Reading German: A Course Book and Reference Grammar

Rating:
Summary: A Meaty, yet Non-Linear Offering
Review: I agree with April, this book is not necessarily an introductory text. It seems more of a comprehensive review or could be used to sew up the complex topics that you've never quite understood. I've read a lot of German textbooks and this one is one of the most rich in terms in raw content. Simply tons of applicable text in English/German, grammar topics coming from a slightly different angle (which is always helpful for me), and exercises. The format of the book is a little different than most language tutorials you'll come across. There are basically four main sections (1) A Reading Course - essentially concepts + associated exercises, wrapped up with 5 chapters of texts/exercises. (2) Reference Section [my favorite]- individual grammar topics which are referenced throughout the Reading Course. These can also be "cherry-picked" by the reader. (3) Further Exercises - auxiliary exercise section and (4) German-English Text Corpus - 23 excerpts (about a page a piece) of German articles, books, etc. Because of the way it references the reader to various sections, I found myself jumping around in a non-linear fashion and, as a result, came to the same supporting grammer topics from different directions in the text. Depending on your learning style, this could get annoying. No dictionary or glossary is provided, so have your pocket Langenscheidt or Harper-Collins ready. On the plus side, all exercises and German texts have corresponding English translations for them.

Rating:
Summary: Intimidating, but useful
Review: I have used this book to supplement my own book, German Quickly:
A Grammar for Reading German, and I have found the explanations
extremely helpful and the readings more interesting than the
standard textbook fare. Initially, the book looked scary, even to me, and I teach German! Therefore, I think it is more useful as a review book than as an introductory grammar. For the price, it's an excellent value, and a useful reference for anyone seriously interested in reading German scholarly texts.

Rating:
Summary: Good for someone new to foreign languages
Review: I used this text in an independent study course, and found that while it taught me basic grammar principles, it was confusing as it didn't use the traditional names for these principles. For example, subjunctive forms were called "non-factual." It explained what a noun, verb, sentence, and independent clause were. This is most helpful for someone who has never learned a foreign language before, but for someone who has a solid grounding in grammar, this book is a bit too simple.

Rating:
Summary: Good for someone new to foreign languages
Review: I used this text in an independent study course, and found that while it taught me basic grammar principles, it was confusing as it didn't use the traditional names for these principles. For example, subjunctive forms were called "non-factual." It explained what a noun, verb, sentence, and independent clause were. This is most helpful for someone who has never learned a foreign language before, but for someone who has a solid grounding in grammar, this book is a bit too simple.