Rating: 
Summary: WARNING: Do NOT buy!
Review: I am a graduate of Deaf Studies,I have many Deaf friends, and co-ordinate a Deaf Club/Social. While attending college I would use signs from this book with my Deaf friends and they would look at me as if I had three heads. I would have to fingerspell to them which in turn they would correct my previous sign and ask from where did I learned it. When I told them, ALL informed me to throw the book out. They are OUT-DATE signs!
When learning sign, buy DawnSign Press, Vista, Signing Naturally (both video and workbook). These are the best and extremely accurate (a few signs are California dialect). Another book that's great is Sign Language Made Simple. Don't forget either, that the BEST way to learn the language (outside of schooling) is becoming involved in the Deaf commnuity!!!! Learn from the masters!
Rating: 
Summary: "The Joy of Signing" (2nd Edition) by Lottie L. Riekehof
Review: I am currently using this text for my sign language training. The explanations go a long way in providing to understanding the signs, especially for someone like me who has some difficulty in my sense of direction for road maps, drawings, mirrors, etc.
My only disappointment has been that the days of the week or the months of the year were not demonstrated in the text....
Rating:
Summary: "The Joy of Signing" (2nd Edition) by Lottie L. Riekehof
Review: I am currently using this text for my sign language training. The explanations go a long way in providing to understanding the signs, especially for someone like me who has some difficulty in my sense of direction for road maps, drawings, mirrors, etc.
My only disappointment has been that the days of the week or the months of the year were not demonstrated in the text....
Rating:
Summary: The Joy of Signing...not ASL
Review: I bought the book "The Joy of Signing" as recommended by a friend and thought it was a good source to learn to speak to deaf people. However, one day at my job, I was signing to a woman who is deaf and she did not understand me. She asked me where I leared that and I told her from "The Joy of Signing". She told me that book is a bad one to use and get one from the official American Sign Language (ASL) instead. Buy another book if you want to effectivly communicate.
Rating:
Summary: The Joy of Signing...not ASL
Review: I bought the book "The Joy of Signing" as recommended by a friend and thought it was a good source to learn to speak to deaf people. However, one day at my job, I was signing to a woman who is deaf and she did not understand me. She asked me where I leared that and I told her from "The Joy of Signing". She told me that book is a bad one to use and get one from the official American Sign Language (ASL) instead. Buy another book if you want to effectivly communicate.
Rating:
Summary: ASL--what's that?
Review: I don't understand the reviews here that glorify ASL and claim this book is no good. Maybe various parts of the country are different, but the deaf around my part of the country just don't use ASL. It is a dying breed only still hung onto by some of the older deaf. Possibly this varies according to where one lives, but nearly all of the younger deaf around my area are moving toward using more Signed Exact English. Anyway, this book is great for what it is. It is like a dictionary, and that is what I wanted. And, of course, some of the signs are different now, but since sign language changes over time just like spoken English, I don't really see the problem. This is a good book for use as a dictionary. If one really wants to learn sign language, then one has to talk to deaf people and see what they are doing now. If you haven't done so in several years, you will find things have changed; and you will have to learn again. Also, those who teach in college continually amuse me. If they don't actually get out into the deaf community where they teach, then they really aren't in a position to know what is really going on. I have seen supposed teachers around my area who really just don't have a clue. If you want to learn sign language, find a teacher who currently works with the deaf in your community, otherwise they are not up to date. And use this book for reference, while realizing that no book is up to date unless it was just published yesterday, and also realize that sign language changes over time, so one has to keep up. And also realized that ASL is a dying language while sign language more closer reflecting English speech patterns is becoming more and more prevalent. One has to keep up with the times.
Rating:
Summary: Not Based on ASL
Review: I found the book useful, and I like it. However, anyone considering this book should know it is not based on ASL it is the English Sign Language. Many signs are the same, but still others are not, and there are a significant number that differ. If you are going to use this for a class it is very important. I took a class at the United Way, and before the class began I called to ask about any books we will be using. The person I spoke to told me this one IN ERROR. On the first day of class, the instructor said he will not be using it, and was astonished that someone in the office told me to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Perfect, But so familiar to so many it is indispenable.
Review: I have a deaf brother and since my childhood this book has always been close on hand in my home. Needless to say I have a sentimental attachment to it. Other sign language texts are more comprehensive and more up to date, but I cannot free myself from my dependence on this work. When I try to remember a sign, the very well done illustrations involuntarily appear to my mind's eye. Currently I am brushing up on my signing and going through JOS page by page. It is so much fun to study this book! I hope novices to signing find it as fun as I do.
Rating:
Summary: Better sign language books available at Amazon
Review: I have studied American Sign Language for three years now, and I would not recommend this book. This book lists individual signs, many of which are SEE signs or outdated. Like many beginners, this was my first book...a lot of bookstores sell it at the top of their lists--I'm not sure why. If you are interested in signing a song to a hearing audience (these signs strung together wouldn't make any sense in American Sign Language) this book may be for you. But if you are looking at interpreting or real communication with a Deaf person, look elsewhere! Here are some recommended books, all of which are here at Amazon: Signing Naturally (this is my favorite), Learning American Sign Language, The American Sign Language Phrase Book
Rating: 
Summary: The Joy of Signing
Review: I have used Lottie L. Riekehof's book for 20 years for teaching sign language classes. It is clear in its descriptions of the signs. It is so helpful, I recomend it to my students.
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