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Rating: 
Summary: Good stuff
Review: I have been actively learning french for almost a year now and have over 60 french texts on my shelf, some published in france. The thing that really stands out in this book is that the author seems to know the confusions the english speaking learners regularly run into, such as the difference between c'est and il est. I have not come across a book in my entire collection that explains this, but this book has one section devoted to just that. I also like the way things are arranged - each lesson is designed to be finished within an hour, and there is a test at the end of each section to reinforce your learning. With some texts you could spend a lot of time in one chapter and quickly give up due to the lack of sense of accomplishment. With this if you religiously devote an hour a day to it, you could really finish it within 24 days. I personally think this book is one of the more exceptional grammar texts out there, especially if you have not been exposed to french grammar at all. But obviously to master a language, you need to supplement your study with lots of different kinds of materials - audio tapes, video, story book, play, etc. One book can never be enough. But if you want to get a good head start with french grammar, this is a really good one to go with.
Rating: 
Summary: Not quite for beginners
Review: I have to agree with Kelly1Kanobee. This book is not for newcomers to the language. If as a beginner I had picked up this book, I would have gone no further than Chapter 2.The author, a French professor approaches the language from a linguistic perspective, introducing the beginner to unnecessary exceptions and idiosynchirises. The key to learning I believe is to equip the reader with the ability to read, write and speak very early on in the learning process, albeit the ability to construct short, basic sentences. This book will not allow for this. The only thing you will take away from the early chapters is the ability to count to 1000. I would highly recommend the French for Dummies book, its a simple and comprehensible approach to the language. I found this text very useful for me since it allowed me to recall my long lost high school French, and become familiar with the language again, after 10 years.
Rating: 
Summary: 24 hours better spent on another book
Review: Language beginners are vulnerable consumers. With our time and money on the line, we have no way of knowing whether a particular book is effective until we've already muddled through it halfway. Many of us end up just picking one and hoping for the best. I'm just beginning to learn French, but from the time I've spent learning Spanish, I know that beginners need 5 things, in this order:
1.practice speaking the language as it is spoken
2.listening to the language as it is spoken
3.reading the language
4.writing the language
5.memorizing grammatical rules and vocabulary lists Language instructors must still disagree about this, however, because books continue to be published that prioritize number 5. This is one of those books. Don't be fooled by its "For Dummies"-esque title. The author, a French professor, has a dry, convoluted style that his publisher's desperately user-friendly graphics, layout, and captions fail to redeem. It's nearly impossible to get through. I couldn't help but wonder if the author hadn't simply compiled all of his lesson plans into a book, divided into 24 chapters, or "hours." It's dry, short on practical exercises and pronunciation keys, and seems geared toward someone with more of an interest in grammar and linguistics than in actually speaking and using the language. This is one example: He'll give you a list of grammatical rules, and then give you a list of the exceptions to each rule. This may be okay for a veteran at the language, but for a beginner, I'm still trying to remember the grammatical rule, so throwing out the exceptions just confuses me. The basic concepts of informational design don't seem to have been incorporated into any part of it. I gave up in frustration after chapter 2. If you're just getting started, I highly recommend the Berlitz Self-Teacher book, combined with any audio cassette program that you check out from your local library, instead. Rather than launching into lists of rules and pronunciation keys, Berlitz lets you begin immediately speaking, reading, and writing in French. You learn grammar along the way. Berlitz doesn't make you feel like learning a language is intellectually demanding. It actually feels fun. This is about 11 dollars, as compared with the 20 dollars you'd spend on this book. Once you've gotten the hang of it, grammar and vocabulary lists can be of some value.
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