Minert provides a brief introduction to how and when German surnames and place names changed both in Europe and later in the New World. Although knowledge of the German language or linguistics and phonetics is helpful, Spelling Variations does not require the reader to have those skills. Every German vowel and consonant is described along with its IPA notation followed by specific changes that the family historian can expect to encounter. This allows one to trace names both forward and backward in place and time. The Old High German Sound Shift (OHGSS) is referenced and maps show where those changes occurred as well as where they did not take place. This can help narrow down the probable ancestral family home.

There is an Annotated Bibliography, a Glossary and an Every Name index. A few black and white photographs appear a bit over-exposed but they are unimportant to the text. The book is marred by some typesetting problems and one instance of referring the reader to a non-existent Section 3.3.8 instead of 3.3.6. Somehow page 85 of the index was printed on the back of page 83 leaving page 84 out of sequence. The dark blue cover makes it a bit difficult to read the book description and blurbs on the back. ( )