1. American House Styles by John Milnes Baker (W.W. Norton & Co.). Don't know Queen Anne from Second Empire? Baker, an architect specializing in residential design, outlines stylistic details you can use as clues to determine what type of house your family lived in. Along with exterior sketches of various house styles, he also provides diagrams of typical floor plans. The chapters are arranged chronologically and begin with a historical overview of the period (Early Colonial, for example), followed by commentary on each style.

2. Discovering the History of Your House and Your Neighborhood by Betsy J. Green (Santa Monica Press). Pick up this easy-to-follow guide, and immediately you'll feel motivated to begin tracing house histories. Green explains how to get the most out of a wide variety of sources, including former owners and their descendants, and concludes with ways to preserve a house's history. Most of the records Green mentions will be familiar to genealogists — in fact, she often recommends enlisting a genealogist's help. Unfortunately, she doesn't reference genealogical guides specific to the records she discusses, and it doesn't appear that she had a seasoned genealogist review her book before it went to press. There are a few misstatements about records, such as, “Note the census for 1880 only included families with school-aged children.” Not true! All families were enumerated, but only families with children ages 10 and under were included on the Soundex. Likewise, she doesn't mention that most censuses (and many indexes) are now available online. Readers would benefit more from consulting one of the many genealogical guidebooks on records research. Aside from some misinformation about specific record groups, though, the book itself will inspire you to trace house histories and tell you exactly how to go about it.