Rating: 
Summary: Not so bad....
Review: As a stand alone, this book would be confusing. Used with the standard Arabic textbooks, it explains a little more in terms of grammar and usage. With the additional exercises and vocabulary, it can be really helpful because the answers are in the back of the book. The book is also good at making the user aware of the differences of formal spoken and written language and what a person would encounter on a daily basis. What's irritating is the cassettes are only available through Amazon UK.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book for beginners
Review: I am new to the Arabic language. I found the book + cassette extremely helpful in getting started learning Arabic on my own. I'm over half-way through the book and plan on enrolling in a formal course in the fall. The book introduces the Arabic script slowly over several chapters. The vocabulary seems useful enough but is less geared towards the traveler (I suggest the Berlitz phrasebook for that). Overall a great introduction to Modern Standard Arabic.
Rating:
Summary: How to buy the tape...read on.
Review: I found the tape in a local Arabic/Islamic bookstore (IQRA Book Center - iqrabookcenter.com, and they had a lot but I can't find it on their site, so you may have to call the store or look for a local Arabic bookstore in your area. The ISBN is 0-87052-984-6. The tapes make the book a perfect language learning tool and will have you conversing Arabic in no time flat.
Rating:
Summary: not the best
Review: i found this book decidedly mediocre, and ended up returning it. it did not seem to be written with very much thought to it -- the organization was not that good, the exercises not so helpful, and the editing poor. i would recommend "teach yourself arabic" instead. in general i have not been satisfied with any of the language books or dictionaries published by hippocrene. avoid them if possible.
Rating:
Summary: not the best
Review: i found this book decidedly mediocre, and ended up returning it. it did not seem to be written with very much thought to it -- the organization was not that good, the exercises not so helpful, and the editing poor. i would recommend "teach yourself arabic" instead. in general i have not been satisfied with any of the language books or dictionaries published by hippocrene. avoid them if possible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent text for study of Written and Spoken Arabic
Review: I have taught Arabic for over 15 years and have written my own texts on the subject. I feel that this book/tape combination is an excellent tool for those who are serious about studying the Arabic Language. There is very little emphasis on grammar, which is a weakness, but it does give a good solid introduction to the language. The style is enjoyable, the use of graphics imaginative and the continuity of the study subjects flows smoothly. I highly recommend this book. Make sure that you get the accompanying tapes.
Rating:
Summary: The accompanying tapes for this text are NOT available
Review: I ordered this book based on the recommenations posted. Indeed, the book is excellent. The text is rendered, however, totally useless for beginners because its accompanying tapes are unavailable. They cannot even be ordered at this point. I fully expected the textbook to arrive with the tapes. Learning without them, for a beginner, means practicing in poor pronunciation and future oral comprehension problems.
Rating: 
Summary: Good reading and conversational primer for BEGINNING student
Review: The title of this book is misleading, since to me, "Mastering Arabic" implies gaining complete fluency, while this book is targeted at students who have little or no Arabic ability. So if you have already had an Arabic class or two and have some ability in the language, look elsewhere. This isn't a book for raising the fluency of existing Arabic students to the next level. For its intended purpose, however, "Mastering Arabic" is pretty good. It starts out by teaching you the Arabic script (necessary for any serious student -- stay away from books that transliterate everything into English letters). Then in each chapter, there are some short grammar lessons, a number of activities, and some new vocabulary. The activities range from fill-in-the-blanks exercises to reading newspaper headlines to matching pictures with sentences to crossword puzzles, and so on. All are at a pretty basic level, but they do provide you with "authentic" Arabic usage. "Mastering Arabic" is really intended to be used in a classroom, or with some tutoring by a native speaker. If you are learning Arabic for self-study, the lessons do proceed gradually enough for you to be able to use this book on your own. However, in that case, I would recommend buying the accompanying audiocasette tapes (you can order them through Hippocrene's website). This book is at an "Intro to Arabic" level, but it is far above the level of your average phrasebook or "Arabic for Business Travelers" or similar books intended merely to teach you some basic conversational phrases. When you finish this book, you should be able to handle "survival Arabic," which is to say, you'll be able to manage simple sentences and communicate everyday ideas, and your vocabulary will be adequate for basic communication. If you want to go beyond that, such as being able to read newspapers or watch Arabic TV or carry on more complex conversations, you'll need to find more advanced books and learning resources.
Rating:
Summary: Good reading and conversational primer for BEGINNING student
Review: The title of this book is misleading, since to me, "Mastering Arabic" implies gaining complete fluency, while this book is targeted at students who have little or no Arabic ability. So if you have already had an Arabic class or two and have some ability in the language, look elsewhere. This isn't a book for raising the fluency of existing Arabic students to the next level. For its intended purpose, however, "Mastering Arabic" is pretty good. It starts out by teaching you the Arabic script (necessary for any serious student -- stay away from books that transliterate everything into English letters). Then in each chapter, there are some short grammar lessons, a number of activities, and some new vocabulary. The activities range from fill-in-the-blanks exercises to reading newspaper headlines to matching pictures with sentences to crossword puzzles, and so on. All are at a pretty basic level, but they do provide you with "authentic" Arabic usage. "Mastering Arabic" is really intended to be used in a classroom, or with some tutoring by a native speaker. If you are learning Arabic for self-study, the lessons do proceed gradually enough for you to be able to use this book on your own. However, in that case, I would recommend buying the accompanying audiocasette tapes (you can order them through Hippocrene's website). This book is at an "Intro to Arabic" level, but it is far above the level of your average phrasebook or "Arabic for Business Travelers" or similar books intended merely to teach you some basic conversational phrases. When you finish this book, you should be able to handle "survival Arabic," which is to say, you'll be able to manage simple sentences and communicate everyday ideas, and your vocabulary will be adequate for basic communication. If you want to go beyond that, such as being able to read newspapers or watch Arabic TV or carry on more complex conversations, you'll need to find more advanced books and learning resources.
Rating:
Summary: Important review correction not rating
Review: The website for Arabic/Islamic resources mentioned by a reader earlier is not iqrabookcenter.com, it is infact iqrabookcenter.ORG I usually don't post correctional reviews, but I felt this was important in the name of expanding everyone's resources.
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