Rating: 
Summary: Useful and fun, but not magic
Review: "13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese" is an interesting, well put-together book that makes a nice supplement when learning Japanese. The use of Manga is appreciated, and the tone of the book is casual conversation. The target skill level is intermediate or so. Absolute beginners will find little value.The "secrets" are all fairly useful, but they are not quick solutions or shortcuts. Each secret requires effort and study. Some of the solutions are simple, like "Read Manga in Japanese," whereas others are more complicated like the idea of using synonyms when you can not remember the exact word. (Such as: "I feel like a train ran over my head" rather than "I feel hung over.") All in all, this book makes is a good addition to formal Japanese language learning. Just don't expect to buy it and have everything suddenly "click."
Rating:
Summary: Useful and fun, but not magic
Review: "13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese" is an interesting, well put-together book that makes a nice supplement when learning Japanese. The use of Manga is appreciated, and the tone of the book is casual conversation. The target skill level is intermediate or so. Absolute beginners will find little value. The "secrets" are all fairly useful, but they are not quick solutions or shortcuts. Each secret requires effort and study. Some of the solutions are simple, like "Read Manga in Japanese," whereas others are more complicated like the idea of using synonyms when you can not remember the exact word. (Such as: "I feel like a train ran over my head" rather than "I feel hung over.") All in all, this book makes is a good addition to formal Japanese language learning. Just don't expect to buy it and have everything suddenly "click."
Rating: 
Summary: Not just useful for Students of Japanese
Review: Dont get me wrong, students of japanese are definately going to be the ones able to gain the most out of this book because it is specifically focused on learning the japanese language, and the many examples, quizes, and certain study tips are unique to Japan. But many of Murray's tips are useful for studying any language. Specifically im referring to the two chapters explaining stratagies for coping with not knowing the right word, or just plain not being able to remember it. As he notes, these are problems native speakers have too!!! they just know how to deal with it better.... While his examples are really great for japanese, the concept should be taught more often in other languages... GET OVER BEING AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES... and JUST TALK!!!! The style of this book is relaxed enough that it can simply be read for entertainments sake because of the games, and stories within. I really like how Murray doesnt take himself too seriously in his writing, which makes the information just that much more accessible, and therefore useable. The advice on katakana words is priceless... i completely agree, thats its a mistake to conciously avoid hundreds to thousands of vocabulary items we already know, because we THINK its not REAL japanese... who made us the language police (unless you're in France, then its understandable). The reality is that if actual real live Japanese people can understand it... thats good enough. He even made me think twice about a couple of my own study habits... personally, im not a fan of anime, manga, etc... if you like it, thats fine, its just not for me personally...but i will admit that Murray makes a great argument for reading manga as a study aid... actually made better in the chapter about sleezy romance novels.. but the point still applies... that it doesnt matter if we really like it... but that we can learn some useable japanese from the process. Great Book... definately worth a look if you're a student of any language, and a must own for beginning students of japanese.
Rating: 
Summary: pretty gimmicky
Review: I didn't think he had any "secrets" to share, but I did think he might have some suggestions that textbooks don't have time for. For the most part he didn't. The book has 13 chapters (plus a mini chapter at the end) -- one for each "secret". Two chapters on katakana words. Nothing new, just telling you to use them, though the story in the first chapter was a cute read. One chapter telling you to use adjectives, one chapter telling you to use adverbs other than 'totemo'. The only chapter that wasn't so lame was the prefix and suffix chapter (NB Kodansha has a whole book on prefixes and suffixes, though I have not seen it.) Had the book been longer, with additional story and manga sections, it would have at least been more enjoyable. There's nothing 'wrong' with this book, but it just doesn't offer the reader very much.
Rating:
Summary: pretty gimmicky
Review: I didn't think he had any "secrets" to share, but I did think he might have some suggestions that textbooks don't have time for. For the most part he didn't. The book has 13 chapters (plus a mini chapter at the end) -- one for each "secret". Two chapters on katakana words. Nothing new, just telling you to use them, though the story in the first chapter was a cute read. One chapter telling you to use adjectives, one chapter telling you to use adverbs other than 'totemo'. The only chapter that wasn't so lame was the prefix and suffix chapter (NB Kodansha has a whole book on prefixes and suffixes, though I have not seen it.) Had the book been longer, with additional story and manga sections, it would have at least been more enjoyable. There's nothing 'wrong' with this book, but it just doesn't offer the reader very much.
Rating:
Summary: Very entertaining..
Review: I picked up this book at a local used bookstore and was very pleased with it. The hints presented in this book would help anyone go a long way towards fluency in Japanese. The author couldn't seem to figure out what skill level to target this book for, though. It assumes you know how to read kanji for the manga sections, but also assumes you can't count from 1 to 10 in another! This really isn't all that important, though, because all of the kanji parts can be decoded with the romanji provided. Overall a great book, I'd buy it again. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Cheap tricks
Review: I've lived in Japan most of my life. Having worked in education, I've read and know about language books, particularly those on practical Japanese language. What's good about this 13 Secrets book is that it teaches you how to express yourself in Japanese with individuality and character. I've read a lot of books which just try to make a boring language robot out of you. This book covers all sorts of areas of language, like jokes (straight and sarcastic) and the language of exaggeration, so you can make your point in conversations. It also teaches all sorts of practical techniques to help you get by even if you don't exactly the right word. If you set your thought patterns right, then you can say pretty much whatever you want to say. This was a revelation. The other thing that's good about this book are all the illustrations - especially the 'IF' manga. If you need to get a fresh perspective on Japanese and want to have fun talking to Japanese people then this book is great. Give it to people who are bored with Japanese or about to give up their studies and watch their language-acquisition juices start pumping all over again! A great shot in the linguistic arm!
