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Rating: 
Summary: Just returned from Rome!
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend to use during my recent trip to Rome. I found it very useful and easy to use. Compact and easy to carry in a purse or pocket. However, I lost it halfway through my trip and could not find another one in Rome! Therefore, I am buying my friend a new one and myself one for reference!
Rating:
Summary: Just returned from Rome!
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend to use during my recent trip to Rome. I found it very useful and easy to use. Compact and easy to carry in a purse or pocket. However, I lost it halfway through my trip and could not find another one in Rome! Therefore, I am buying my friend a new one and myself one for reference!
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Summary: Packed with Good Info!
Review: I completely agree with the previous reviewer's assessement of this book. However, I think the she may have been mistaken about which resource this is. At least in my experience, this is a different book than comes with the Barron's tapes that I purchased. However, if it DOES come with a set of tapes - you're in luck. It is packed with good information.I purchased Barron's audio cassettes "Getting By in Italian" and the accompanying book was very good. But, I wanted a slightly bigger dictionary, and more useful phrases than I got with the tapes. With no intention of buying another Barron's product, I compared this with a couple of other phrase books and ended up choosing this one. The "Italian At A Glance" is more useful (for my purposes) than a dictionary and most other phrase books - for not only did it contain complete phrases, useful slang, a map of Italy on the back cover, 2 pages of Italian street signs and more, it also had helpful explanations of the different grades of hotels, travel tips, banking terms, and information about regional foods. While I wouldn't rely on this to the exclusion of other guide books or audio tapes, I plan to take this is as my one language resource to take carry around Italy.
Rating: 
Summary: Passport Companion
Review: I gave this book 5 stars because when I was in Sicily visitng my best friend, it really helped me tremendously. I was fortunate that the staff in Rome and Catania airports spoke English. In the neighboring towns I had to use it frequently. Later on I remembered certain phrases and used it with ease. I couldn't believe that this book was sectioned well with the food descriptions,emergency medical,pharmacy, and in case of auto accidents. At the end of my trip, I was reluctant to give away this book, but she being in the service, I knew she needed it more than me. No sooner than I returned home, I bought a new one for my return trip back. I took this little book everywhere with me along with my passport. I'll be sure to get one for my trip to Paris next year.
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Summary: Take this with you
Review: It's really difficult to put together a phrase book in Italian that will serve everyone's needs. This one is excellent, but the dictionary section needs to be expanded just a little more; and it won't really add to the bulk of this already tiny book. This is one of the language books you should take with you to Italy.
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Summary: No knowledge of the Italian Language
Review: Just returned from Florence and other parts of Tuscany. The book is organized by topic (shopping, eating out, sight seeing, etc.)and each page of the separate topic is color-coded, thus it is very easy to use. It contains some everyday/slang (not dirty!) Italian words and shows you how to say all words phonetically. It is also very compact and could fit in your pants pocket or purse. The only downside is that the dictionary in the back of the book is small and it didn't have many of the words we were trying to interpret. I would highly recommend it - it got us through two weeks in Italy and in some rural locations where noone spoke English!
Rating:
Summary: No knowledge of the Italian Language
Review: Just returned from Florence and other parts of Tuscany. The book is organized by topic (shopping, eating out, sight seeing, etc.)and each page of the separate topic is color-coded, thus it is very easy to use. It contains some everyday/slang (not dirty!) Italian words and shows you how to say all words phonetically. It is also very compact and could fit in your pants pocket or purse. The only downside is that the dictionary in the back of the book is small and it didn't have many of the words we were trying to interpret. I would highly recommend it - it got us through two weeks in Italy and in some rural locations where noone spoke English!
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Summary: A Solid Phrasebook
Review: Let's face it. Phrasebooks are for survival, not for mastering a language during a one week stay, and this pocket size book has served me well. I've been to Italy several times, and, contrary to common belief, not many Italians speak English, particularly in the smaller cities. A phrasebook is a must, and I haven't found one better than the Barron's. It covers emergencies, driving, eating out, sightseeing, clothing, entertaining, shopping, banking, and many more topics. The dictionary in the back covers basic words to assist in communication. The pronunciation guide is first-rate; people were actually able to understand me when I tried the phrases. (Of course, I rarely understood them!)
I particularly appreciated the plastic cover, as my book survived thunderstorms and acted as a coaster at least once. People who already know a romance language will find it easier to pick up these phrases, but anyone with the determination to navigate a foreign country will find it helpful.
Rating:
Summary: Very useful
Review: This book is an excellent resource for travelers in Italy. Not only is it compact enough to carry with you everywhere - at 3.75 x 6 x .5 inches it's small enough to carry in a purse or coat pocket, and if you're traveling really light, the accompanying phrasebook is even smaller, not much bigger than a folded up sheet of letter-sized paper - but it covers nearly every conceivable situation. I used it, along with the companion cassette tape, on my recent first-time trip to Italy and got along fairly well, whether I was buying a train ticket, asking for an all night pharmacy or trying to decipher a menu. In addition to the phrases and a small dictionary, the book also has handy little sidebars on stuff like tipping, sightseeing and selecting Italian wines. Throw in the travel tips, maps, guide to road signs and grammar guide, and this book is an excellent value and well worth the (miniscule) space it will take up in your luggage.
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