Traces the history of genealogy in the United States, from its early preoccupation with social status and lineage, to a nineteenth-century search for Anglo-Saxon roots, to a twentieth-century acceptance of diversity and the introduction of DNA technology.

Lineage and family in colonial America -- The rise of American genealogy -- Antebellum blood and vanity -- "Upon the love of country and pride of race" -- Pedigrees and the market -- Everybody's search for roots.