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Rating: 
Summary: Conversational Japanese Crash Course, but . . .
Review: As a crash course in conversational Japanese the "Complete Idiot's Guide" is fairly useful, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who hopes to eventually read and write Japanese. The "Complete Idiot's Guide" covers the basics of pronunciation and grammar fairly well in just 60 pages by reliance on Romaji - the practice of writing Japanese words phonetically using the Roman alphabets. After plowing through the basics of Japanese pronunciation and grammar, the rest of the book focuses on words, phrases and tips useful in traveling and studying in Japan. In an hour a day, a reader could in just a few months be prepared to engage in rudimentary discourse that would arise in travel to Japan. As far as it goes the "Complete Idiot's Guide does a fairly good job. The use of Romaji in the Idiots' Guide permits a native English-language reader to quickly begin speaking Japanese. However, this book leaves the reader unprepared for dealing with Japanese characters - Kana and Kanji. Not only would the reader need to start virtually from scratch to pick up the Japanese Kana, but the past reliance on Romaji will require some weaning. So if you are interested in doing more with Japanese than conversing, I'd recommend spending the time to start with a good foundation in Japanese Kana characters instead of relying on the crutch of Romaji.
Rating: 
Summary: An Excellent choice for beginning Japanese learners
Review: As a student of japanese, I have many Japanese books, but as pleased as I was with each when I bought it, the real value of the book becomes clear in a few months--is it sitting on the shelf gathering dust, or is it being used? This one is very, very clear, user friendly, and will be an great compliment to a tape program, such as the superb Pimsleur series. The weakness is the CD, but don't buy it for that; get your audio practice elsewhere. Five stars for this excellent text...
Rating: 
Summary: Good Intro to Japan, but not so much the language
Review: I can't say this book isn't good, but I just think that it wasn't what I had expected. It has lots on Japanese culture and tradition, and information on how to place yourself during your stay in Japan. The extensive stuff about the culture is probably the main good point about this book. But as for the content about the language itself, I think it is better called " an introduction to introductory Japanese". While it does have a chapter or so on grammer as it claims, it is very very super basic. I was able to learn and had already learnt about the same material from various websites on the internet already. You can probably formulate and understand sentences like: This is a little dog. It is not a big cat. It has four feet, etc. and of that sort, but nothing more complicated really. Although yes you will learn more complicated sentences in later chapters, but they are fixed to certain topics. You will learn how to say specific things in specific situations, but not learn how to make general sentences of that kind. Yes you will learn quite some vocabulary, counting, time-telling, but nothing special that you couldn't find elsewhere. Knowing this won't help you put the language together or understand its sense at all. It basically focuses on taking you to the airport, shopping center, hotel, etc and teaching you to say the common things a tourist would say. I certainly think that it should be renamed something like "Japanese 911 for Tourists". If you use this book alone in your studies, I can gaurantee that you still won't be any better in understanding or speaking Japanese than before. For example it teaches you a specific query and then maybe 2 possible responses. It's very unlikely that all the people you encounter in Japan will respond to you in the exact manner the book tells you they will, and thus there is a high chance you will end up not understanding anything they say anyways. Besides, the book only teaches you the formal way of saying things, and no hint to the normal casual way at all. (ex. 'ikimasho' - let's go, can be said more casually as 'iko') I only recommend this book to you if you are in an emergency of wanting to know some basic of the basic Japanese "phrases" so that you may survive? in Japan, although I doubt that there won't be a single soul that knows English wherever you're going in Japan. Anyways, I gave it four stars because atleast it does a pretty good job at the tourist thingy. A nice preview to Japan in general, some emergency phrases, and an average audio CD is what you'll get for your money. But if you're more serious or interested in getting a basic sense of the Japanese LANGUAGE, look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Conversational Japanese
Review: This book is efficient, inclusive, and practical. It is easy to read and understand, including scenarios you can expect to encounter and/or prepare for while traveling in Japan. It also includes easy-to-follow examples of the basics of conversational Japanese. The book, as well as the cd, is designed for busy people on the go. Proper pronunciation is clarified by studying the book with the cd. Both include simple and useful dialog examples for easy application. Doctor Fujita has written this book with a tone of creativity and humor, which puts the reader at ease, and makes it fun to read. He also encourages and supports the reader's interest and efforts to learn Japanese. The question/answer and question/response sections of the book allow for pratice of the lessons in each chapter. The end of each chapter offers a review of the materials covered, just in case you forget something. The diagrams and pictures are also helpful in visualizing the concepts and materials covered in the book. There are formal and informal expressions taught, which is a useful tool when addressing various audiences. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning Japanese. Whether studying Japanese in preparation for travel, business, school, or leisure, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Conversational Japanese
Review: This book is efficient, inclusive, and practical. It is easy to read and understand, including scenarios you can expect to encounter and/or prepare for while traveling in Japan. It also includes easy-to-follow examples of the basics of conversational Japanese. The book, as well as the cd, is designed for busy people on the go. Proper pronunciation is clarified by studying the book with the cd. Both include simple and useful dialog examples for easy application. Doctor Fujita has written this book with a tone of creativity and humor, which puts the reader at ease, and makes it fun to read. He also encourages and supports the reader's interest and efforts to learn Japanese. The question/answer and question/response sections of the book allow for pratice of the lessons in each chapter. The end of each chapter offers a review of the materials covered, just in case you forget something. The diagrams and pictures are also helpful in visualizing the concepts and materials covered in the book. There are formal and informal expressions taught, which is a useful tool when addressing various audiences. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning Japanese. Whether studying Japanese in preparation for travel, business, school, or leisure, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: great book!
Review: this book is great, i really appreciate that this book teaches japanese sentence structure so that once you know the vocabulary you can form your own sentences rather than having to rely on a series of phrases learned by rote. it really has been a useful and informative book.
Rating:
Summary: Very useful!! Very insightful!
Review: This is one of the few Japanese language books I've seen that includes insightful language learning tips AND cultural tips throughout the book. Learning a language is more than learning vocabulary and sentence patterns, cultural understanding is vital as well! The Green Tea breaks and the "Huh?" sidebars are wonderful!! Great job Fujita-sensei!! I also enjoyed the "shortcuts to success" that are included throughout the book. The book is formatted in a very logical and progressive way making it fun and easy to follow along as you learn the language. The CD is also useful in imitating a native speaker. Thank you for not "dumbing down" the CD for us Gaijin!! This is a great book for learning Japanese whether you plan to use your Japanese at your favorite local sushi restaurant or you are able to actually make a trip, whether for business or for pleasure, to the land of the rising sun.
Rating:
Summary: Very useful!! Very insightful!
Review: This is one of the few Japanese language books I've seen that includes insightful language learning tips AND cultural tips throughout the book. Learning a language is more than learning vocabulary and sentence patterns, cultural understanding is vital as well! The Green Tea breaks and the "Huh?" sidebars are wonderful!! Great job Fujita-sensei!! I also enjoyed the "shortcuts to success" that are included throughout the book. The book is formatted in a very logical and progressive way making it fun and easy to follow along as you learn the language. The CD is also useful in imitating a native speaker. Thank you for not "dumbing down" the CD for us Gaijin!! This is a great book for learning Japanese whether you plan to use your Japanese at your favorite local sushi restaurant or you are able to actually make a trip, whether for business or for pleasure, to the land of the rising sun.
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