Rating:
Summary: great book to supplement your studies!
Review: In selecting books on Japanese, it's all too easy to pick one out based solely on the potential it seemingly contains, the critical utility it will serve once you've gone through the arduous task of internalizing it --- only to discover a few weeks or months later that you haven't touched it, let alone used its lessons in any pragmatic way. Well, rest assured, this is one book you most certainly CAN use, and it is entertaining enough to supply many moments of cross-cultural laughter. Just memorize the jokes in the chapter on childrens' puns, for example, and ask them when the moment presents itself to any native Japanese. I guarantee you will have fun that outing. Memorize the forms of exaggeration, also, and pepper them in your speech now and again for more smiles and laughs. If you are in school, and you occassionally use these phrases, you will get compliments from your teachers and questioning stares from your peers: How did you learn THAT? There is a chapter on numbers that it likewise useful, asking you to count in excess of 100 billion, and integrate those into census statistics. So while you learn to count, you also learn how to say a few facts about Japan that most Japanese probably don't know! Murray largely steers clear of slang in this volume, ensuring that you won't be saying "Hip, Daddy-o" or some other outmoded colloquialism, which is always a risk with a 'new' Japanese text. Also, the book is varied enough that you can mine it for new uses as you learn; I've been opening it for the past eight months, and I still have a year to go before it all really falls into place. All in all, a wonderful supplement, and one of a handful of 'secret weapon' supplements that will jump-start your Japanese into the arena of actual, meaningful COMMUNICATION.
Rating:
Summary: There's a bad apple in every bunch...
Review: Like many foreigners, Giles Murray has parlayed his experience with the Japanese language into big bucks - ok, well at least just a book. But before you run off adhering to everything prescribed in this book, PLEASE read this review. It is well worth your time. There seem to be some good ideas in this book. One that I particularly found helpful (one that I had already intuitively realized) was the hint covered in Chapter 6, "The Synonym Generator". Basically, Mr. Murray recommends that one possess a vast array of words to describe a certain feeling or concept. That way, if one gets a mental block and is not able to remember one expression, they can dip into their bag of tricks and express themselves in another way. Another chapter where Mr. Murray discusses how to "describe your way" out of a jam when you can't think of a word in Japanese is EXCELLENT advice. This is more or less a survival Japanese tactic, but comes in handy for advanced students as well. Rather than sitting in a conversation with a dead look on your face, it's best to dumb it down, if for nothing else, to keep the conversation moving. What I caution you to NOT follow, however, is Mr. Murray's advice regarding gairaigo, or loan words. There are thousands and thousands of directly borrowed and some slightly altered English words used in the Japanese language. While every student should become aware of their existence and correct usage, you should ABSOLUTELY NOT use them with the frequency that Mr. Murray suggests. You will do so at your own linguistic peril. For, you see, American (and British, Australian, etc.) students who rely on these words tend to not learn the Japanese equivalents. They also tend to use a disproportionate amount of them in their speech. I heard a figure one time saying that a MAXIMUM of 13% of a Japanese person's daily conversation is composed of loan words. This is a maximum, mind you. So, not only do you limit your proficiency by depending on loan words, but you also send a signal to the listener that you don't really know the traditional Japanese versions. Furthermore, Japanese tend to linguistically discriminate against foreigners by using these loanwords with them because they don't believe they know the Japanese equivalent. I recall one time being at a station and the manager yelling to me to "chenji (change)" my ticket instead of telling me to "kaeru (change)" the ticket. This is linguistic discrimination - there's no other word for it - and following Mr. Murray's advice will cause Japanese to speak to you with a vocabulary unnaturally heavy in these words. Don't get me wrong. There are times when they are useful, but DO NOT use them to the extent he recommends. For example, use the word "kyanseru (cancel) suru" for cancel, but DO NOT use the word "happii (happy)" for "shiawase (happy)". The message would get across with the former, but you'll also be displaying your ignorance of TRUE (yip, I said it, Mr. Murray) Japanese (ie kango and wago). Mr. Murray, who happens to be a copywriter (and copywriters are NOTORIOUS for overimporting English into Japanese), may use these words to a grotesque and unnatural degree, but you shouldn't. Consider yourself warned.
Rating:
Summary: A saviour of the masses, learning for interesting people
Review: Thirteen secrets offers a breath of fresh air from the dusty tombes of Japanese study. A book that caters for those that want to learn the easy and best way, through enjoyment. Imagination and manga are the ingredients that should and do make up this interactive Japanese study tool. Offering lively and insightful contemporary challenges, the author opens up important knew avenues of learning. I found its insightful instruction, tied seamlessly into games, anecdotes and dramatic stories, just the refreshment I needed. Drab Japanese study materials can be put aside... put on your thinking cap and preprare for fluency. Gaining new linguistic skills through enjoyment, what more can I ask for.
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