Dictionary Reviews

In common with other reviewers ot this book, I have a great collection of books for learning Japanese, and this is simply the best for learning (reading, writing, and remembering) Kanji.

Of course, it was of great help that I had already a previous knowledge of the language (vocabulary, grammar, hiragana, katakana, etc.), so I just could focus in learning kanji.

The advantages of this book are: 1) there is a constant repetition of the kanji already learned and 2) what is much more important: only kanji that have been dealt with are used in the examples and the reading material (and this feature, believe me, is unique to this book and makes it stand above the rest of the books for learning kanji, where the example sentences use kanji that you do not know how to read or their meaning, rendering these books unusable for the proposed task).

So, if you want to avoid for yourself the suffering that others (including myself) have gone through, buy this book and forget about the rest.

Of all the Kanji related books I've purchased over the last four years since I began studying Japanese, this book is without question the single, most useful reference I've come across. The Kanji are presented one at a time, with its reading and its meaning, and then example phrases and sentences are given. Most importantly, these Kanji resurface over and over again as you progress through the book, making you learn through repetition. If you're looking for a firm foothold on the slippery slope of learning Kanji, start with this book.

In all my years of studying Japanese, this is easily the best text I came across. If you are interested in learning how to read the language my advice is very simple: digest this book completely and utterly! The methodology - introducing kanji and then reviewing them periodically - is outstanding. I used this book fully 11 years ago and remember it like it was yesterday!

Next to case law, I find Burton's Legal Thesaurus indispensible in writing appellate briefs. I only wish it were available in a downloadable form for use with my word processing program.

"Good luck," my employer wished as he handed me a plane ticket and a tome of a background packet. I was leaving on a critical six-week business trip to an alien state in the midwest. No problem - except that five days prior the law review had accepted me as one of three evening division 2Ls for candidacy and my first case abstracts were due in twenty days. Hmmm . . .

From my hotel room, I scanned, identified, analyzed, condensed, reviewed, and rewrote the abstracts. Then did it again. And again. And again. But I was missing something. I was missing that "oomph" that propels a reader when reading legal material. And I didn't know what to do.

I decided to take a "creative" break down at the local (bookstore). Of course, I immediately gravitated to the law section of the store and, before you could say "double espresso, please," I had found it! Burton's Legal Thesaurus.

I opened the pages and my heart fluttered. Over 5,000 entries, legal synonyms for any legal term that came to mind, definitions, an overview of federal "plain language" requirements, associated legal concepts, and the list goes on! I wiped away a tear.

I rushed back to my hotel room and my fingers began flying over the laptop. My abstracts sang with power and precision! I could feel the reader compelled - nay, helpless - to turn the page! Burton's Legal Thesaurus had saved the day! I was now a jurisprudence scholar!

Eh, not really. But it really helped out when I didn't have access to my usual materials. However, one thing of which I can assure you, I'll be using this thesaurus for the rest of my career. If you've ever tried to write a legal document with a conventional thesaurus, you've probably felt the same way I did - close, but not close enough. But where do I find "close enough"? Read some more cases? Subscribe to a half dozen law journals? Hang out with the professors? This book definitely dispenses with that problem. You'll find everything you need to write a work filled with persuasion and vigor contained within its pages. If you're not that creative with legal lingo (as I, obviously, am not), you need to order it now. Frankly, you're putting yourself at a serious disadvantage if you don't.

I have found that at this stage in my career, (1993 graduate) I really no longer have any need for looking up the definitions of legal words. I pretty much know the definition of most legal words, certainly all of the ones in my field. However, whether I am writing a Registration Statement, a Coverage Letter or even just a Memo to File, I constantly find myself in search of just the right word which accurately describes the point I am trying to communicate. Other times I might be trying to figuring out a new way to reiterated the same point in a document without sounding repetitive. Especially now with the SEC's new "Plain English Rules" in effect, attorneys are required to relay information to investors in fewer pages, while making the information easier for investors to understand. To put it bluntly, I find Burton's Legal Thesaurus to be an indispensable tool in the lawyers arsenal. No lawyer, paralegal, law student, law professor or judge should be without one.

I have been attempting to learn Hebrew, but I could never find a book that gave information on Yiddish. When I discovered this book in my local bookstore my heart did a dance, I absolutely love it. Rabbi Blech did a wondrous mitzvah in writing this instruction book for the Goy or the Jew. :)

This is a great book, it was very enjoyable and easy to learn from. It will definitely give you a working start with Yiddish.

