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Rating: 
Summary: Excellent resource
Review: Great book - good quick overview on the language and culture. Though the title is misleading (24 hours of lessons rather than a day), the book is comprehensive and informative. Shows just how much difference an author who is a deaf, native user of the language makes, rather than if this was done by a hearing, non-fluent signer. A great Christmas gift!
Rating: 
Summary: pictures are difficult to understand
Review: Many of the pictures are dark and difficult to see. In may of the photos the hands are too small to see exactly what the fingers are doing. They are also not explained well. There are no arrows where there is movement, and poor written explanations of the movement. I misunderstood quite a few before checking them with video. Good explanations of the rules of the language and culture. This would be a good book if you already know the words.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding book!
Review: What makes this book stand out from other ASL books? Many excellent qualities come to mind. The book opens with the history of ASL and a look into Deaf culture. The author is Deaf, born to Deaf parents, so this is home turf for her, and the window into the world is fascinating to me. The explanations of the history of Deaf people and Deaf culture are very interesting and provides a solid basis for the lessons that follow. I enjoyed the writing style, many of the facts were new to me, and the book was easy for me to follow. This book is an excellent tool to help learn ASL. Each chapter has a lesson plan with clear goals that are achieved in the chapter. I enjoy the photographs, because this is what real ASL looks like. All of the individuals are Deaf native signers, which gives this book a level of authenticity I've not seen elsewhere. Other books I've read use drawings of the hands, but this book allows me to see the placement and movement of the hands, the body language and the facial expressions. To a person learning ASL, this is a huge gift. If a sign involves motion, multiple photographs are used, and the movement of hands is obvious from following the photographs. The author covers a very wide range of topics and signs, from moving around the house, to numbers, to telling time, to sports, to the role of Deaf people in September 11th, and many more areas. Anyone who learns a basic command of these signs and grammar as shown in the book will be able to communicate in many different topics in ASL. Not to be missed is the emphasis that is placed on practice, and getting to know Deaf people. ASL is the third most popular language in the United States, and the benefits to learning ASL are very rich indeed. This book, combined with practice, a good teacher (nothing beats having a Deaf teacher who is fluent in ASL!) and socializing in the real world with Deaf people will provide the maximum benefits for the student of ASL. This combination will give a person the skills they need to enter into the the community of the Deaf, enter their culture, and communicate in their beautiful language, thus opening up a whole new world of friends and opportunities.
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