Communicating In German, (Novice Level)

Rating:
Summary: Don't Bother--REALLY
Review: This is a poor excuse for a beginners guide. Not enough explanations are given for the first 14 chapters and afterward, its still bad. Look for something else. I hear the Schaum's German Grammer guide is good for beginners.

Rating:
Summary: Good Idea; Still Beta Quality
Review: This is a practical little book concentrating on the vocabulary and grammer needed for basic encounters in a foreign country. The idea of a set of books advancing thru the same set of practical tourist and office conversation topics in ever greater depth is a good one. Unfortunately the publisher shipped the beta and there's still quite a bit needed for a finished product. First, someone needs to proofread and correct all the places where new German vocabulary is introduced without giving English equivalents. Next, to be useful for self study, it needs answers to the many reasonably good exercises. And glossaries, both German-English and English-German are a must for those of us who study on the run and and prefer to skip the extra dictionary. Finally, I'd prefer a workbook format with room to write answers, so I don't need to carry a separate notebook.