This book is totally awsome! It is the funniest, most enjoyable learn-a-language book you will ever come accross. Rabbi Blech is completely on-the-ball with his Judaic knowledge which is interspersed within the book. And why shouldn't he be? He only wrote two Idiots Guides to Judaism, one which I have read and also highly recommend! (The Complete Idiot's Guide to Jewish History and Culture)

On page 84 he says "Ask your Yiddish-speaking bobe [grandmother] or zeyde [grandfather], and I can almost guarantee they'll be able to sing ['Di Grine Kuzine'] to you" and so I did. He was right! My Yiddish speaking grandparents got about half way through the song until they needed the bi-lingual printing of the song in The Idiots Guide to Learning Yiddish to help them remember the words!

Expect to read this book and learn the Yiddish language, culture and everything that goes with it (including why your Yiddish Mama won't let you go out in the cold without a sweater.) You will also increase your knowledge of the history of European Jews, laugh greatly (in some cases, so you do not cry) and have an overall great time reading the stories, songs, history, grammer lessons and vocabulary teachings.

This book has been a big help to me. I have since been able to assist my father with customers that have been hearing impaired and it is such a reward. I was a little skeptical at first about how accurate this book would be but then after a few confrontations and the use of my skills, I was more than satisfied! I would definitely reccomend this book to people who are looking to learn sign language and better their skills. Thank you for being so helpful!

I will give this book 5 stars for being the best in Signed Exact English (SEE), but I would recommend picking up a American Sign Language book instead. My family used the big orange SEE book when they first found out I was deaf - they still have the 1980 edition! Being someone who grew up using SEE, I can say that it's very awkward to sign, and does not feel natural. I moved over to ASL a long time ago. SEE is not as effective as people say it is at teaching children how to write English well. I didn't pick up my English writing ability from SEE, I got it from proper instruction and being a bookworm. American Sign Language has its own grammar and lexicon which is completely different from English, but it feels more natural because it is a language which was developed as a sign language, while English has been developed as a auditory/written language, and does not fit the parameters of a sign language very well.

Signing Exact English is a must have for beginners. I am a teenager with a dream of becoming a CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter.) I learned a lot from this book. Hopefully I will be able to pass on the gift of Sign, and this book, to my children. I reccomend hard cover (the paperback cover is pretty flimsey.)

Pros:
If you're interested in seriously studying German, Ultimate German is the course to get. I decided to buy this book because of all the good reviews for it on Amazon.com, and I am very pleased that I did. This is an extremely thorough, well explained and well written program. The concepts are introduced so that they build logically on one another and are presented in a clear and readable manner. The dialogues and situations throughout the book are realistic, enjoyable and full of useful phrases. There are small quizzes after every chapter and review quizzes after every five. At the end of each set of ten chapters is a German reading selection- mostly to accustom the reader to finding the main idea of a piece of writing without understanding every word. There are also interesting and informative cultural tips at the end of each chapter. Another point in favor of Ultimate German is that it includes the plurals for nearly all the nouns in the vocabulary lists. In the back of the workbook is a summary of grammatical concepts, a glossary, a listing of the changes enacted by the German Spelling Reform, and more. At the end of this course you don't have only a few memorized phrases that are meant to guide hapless tourists, but a strong and solid beginning to real knowledge of the German language.
Cons:
Other reviewers have written that it's helpful to know a bit of basic German before starting this book, which is probably true. I don't know fom personal experience because I did have some knowledge of the language before I began using Ultimate German. However, I get the feeling that if you don't, although you may have a hard time at first and have to go very slowly, you'll still survive. A greater drawback is the number of typos in the textbook. Although they aren't everywhere, there are enough to be annoying and, at times, confusing.
My Own Suggestions:
Since there is so much information in this book (the equivalent, according to the book's cover, of two full years of college- level study), I found it helpful to have a notebook for all the important points and vocabulary words of each chapter, and I also think it's worthwhile to look over the book again after you finish it. I recommend using the Pimsleur program in addition to this one to get used to conversational speaking, but Pimsleur is very expensive, so try getting either a library copy or a used one. I also recommend going to the website of Das Erste (one of Germany's TV stations), where you can download news broadcasts using Real Player or Windows Media Player. At first they may seem extremely difficult to understand, but if you keep at it you'll eventually understand more and more.

by Edward Trimnell, author of "Why You Need a Foreign Language, and How to Learn One" (ISBN: 1591133343). This is by far the best course for learning basic German in its price range. Half of the cassettes are formatted for listening only, which is perfect for those learners who spend a lot of time in the car. I would also recommend the Hugo's German in Three Months course.

I highly recommend this set (book and CD's) for motivated self-learners. I completed this book, which covers the equivalent of 2 years of college study, in less than 6 months. A college German professor who has seen my writing and heard my speaking, was impressed with the mastery I achieved with this set. The CD set designed for "On the Go" learning is fabulous for commuting. Hearing vocabulary and grammar concepts helps to cement them in the mind. This type of learning requires some self-discipline, but I found that about a half hour with the book and about a half hour with the CD per day was sufficient.

