Bringing family history to life is a daunting task. Too often, little is known other than dates, names, and places. Revisiting several decisive moments in his Blough and Jacobs family lines, covering a span of 250 years, the author retells those stories by weaving known facts with what must have transpired between the characters and life situations—what the characters must have done, dreaded, and dreamed of. This is not a family history as such but rather a series of stories that illuminate the ways one generation impacts another. (232pp. illus. Masthof Press, 2012.)