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Rating: 
Summary: An important topic for the serious TCM student...but...
Review: I have been looking for a good review of Chinese Medical terminology to aid in my writing and translation/teaching. I am fluent in Chinese but really love to get language books for reading to see how the ideas are taught and also to practice my skills. This book I felt would be very interesting.Indeed, I will admit it is not easy to take on the project of writing such a book. Especially when one tries to take a non-speaker of Chinese to reading advanced professional literature in one volume. I would like to say though, I found the book not that helpful in two ways. 1) The terminology although has pinyin romanization, it lacks the intonation marks. While this book is for reading, tones added will make the book able to help those wanting to learn to speak or listen to Chinese. 2) The book is full or errors. The wrong characters are written and often the meaning is either too simple or in error...so many errors! I hope that in future editions some of the errors can be corrected-then it would be more helpful.
Rating: 
Summary: A useful resource
Review: What makes this book interesting and worthwhile is that it is an account of one man's self-confessed "down and dirty" method for teaching himself to read modern medical Chinese. In fact, that is all the book itself promises, and judged accordingly, it does a respectable job. Its real value is in showing the would-be reader some sources of reading material and techniques she can use to get started on reading modern articles and textbooks of Chinese medicine. One of the best parts of the book is Bob's story of how he didn't really start learning to read medical Chinese until he was in his thirties because he had considered himself too old to embark on such study. It is a charming anecdote that I found encouraging. Learning to read Chinese is a big task, and a little encouragement is just as valuable as grammar and vocabulary when you are trying to make a start. Unschuld's Learn to Read series is probably better for those who prefer a more traditional, pedagogic approach. I'd recommend going with what works for you.
Rating:
Summary: A useful resource
Review: What makes this book interesting and worthwhile is that it is an account of one man's self-confessed "down and dirty" method for teaching himself to read modern medical Chinese. In fact, that is all the book itself promises, and judged accordingly, it does a respectable job. Its real value is in showing the would-be reader some sources of reading material and techniques she can use to get started on reading modern articles and textbooks of Chinese medicine. One of the best parts of the book is Bob's story of how he didn't really start learning to read medical Chinese until he was in his thirties because he had considered himself too old to embark on such study. It is a charming anecdote that I found encouraging. Learning to read Chinese is a big task, and a little encouragement is just as valuable as grammar and vocabulary when you are trying to make a start. Unschuld's Learn to Read series is probably better for those who prefer a more traditional, pedagogic approach. I'd recommend going with what works for you.
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