This volume parses the good guys from the bad guys, tells you whom you should love and why, and summarily dismisses the ones not worth taking seriously. In other words, for good or bad, it arms you, as will no other film book ever written, with a set of eloquently-stated prejudices that may seal off certain directors from your serious consideration for all time. (It would be too glib to say that this is the books best and worst point.) Suffice to say, it has taken years for me to tear down the wall Sarris built between me, as a budding cinephile, and William Wyler, Billy Wilder, John Huston and even John Frankenheimer, for that matter. (These are just a few of the ones I think he was, or may have been, wrong about.)

But I love this book and always find it worth picking up to reread a few entries, for two or three reasons that never grow old:

1) Sarris IS an absolutely remarkable writer. His prose bristles with alternately apt and acid phrases and insights. The parallel between Ambrose Bierce and Sarris has grown on me through the years. (I think it was Sarris who brought currency to the word "pretentious"-- possibly THE serious put-down word from the 70s to the 90s, possibly to the present-- by the way. He used it with unerring surgical delicacy, as a bludgeon.)

2) He is hard to argue with in his negative evaluation of certain other respected directors. Thirty-five years ago, Sarris renounced Kubrick, noting, in typical form, that the very fact that he made one film every 5 years seemed to be all the proof his advocates needed of his integrity. Ouch! And he said that Kubrick is the director of the best coming attractions in the business.

This last is highly prophetic of the present general situation, when Hollywood has made a sort of science of over-selling weak films with absurdly hyperbolic trailers that often have little to do with the tone or experience of the films they advertise. This comment indicates also how much of Sarris is audaciously arguable, and out of synch with conservative academia re Kubrick and just about everything else. --Not a bad thing, as far as I am concerned.) And I think he was also decades ahead of the curve in recognizing Keaton as Chaplin's better.

3) He has been, for decades, an antidote to Pauline Kael. Period.

If you know the directors covered well enough to take it all with a grain of salt where needed, this book is probably the best read on movies and their directors from the second and third quarters of the 20th Century that will ever be written. THE great mapping out of this seminal period by the auteur theorys chief surveyor-- and a fun and drolly amusing place to pick up your snazzy-looking anti-philistine, anti-pretentious attitude off-the-rack.

There are few books on cinema that are more important than this title. To any serious student of film this book is perhaps the only book that you will refer to as long as you watch films.

Extolling the virtues of The American Cinema would be too hard. Beside being an invaluable reference for cinema between 1929-1968, it also contains wonderful peices of film theory. Because of this The American Cinema can be read a few pages at a time or you can completely dwelve into the material. No matter the method, Sarris will engage you in a meaningful dialogue of film. Film literature is rarely able to be this give and take. Those with an above average inclination toward cinema should purchase.

It is a good book for those who never learned how to say "what do you want to do?" in a natural way. This book shows you 20 and only 20 most common short forms. The content is well organized. But it is pricey for a book that has only 68 papges. For the most part, you may do a search and find them somewhere in the internet. But then again it is a good deal for those who do not care about the price.

I've used the First Edition of Whaddaya Say for almost twenty years. Nothing I've used to teach students to understand spoken English has ever been better. I was very pleasantly surprised to use the Second Edition, which was published in 2001, and find that all of the lessons that made listening comprehension easier for my students were included along with an additional ten lessons. The fun conversations are even better, and the tapes are really great. I didn't know tests could be useful as well as funny, but there's a wonderful test at the end of the book that was a lot of fun. I want my students to know how English is really pronounced (*wanna for "want to", *hafta for "have to", *gonna for "going to + verb", etc.). When they don't know the real pronunciations, they have a really hard time understanding spoken English.

I'm amazed by one thing in particular -- although the Second Edition of Whaddaya Say has 30% more pages and there are three cassettes now instead of two, the price hasn't gone up. I don't know why the price hasn't increased, but it seems like a great bargain to get a beautifully updated bestselling listening book for the same price as the prior version!

I don't see how anyone can really learn listening comprehension without this book.

This is an excellent book - tape for those who want to learn how to understand American/Canadian "everyday" language.
It is very clear in the way pronunciation is explained and the practice material is fun!

Elisabeth Murray writes a wonderful and highly detailed biography of her grandfather, James Murray. Simon Winchester reintroduced many in this country to Mr. Murray in his book The Professor and the Madman, which told the story of Murray and an American living in an English asylum named W. C. Minor. This book was highly readable, but not comprehensive as a true biography of Murray.

James Murray, the first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, was a gentle man of words who dedicated his life to the study of the English Language. His efforts are best understood in this book by the descriptions Elisabeth gives of his scriptorum, where Murray spent the majority of his life, and where Elisabeth worked as a young lady.

