Simple Arabic : A Comprehensive Course

Rating:
Summary: Simple Arabic? Not!
Review: Avoid this book because it's just a rehash of the complex grammar of the Arabic language and is totally lacking in pedagogic value. The authors incorrectly assume that by presenting the labyrinthine syntax of the Arabic language you'll somehow gain competency and fluency. It will never happen. While it may prove useful as a reference grammar to someone who has already mastered the language, it should by no means be confused with a practical introduction to Arabic.

Rating:
Summary: Quite useful, but mis-named
Review: The biggest problem with this book is its subtitle: "A Comprehensive Course". It's not a course at all, but rather a systematic presentatation of Arabic grammar, useful to answer questions one studying with another book might have, but in no way suitable for study on its own. Other points to note are that there is no transliteration in it; all examples are presented in Arabic script only, alongside their English translations.

The good aspects are that for a person who has already acquired the Arabic alphabet and a bit of grammar and vocabulary, this book explains very clearly the various details of grammar, with short sentences that are generally made up from quite basic vocabulary words. The explanations are in fact very clear and quite helpful in clarifying and solidifying things that the learner might otherwise be vague on.

In short, I think this book is potentially very useful for serious elementary and intermediate learners of classical or modern standard Arabic, and that the title should be something like "A Grammatical Companion for Arabic Language Studies".