Dictionary Reviews

Recently my wife and I were planning a two week, once in a lifetime trip though Italy. We were very excited to see the entire country but realized that communicating might be difficult as we got into the Tuscan countryside. With this in mind we picked up a copy of Instant Italian Vocabulary Builder.

Although my wife and I had a bit of Spanish and Italian while in college, we didn't retain nearly enough of the language and its structure to feel comfortable on our trip. We each spent some of our free time reading though this book and were simply amazed at how much we retained. This method of learning worked wonders for the both of us and we commented to each other on our trip that we feel we learned more in the short time spent with this book than in our entire college experience.

This level of comfort with the language helped make our honeymoon a truly unforgettable experience. It allowed us to put our concerns aside and to enjoy our time in the Tuscan wine country. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast and easy way to pick up the Italian language. Simply the best learning tool I've used while studying a foreign language.

I never thought it could be that easy. I have tried classes and and other textbooks in the past. Tom has really discovered a way for people who find learning languages challenging, such as myself, to really connect and understand how words and sentances are formed in the Italian language. It not only helps people to understand what is being said, but more importantly enables people to interact in a full on conversation. It has really given me hope from the several years of discouragement I have had trying other teacher's methods.
I highly recommend anyone who needs and/or wants to learn or expand thier knowledge of foriegn language to order this version.
It is easy and understandable for all levels. The most effective method I have ever read.
Great job.

This book gives me almost of I wanna know about International Hotel English. I suggest this book for students in hotel department. This gives you much

As a staff of international hotel, this book tough me how to speak English more professional.

Review of the Holy Qur'an

We are living in the age that is heading towards the conquest of time and space. The faster means of communications have set into motion such rapid sources of transportation for men and material, which were far beyond the imagination of the earlier generations of human race. The enormous speed in the movement has brought forth revolutionary changes in the ideology and mode of living and it has created a cosmic society with socio-economic interdependence of nations. The problems relating to human life on earth, and its progress cease to be local. So every problem, pertaining to any single nation or to the human race as a whole, has its causes and effects inter-connected and thus become the concern of international importance.

The supersonic means of communications have not brought about revolution only in the economic structure of the world, but they have carried with them vital changes and exchanges of thoughts and religious ideologies. The huge exodus of populations from comparatively economically depressed countries to prosperous countries has resulted in intermixing of populations at global scale. These changes have necessitated the learning of each other's cultures, languages and religious ideologies.

The West with its economic superiority and political freedom has gained sway over most of the Eastern countries. Particularly, the general Muslim public has been increasingly getting strongly influenced by materialistic thoughts and irreligious life of the West. The necessity of learning English language, which promised the bright future for the Muslim population, made them neglect and even forget the necessity and importance of learning their own mother tongues and the languages such as Arabic and Persian in which are, treasured the original and basic knowledge of their faith.

The endeavor of Professor (Dr.) Syed Vickar Ahamed to translate the Holy Qur'an in English is perhaps the greatest achievement of his life. The exact and precise translation of one language into another is not possible, particularly, when we are dealing with erudition, scholarly contents, richness, ineffable eloquence, and unsurpassable beauty of Arabic language of the Holy Qur'an. Prof Ahamed has put his best efforts with erudition to present the translation of the Holy Qur'an in an easily comprehensible, lucid, and precise manner explaining the ocean of inspiration and wisdom to the youth of the Muslim Umma. This undertaking will facilitate understanding and learning of Miracle of Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) till the Day of Judgment. The Holy Qur'an is a complete code of life for humanity providing divinely guidance for entire spectrum of human life. It should be remembered that the worldly education without accompaniment of religious education is an unmitigated curse for humanity.

The book of glassy paper with flowery design of embroidery all around it and the presentation of the Qur'anic knowledge in its fullness with sublime beauty of its contents in the center, makes it irresistibly attractive and worth reading.

I am immeasurably honored to write a review about sustained and tireless efforts of Prof Ahamed for the translation of the Holy Qur'an in English.

