Reading Japanese (Book/Cassette Course)

Rating:
Summary: The single best Japanese text
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Honestly, the best book for learning kanji.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The best $30 spent on a Japanese text yet
Review: 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.