The following book review was written by Bobbi King:

Evidence Explained, Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace
Fourth Edition
by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Genealogical Publishing Co., 2024. 739 pages.   

Some years ago, I was attending a national conference, and I happened to strike up a conversation with Elizabeth Shown Mills. She’s always been most gracious to this beginner genealogist, and as we chatted, I noticed she was wearing two watches on her wrist. (This was back in the day before smartphones when we relied upon our watches or analog timers to time a presentation.) I couldn’t resist, so I asked her why she was wearing two watches. She said, “Machines hate me.” She explained that machines mysteriously quit working whenever she is close by. “Interesting,” I thought. 

We parted ways, and I walked over the room where her presentation was scheduled to be. You always had to get into her lecture rooms early, because they were invariably standing-room only. I attended one of her lectures once, at a four-day conference, when her talk was scheduled as the last lecture of the last day, a death-knell of a time slot, when frazzled conference-goers are usually bugging out the doors to get to the nearest bar in order to escape the last four days of frantic scheduling and the intensities of paying rapt attention.

Anyway, I went into her lecture room and soon, at the appointed time, she was introduced by the introducer and beginning remarks were made. Then she assumed the lecture podium to begin her talk. She opened her talk, overhead slides on high, she speaking and clarifying her points, when suddenly—bonk—her laser pointer died. Dead as a doornail. “Interesting,” I thought.

I see Ms. Mills is continuing her work on clarifying the complexities of smart citation. She explains the intricacies of citations with clarity and precision. Each chapter is structured in an easy-to-understand format, with clear explanations, illustrative examples, and practical tips for implementation.

In “Fundamentals of Research & Analysis,” Ms. Mills sets the stage for a thoughtful and critical approach to genealogical study. In “Fundamentals of Citation & Style,” she offers insights into the underlying principles and rationale for citation practices, emphasizing the ethical importance of honesty, attribution, and integrity in recognizing sources and acknowledging and documenting their contributions to our own work and conclusions. 

Chapters are separated into record groups, such as “Cemetery Records,” “National Government Records,” “Census Records” and more. Each chapter has straightforward citation examples and templates, and offers full explanations of the formatting—all the tools you need to navigate the citation process with understanding, confidence and efficiency.

This new and updated Evidence will continue to help you refine your citational skills.

Evidence Explained, Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace is available from the publisher, Genealogical Publishing Co., at: https://genealogical.com/the-new-4th-edition-of-evidence-explained/ and from Amazon.com.