In reading about this man's life and the effort that was required to undertake the construction of this dictionary, one really gets a sense of the vastness and complexity of the English Language, the historical richness and the regional diversity. One also sees in florid detail the life of one of the great late-Victorian pedants.

This is really two books in one: the life story of James Murray, first editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, and the tale of the dictionary itself. Both are lovingly told. It's a must read for anyone interested in dictionaries or linguistics.

Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray, who was the chief editor of the huge Oxford English Dictionary on which every serious scholar of English continues to depend, has written an excellent biography of the greatest English lexicographer, and done more: she has also given an insight into his personality, and, yet more importantly, into the whole scholarly world of philology, lexicography etc. in Victorian England, and the difficulties which beset the creators of the dictionary. I recommend the biography most highly, and feel that all fans of *The Surgeon of Crowthorne* (chiefly on Dr W.C. Minor) should read this - preferably BEFORE that book (so as to get a sense of context), but otherwise after. - Joost Daalder, Professor of English, Flinders University (see "More about me')

One of my favorite novels is "Anna Karenina"; this trilogy starts off as strongly. In the first volume, "Childhood," the immediacy of experience is palpable, the vividness of sensations is high, the emotionality is less diluted by philosophical wonderings. Tolstoy's writing is evocative, clear, and engaging in this book. His writing becomes increasingly abstract with each volume in the series. As his protagonist moves through adolescence, his uncertainties, moodiness, and fickle nature bogged down the narrative, I thought. Of course, this reflects the state of mind of the young man, but in comparison with the brightness of the first volume, made for some tedious reading. The books do, however, show how masterful Tolstoy was from the beginning of his career.

I thought that this was a lovely novel, a deeply reflective work in which Tolstoy concentrates on the life of the character Nikolai Irtenyev from his early childhood to his days as an aspiring student.

It's told in picaresque style, and reminded me a lot of Proust's "In Search of Lost Time" (had Proust been influenced by Tolstoy at all?). As an example:

"It was almost dark in the room, and very hot; there was a mingled smell of mint, eau-de-cologne, camomile and Hoffman's drops. The smell struck me so forcibly that, not only when I happen to smell it but even when I recall it, my imagination instantly carries me back to that darkly stifling room and reproduces every minute detail of that terrible moment."

The novel is full of such fine descriptive passages - the approach of a thunderstorm being the one that sticks in my mind.

But the main strength of this work is, I thought, that Tolstoy does a good job of describing the sweetnesses of childhood but does not cover up the agonies of growing up. This is no sugary, romantic account. Childhood and adolescence are portrayed as immensely trying times, both for Nikolai himself and for his family and friends. All the emotions, anger, misunderstandings and disorientation are detailed by Tolstoy.

Fine Stuff.

G Rodgers

When this book first hit the stores in Russia about 150 years ago, folks didn't think too much of it, seeing it merely as a minor work by one who had read Dickens. Tolstoy himself claimed that no one taught him more about the art of fiction than Dickens, and the literary circles of Russia were Dickens-fanatics, Russia recieving his works only after England.

But beyond being similiar to David Copperfield, this book has moments in it that match parts of Karenin and War and Peace in beauty and texture if not in scope. What's amazing about Tolstoy is that his earliest work (this and his early war sketches) seem as artistically mature as his later, epic masterpieces. The death-obsession and intense philosophical and spiritual doubts that plagued Tolstoy later in life did not all of a sudden erupt while writing Anna Karenin; but rather they were always there in one form or another... an echo of adolescent sadness.

Although I agree that this book is certainly a bargain when compared to the standard textbook options that often cost 3-4 times as much, I was disappointed to find that no solutions to the exercises are provided. One must purchase ANOTHER book before the exercises in this book can really be said to be useful. I am a firm believer in immediate correction when it comes to language review and acquisition--spending time on exercises without knowing which you did wrong will only reinforce what are your misunderstandings of grammar. However, if you are willing (and able) to buy the solutions manual along with this book, then it will make a good review--though it won't be the bargain that it at first appeared.

If you had Spanish in high school but it's been a while since you've used it,then this is the perfect book for you! It begins with the simple present tense then progresses to the more complicated preterite and subjunctive. At the end of the book you will find interesting cultural tidbits to enhance your experience of learning the Spanish language. Have fun!

The best I have seen to date! This thick Spanish grammar book is more advanced than most reviews (intermediate to advanced) and presents materials in a little different way, making the grammar principals easier to understand and remember. Specific areas of grammar that were "fuzzy" to me before are now much more clear! The text and exercises are definitely not boring. Don't forget to purchase the Repaso Answer Key book so you can check your answers and correct any errors.