Eyewitness Travel Phrase Book: Italian

Rating:
Summary: May as well leave it at home!
Review: Better to carry a dictionary, one that translates both ways: English to Italian, Italian to English. I just left this book in the room about two days into my trip! If you want to go skiing or tent camping in Italy, maybe it would be helpful. Otherwise, it's easier to use hand gestures. The only good thing I can say about it is it's small.

Rating:
Summary: I have recommended this book to friends visiting Italy
Review: I found this phrase book very useful during my first months living in Italy. I continue to recommend it to friends and family that are coming to visit the country. It packs a lot of information into a small easy to carry booklet. The phrases are sorted into 20 chapters covering different situations, such as driving, hotels, restaurants, shops, services, and emergencies. This makes it easy to find the phrase you need. The phrases are given in English, Italian, and phonetic Italian. This ensures that you can communicate both verbally and in writing. One feature I enjoyed was the "things you'll hear" (said to you) and "things you'll see" (signs) highlighted section in each of the chapters. In addition to phrases, the book contains practical tips. For example, the correct way to order at a coffee bar or where to look for a Telecom Italia phone card. The book also contains a basic English to Italian dictionary which that you can use to create phases not specifically listed in the book. In my opinion, this book is well written and contains everything one would want and expect in a compact phrase book. Actually, I found this book so useful that I'm here today at Amazon ordering this guide for other languages. Happy travels to you!