Professor Tasneem H Kazmi
City University of New York
January 7, 2002.

This is simply a great interpretation of the Quran, the religious book for the Muslim faith. Whether you are Muslim or not, this book provides a clear explanation of the Arabic text. Mr. Ahamed's version is much clearer than other versions of the English translation that I have read. In fact, I think this translation is probably suitable for any reader who has even average vocabulary skills. The Shakespearean "thee's" and "thou's" that appear too frequently in other translations are thankfully eliminated here, creating a much easier to understand book. The Arabic text is side-by-side with the English, with each Arabic "ayat" next to the English sentence that is it's translation. The artwork in the book is also magnificent and inspiring. Another feature I liked about it was that the index not only had a reference by the title of the surah, but also by subject - so if you wanted to read only about the subject of treachery, you could look it up and then find the passages in the Quran that dealt with that issue. All in all, I highly recommend this book to all Muslims and others who want to learn more about the religion.

A blessedly slim, grammatically thorough & well-organized introductory text so elegant it can be used in classes or self-study. Beautifully printed, indexed, and designed. Introduction to Classical Tibetan by Stephen Hodge was assigned as a primary text at UC-Berkeley for beginning scriptural Tibetan. When first learning particles, I used to carry it with me everywhere. It's marvelously portable, and due to excellent indexing even a beginner can find specific grammatical items easily -- even when reading on the bus! When I advanced into higher classes, I kept Hodge in my backpack as a handy reference. It's still on my desktop today. If you are learning classical Tibetan independently, outside the university, this is a wonderful starter book.

Hodge's book is by far the finest that I've seen for beginners of Literary Tibetan. The manner in which he has arranged the text is ingenious. It is a small book, but I think you learn more from it than from Joe Wilson's hefty "Translating Buddhism from Tibetan." Also, it's very hard to find, in the first year Tibetan class I took, we couldn't get a hold of the text, so we all had to use photocopies. For colloquial Tibetan, I recommend the "Fluent Tibetan" series, but they are really no substitute for a class.

Lambdin's textbook is really unique in its presentation; he divides the book into three parts: the first is broken into 36 lessons with vocabulary, grammar and practice exercises to assist the student in the study of Sa'idic Coptic; the second is a collection of Coptic writings (all religious) for the student to work on once he has finished the lessons in Part One; and the third part is a brief lexicon for those who don't want to spend $90 for Crum's Dictionary (although I highly recommend any serious student of Coptic acquire Crum's dictionary, which was reprinted last year by the Oxford University Press). When you finish this course, you really are ready to read original Coptic texts with the assistance of a dictionary. The E.J. Brill Press has put out a number of books with Coptic texts, including the Nag Hammadi library (see my review for more information) and a catalogue of the Coptic texts in the A.S. Pushkin Museum in Moscow, and there are other publications aimed at the Coptic Christian community, though many of these are in Bohairic, which you will need Crum's dictionary for.

Those who are interested in the original language of the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, will find that there are not many grammars available for Sahidic Coptic. Thomas Lambdin, the official translator of the Gospel of Thomas in James Robinson's "The Nag Hammadi Library", has written one of the best. Beginning with the Coptic alphabet, which employs the entire Greek alphabet, plus 6 characters of its own, Lambdin proceeds thru a series of lessons introducing the basic elements of Sahidic Coptic, and giving the reader extensive exercises in reading the language. In addition to the grammar lessons, however, the book includes a 150-page glossary of Coptic words, and a 50-page section of reading selections, including Luke I-V, Apophthegmata Patrum, Wisdom of Solomon, and The Life of Joseph the Carpenter. As a personal aside, this book served as the basis of my own interlinear Coptic/English translation of the Gospel of Thomas. I would highly recommend it to others.

Quality over quantity is the theme of the day here with author Lorilee Cracker's foray into the crowded field of baby name books. Sure, there's only about 125 names profiled in this book (as opposed to list books that offer 20,000+ ideas), but all the interesting detail the author provides makes this book heads and tails above the rest of the field. I don't expect to have a baby any time soon, nor do I read the Bible, but if the converse of each of those statements was true, this book would be "da bomb" even moreso than it already is! And it could be for you, too!

