"Actor and award-winning travel writer Andrew McCarthy discovers his ancestry in a compelling narrative that combines 26 intriguing and heartfelt stories about discovering home and roots with tips and recommendations on how to begin your own explorations. Addressing the explosive growth in ancestral travel, actor and travel writer Andrew McCarthy recounts his own quest to uncover his family's Irish history, along with 25 other prominent writers whose stories span the globe. Each story offers a personal take on journeying home; actively seeking unknown relatives, meeting up with seldom-seen family members, or perhaps just visiting the old country to get a feel for one's roots. Sidebars and a hefty resource section provide tips and recommendations on how to go about your own research, and a foreword by the Genographic Project's Spencer Wells sets the scene. Stunning images, along with family heirlooms, old photos, recipes, and more, round out this unique take on the genealogical research craze"--Provided by publisher.

Ireland : a restless pull / Andrew McCarthy -- Angola and Virginia : traveling to the truth / by Joe Mozingo -- Argentina : an accident of history / Alex Bellos -- Cambodia : the reluctant traveler / Nawuth Keat with Martha Kendall -- British Columbia, Canada : sun and shadows / Joyce Maynard -- Ontario, Canada : secrets and spirits / Tiffany Thornton -- Croatia : a year of living differently / Jennifer Wilson -- Cuba : indefinite voluntary departure / Juan Jose Valdes -- Czech Republic : the mandolin's story / Joseph Hurka -- England : another uncertain voyage / Jim Eagles -- Germany : the never-ending story / Joe Yogerst -- India : an Indian summer / Pico Iyer -- Japan : of deserts and rice paddies / Edward Iwata -- Laos/Vietnam : the birthday present / Thomas Fuller -- Mexico : my insurgent granny / Peter McBride -- Norway : following the son / Dave Hage -- Peru : my year of magical thinking / Maria Arana -- The Philippines and California : MacArthur, my mother, and me / Barbara A. Noe -- Poland : where old and new worlds collide / Nina Strochlic -- Russia : a warm Cold War reunion / Hilary Mandelberg -- Scotland : finding William / Andrew Evans -- Sicily, Italy : a hunger for family / Renee Restivo -- Taiwan : the eighth sister / Mei-Ling Hopgood -- Tanzania : my family, my tribe / Donovan Webster -- Ulster, Ireland and Northern Ireland : three-generations, one distant family history / Liz Beatty -- Illinois, United States : a heartland history / Diane Johnson -- Genealogy 101 -- Country specific information.