Hi This could keep you going for ever. What sort of thing did you have in mind - fiction, popular non fiction, academic works, websites ...? In terms of what is in your local library, the 'history' non fiction will be under numbers which start with 9, unless it is a very rare library that doesn't use Dewey classification. But you might also be interested in things like the furniture your ancestors used or the houses they lived in - these will be in a 7 class, as they do not 'count' as history. Or did you have in mind going to the original sources and making up your own mind? Every history book is, after all, someone else's ideas based on the sources they have chosen to use, and sometimes they have an axe to grind in writing the book, although this may not be clear to the reader. Or perhaps even better, there might be a re-enactment group within reach of you. Most of these specialise in one period, such as the civil War or the viking era. They are generally dedicated to achieving authenticity, and it is probsbly the closest you could get to living as an ancestor did. Just a few ideas to be going on with. Kathleen Rod Blaker <rod.blaker@gmail.com> wrote: Hi folks My goal with this genealogy is make make a gift of a story - the story of my ancestors and their lives in their times - to my descendants, relatives and their extended families. To do that I need a very good grasp of daily life as the centuries roll by - life on the farm, life as a house carpenter and so forth. From availability of horses, to nature of farming, to dentistry and health care and education and leisure time (was there any?) I read the suggestion of "Larks Rise" but that is I presume a snapshot of a particular moment. Does anyone have a suggestion about the type of reading that can take me from say 1000 to 2000 ? Not the life of the wealthy, nor the abject poor - the common man - and woman and child. Nasty, brutish and short, I understand; but a bit more detail needed. Thanks Rod ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to SFHG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now.