Interesting observation that the research e-book is not-so-concrete. In one sense it isn’t: it’s not geared for a specific type of research. However, it is quite concrete in giving specific sources of information and how to use them, including three case studies, and it includes nearly 100 links to excellent reference/information sites, broken down by category.

Without addressing the merits of specific sites (because I haven’t used any of them), tools to help build family trees can be useful in gathering the information to write a family history. You have to know who your family is/was before you can create the history, but you need much more than that.