A is for Adam is the ultimate Bible names book. Author Lorilee Craker picks the best and most interesting Bible names and gives readers a brief history of the name, famous people with that name, and myriad other interesting details. Her book, however, goes beyond just names. Included are lists of popular names, brief essays by parents who have chosen a particular name, and interesting historical details. Craker's humor adds to the appeal of the book as well. Why should you buy it? Because you want the most meaningful and unique name for your wonderful and unique child. A is for Adam will help you find it.

I have been searching for an easy way to teach my daughter, age 4 who has grown up only speaking english, my native Italian. I have tried various computer programs, books and tapes, and other teaching methods. All were rather boring and unhelpful, my daughter soon lost interest. This system is wonderful! The lessons are interesting and fun. They are blended wonderfully with songs and activities that keep a child's attention. I highly recommend this program. I do recommend that someone in the family practice with the child and participate with them while they listen. This is by far the best children's language packet I've seen.

My son and I enjoyed the music, activities and games provided in this learning program. The use of children's voices for the cassette was very effective. A great starting point for both children and adults alike.

It would be great to have this program on video.

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As author of this book, I am pleased to quote a review written by Beverly Allen, Professor of French and Italian at Stanford University: "Dr. Rosenbaum has done a marvellous thing: he has written a very smart, adult, thorough introductory Italian grammar which is full of infectious good humour and a finely honed sensitivity to the problems facing the native English speaker when confronted by Italian. In all of this, his own enthusiastic openness to the world of Italian shines through not only as constant encouragement to the student, but also as constant entertainment. A wonderful threshold not just to the Italian language, but to Italy as well! EVVIVA!"

This book is a gem for students of the Italian language. It presents many hints for learning and remembering Italian words, with chapters like "The Regularities of Irregular Verbs," "Cognates: Faithful and Quasi," "Faking out Irregular Past Participles," and "How to Recognize, Remember, and Even Make, Nouns from Verbs." It also covers hints on how to speak easily in certain domains, such as "Popular Italian Words and Phrases," "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow: Expressions of Time," and "Hither, Thither, and Yon: Expressions of Place." All this is presented in an easy to read and entertaining manner, by an author who spent three years in Italy, and recorded those insights about the Italian language that were most helpful to him. It is truly, as the sub-title says, a "Shortcut to the Language."

I got my copy back in 1992 and it has been my number one reference for looking up complex Kanji compounds eversince. So comprehensive yet so easy to use. You'll be hard pressed to find another Kanji dictionary that has more entries than this one. I studied Japanese at university for 4 years and have been working in Japan for 6 years so far. I always have this book at my side. The only thing that might be better would be one of those modern palm-sized electronic dictionaries. But you have to be in Japan to get one and you need to be able to read Japanese to use it; not to mention the expensive price. Think you're a hardcore Japanese student or strive to be one, get this book. It'll make your Kanji studying life a lot easier, I guarantee it.

This is an excellent Kanji dictionary. Not only can you look up characters by either their radical or their reading, the dictionary provides a comprehensive list of compound words in which that character appears. This means that you can often find the meaning of a compound word by looking up only one character (even if you know neither of the character's readings) which saves a lot of time and frustration. The dictionary also includes older versions of characters and characters which have become obsolete (and are not found in most dictionaries). Highly recommended both for students and professional translators of Japanese.

I'm a student taking Japanese, and I really, really like these books. They're very interesting and in full color. The illustrations and everything about the book is great! I think anyone could learn Japanese through these books!

I think that the Japanese for young people series is a very great series. I am learning Japanese and I really like these books. They are not just normal textbooks, with word after word after word. I WANT to sit down and study Japanese with these series, and I think that anyone will too. These books help you communicate in Japanese to other people very well for a student. The illustrations are very nice too.