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Rating: 
Summary: Really enjoyable - solid, well produced, and fun
Review: I'm learning Italian for a trip in November, during which I'll be getting married and going on a honeymoon. I've tried several books, books with casette tapes, and interactive CD products, and so far this one is the best.I got it ...after seeing some reviews for the abridged version. Amazon.com seems to have a hard time keeping it in stock, so if you come across it, I'd highly recommend picking it up on the spot. I'm about 1/2 way through the first CD, which is providing me with a very good, if limited, vocabulary, and I'm having an easy time picking it up. Again, though, I've poked around with some books, and have at least a *little* experience with grammar, so it's a valuable vocabulary tool for me. It looks like it might be useful for someone learning fresh as well, though. I might have my fiance try it and see how she does. I haven't yet tried the other 3 CDs (the dictionary, the "intermediate" level Italian course, and the Tour of Italy). I was also interested in the "Tour of Italy" CD, as I want to do some research on sites we'll visit, and this should help. From what I've seen in other reviews, though, the second CD is quite a leap up from the first, and the Tour of Italy CD basically requires you to be fluent, so there might be some frustration issues there. Overall it's well worth the money. Very well put together, with high production values, and you WILL start learning some vocabulary and useful phrases, at the very least. It's clear this company puts time into doing quality software, rather than just slapping a quick semi-interactive VisualBasic or Flash application together and shipping it. (For that, you'd need to go see Street Smart Italian, which I got ...and was not pleased.)
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