Book and Movie Reports by Ed

TV report: Who Do You Think You Are? Genealogy is one of my favorite hobbies. The genealogy of my own family is very difficult to pursue, because before about 1910, it’s all in Italy and Portugal. My wife’s genealogy, on the other hand, is both fascinating and accessible. She has lots of ancestors in America, and many interesting ones, including a fellow who once owned the city of Springfield, Massachusetts and two veterans of the Revolutionary War. Some people look on genealogy as irrelevant: it’s all about the past, which has no effect or impact on present life. I disagree. Our view of ourselves depends very heavily on what we know about our families. Your image of your life must change if you find out that you are a descendant of a slave, a slave-owner, an accused Salem witch, a Holocaust victim, a World War I hero, or European royalty. Each week, the TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?” shows the process of uncovering some of the genealogy of a celebrity. The choice of using a