start using computer genealogy programs early in their research. It is important for all family historians to know the difference between the Register, the Modified Register, and the Henry numbering systems, but with the proliferation of genealogy programs family historians don't need to be preoccupied with the numbering of people until they are ready to produce a family history.

The chapter on Using a Computer appears to be the only chapter that was updated significantly in this edition. Dollarhide reviews four popular genealogy programs on the market today, as well as my software program, Clooz. In the same chapter, he discusses creating databases and word processing templates for those who want to use the software they already have. I found some of the instruction in this section rather difficult to follow, even with my background in computers. And again, there was a preoccupation with numbering systems that seems rather unnecessary.

Considering that this book is billed as an "Updated Edition," I was disappointed that a few items were overlooked for updating, along with the fact that it does not go far enough to keep up with technology. One overlooked item was the discussion of the Preponderance of the Evidence (POE) principal in Section 3, Retrieving Notes and Compiling Family Sheets. This principle was abandoned by the Board for Certification of Genealogists several years ago because a POE argument does not require the level of proof that sound genealogical research methods require. This is discussed on BCG's Web site at http://www.genealogy.org/~bcg.

Additionally, in Section 6 "Using a Computer," Dollarhide states that the National Genealogical Society/Computer Interest Group publishes a quarterly newsletter that NGS members can receive by indicating an interest in computers. The newsletter is actually printed six times a year and is included within each issue of the NGS Newsletter, whether the member has an interest in computers and genealogy or not.

Managing a Genealogical Project, by William Dollarhide, is published by Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1001 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. The book sells for $14.95 and is available from GPC's Web site at http://www.genealogybookshop.com.