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Rating: 
Summary: Great for me!
Review: All errors aside, this book is great for me! The only way to get around the errors are to have a suplementary book and a supplementary class, but I really like the "We are Family" exerpts where they draw relations to German and English. This stuff goes really deep, as it often relates between Old and Middle english with German. Its nothing like most books that state, "Many words from German are in English like 'Kindergarten, and kaput!'" They explain, for example how the Old english the suffix "e" or "lic" was added to make adjectives; "friendly and homely" are modern remnants. This helps you understand the German suffix "lich," which is very similar to the Old English "lic". Very helpful, I think. Anyone with a slight knowledge of Old and Middle English will really appreciate it. It also gives a very rapid presentation to the Grammar unlike many textbooks where you don't understand why things change the way they do untill much learning. With this book you are almost never presented with something that isn't expained first or soon after. I like it because it expains the things that I won't get in the textbook for many weeks simply. For instance, it simply explains the contractions like zum (zu dem) which isn't explained in most text books until much later. You are always asking yourself "why does it change?" Now I know. This book is a great supplement for the beginner. I don't know much German yet, but I do recognize the errors. I do believe that for the most part the conceptual explanations are very good and helpful. Use this book to give yourself a broad, conceptual base to the detailed specifics you'll be learning in a textbook. This book is everything that a textbook lacks in terms of giving broad conceptual meaning to the strict memorization of a textbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Waste of Money
Review: From the beginning to the end this book if full of errors.For a beginner who wants to learn German grammar, I would strongly recommend another book by Hansen Dollenmayer called, "Neue Horizonte". This book is being taught at some colleges in California and is to my opinion and all of those in my class and the german speaking people I know, one of the best and complete books in learning German language.The price might be high but well worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: What a Great Help!
Review: I really had to pull some German skills together quickly (for business) and started the hunt for a book to help guide me. I read the reviews on Amazon and contatcted the author who did the second revision of this book, Lisa Graham. She directed me to the third edition (which was just printed) and told me the errors had been corrected and the book had been streamlined. An important point she made that this was a "functional book" to get one communicating on a daily living level and that this was not a substitute for a good text book and a directed course. Professor Graham should know as she teaches German at the University level. I really appreciated her advice - she even emailed after a few weeks to see how I was doing. I got what I needed out of the book and was able to "function" well enough on a verbal level. I even talked my way out of a speeding ticket. I've handed out a couple of copies to coworkers who are facing the same challenge and have gotten good feedback from them. I guess with any of these guides you have to have the right expectation going into it. I did and now highly recommend this book.
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