Reviews (3)

Essential but the price is a crime
This is "the" dictionary for serious students, but it breaks my heart to see people paying so much for it, when it's available in the Middle East in HC for around $15.

Get the Paperback
My mother bought this for me for Christmas. She used the "available new and used" section to get it a little cheaper. She ended up paying $160 or so. When I put this on my wish list I thought that this hardcover version would be the Arabic-English/English-Arabic, considering that it was $175 and the paperback of the Arabic-English only was available for $45. As it turns out, this is only the hardcover of the Arabic-English only. So for one, my mother paid an additional $115 for only the hardcover version of a book that I could have gotten in the paperback for $45. I still do not have the English-Arabic of the Hans Wehr edition.

A must
The dictionary is essential to for a Anglophone to learn the Arabic language because of its trilateral organisation of Arabic words ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arabic    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Language    4. Bilingual dictionaries   

Reviews (3)

very good
clear and useful to study on your own--where most self study aids fail this excels.

This is the One You're Looking For
If you have the secret desire to get up before first light and teach yourself LATIN before anyone in the house can interupt you, this is the book you're looking for.

You Have to Start Somewhere...
Latin is probably the most difficult of the Romance languages to learn, but learning it is also extremely rewarding (your English will improve immensely, for example).No book, by itself, will be sufficient or make learning Latin easy.Nevertheless, Betts' book is not a bad place to start.I taught myself to read Latin competently from an earlier edition of this book (which I no longer had), but let my skills get rusty, and made the ill-advised purchase of "Latin Made Simple" (see my review of that book) in order to brush up.Having given up on that one, I bought the edition of Betts' book that I review here.The most valuable new feature of this book is its supported web site, which has additional readings and practice sentences, with translations and answers.If you have a certain facility with languages, you'll get the hang of using this book quickly.If you're not adept at foreign languages, stick with it all the same.Unless you've no knack for languages at all, the light will eventually go on.Wheelock's Latin is another useful book, but many of the practice sentences have no translation, as the book was designed to be used in a classroom."Teach Yourself Latin," as its name implies, is designed for you to do just that.I'm giving the book five stars, because I found it relatively easy to learn from once I got over the shock of declensions (my first and best foreign language is French; I thought having to deal with masculine and feminine was bad enough).For more opinions on this book, see the earlier edition that is posted on Amazon.com. But, if you're committed to learning Latin (or any foreign language, for that matter), don't expect one book to do it all. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries - General    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Language    5. Latin    6. Latin Language    7. Foreign Language Study / Latin   

Subjects:  1. Americanisms    2. Conversation and phrase books    3. Dictionaries - Idioms & Slang    4. English As A Second Language    5. English language    6. Foreign Language Study    7. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language    8. Language    9. Reference    10. Slang    11. United States    12. English    13. Idioms    14. Language teaching theory & methods   

Reviews (6)

One of the best Greek grammars!
This is an excellent Greek grammar, but only for the
Comprehensive but totally overwhelming
Since most of you are probably required to buy this for class like me, this review may not be the most useful. But anyone thinking of buying this should know that it has every possible bit of information about Ancient Greek--and every tidbit, every little comment, is numbered. This means the student ends up reading a chapter, say, on verb stems, and reading numbers 1024 to 1112. Since the data is so organized, you'd think it's an easy reference, but no. If you're looking for something specific, it'll take some wading through numbers and symbols. Whatever you want is definitely in there--it just might take some time to find it.

Still the best Greek grammar
I am sad to say that I never bought this Grammar during my four years of studying Classics while in college.If I had been smart and actually bought this when I started I could have saved myself a lot of time and prevented a lot of headaches.Now I know that Smythe is old, and some of his approaches are outdated, but that does not mean his grammar book is still effective.His work on both prepositions and moods of verbs are the best I have found and have helped me tremendously.There are some scholars who have surpassed Smythe's work in other areas of Greek grammar and syntax, but as far as a basic and comprehensive grammar goes, Smythe is still the best for your both your wallet and your studies. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1870-    2. Ancient Languages - Classical Greek    3. Ancient and Classical    4. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    5. General    6. Grammar    7. Greek (Modern)    8. Greek language    9. Language    10. Literary Criticism    11. Grammar & vocabulary    12. Hellenic languages    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / General   

Reviews (1)

Tremendous method for language self education
I've studied Latin, German, Japanese, and French using various popular methods.This course with its accompanying audio and workbook materials is the best language course that I have ever attempted on my own.Most self-study language courses are either too simple to be of practical use or focus so much on grammar and sentence construction that they turn into drudgery after a few lessons.Unless the course material is engaging, it's very hard to continue the course with no mid-term or final exams as motivation.Simply put, I enjoyed this course so much that I looked forward to each of my weekly self-study sessions. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. French    5. French language    6. Language    7. Textbooks for foreign speakers    8. Foreign Language Study / French    9. Language Teaching & Learning (Other Than ELT)    10. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries - General    2. English Language Dictionaries    3. Reference    4. Reference / Dictionaries   

Reviews (80)

BestEver
This book really improved my chess skills. I know much more than before.

Positional Play for the Advanced Player
After you have grasped the materials I have recommended in the CHESS FOR JUNIORS series, HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS and ART OF ATTACK, then MY SYSTEM is the classic all time work on improving your positional play.
The Best Book on Positional Play
This is an invaluable book for a serious chess student.I would higly recommend it for improving one's game and understanding chess at a deeper level.By all means, study the brilliant combinations of Tal's and Fischer's games and study all the current chess theory.But if you want to learn the foundations of positional play, this is the book to start with.It's a timeless classic.
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Subjects:  1. Chess - General    2. Games / Gamebooks / Crosswords    3. Games/Puzzles    4. Chess    5. Dictionaries   

Reviews (3)

Excellent product, and an excellent value
A woman that is passionately in love with Italy and all things Italian writes this review.I tend to study the Italian language before my trips to Italy and then immediately stop using it once the trip is over.I have finally decided to get serious about studying Italian on an ongoing basis and bought this book.The book is much more complete than I expected it to be.I will summarize the layout of the book and the pros and cons from my perspective.
Excellent Workbook--Great Value!
I have been extremely pleased with this workbook.It has a large variety of exercises and puzzles that keep me interested.The grammatical explanations are clear and concise.The format is appealing and easy to read.I do a few sections each day, and I am making great progress without feeling overwhelmed.
excellent introduction to the italian language
This is an excellent workbook to complement the audio portion of any self-study language program in italian.Its' strength is to present material in small digestible chunks of information of both grammar and vocabulary, that can be understood and digested on a daily basis. The practice exercises - that follow a dialog presentation of a typical activity representative of daily life and a small dose of grammar - reinforced the daily feeling of accomplishment.
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Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. Italian    5. Italian language    6. Language    7. Self-instruction    8. Textbooks for foreign speakers    9. Foreign Language Study / Italian    10. Language teaching theory & methods    11. Reference works   

Reviews (1)

Great Textbook for Medical Transcriptionists!
This was the required text for my second subject in Medical Transcription.It was very good and detailed enough for the beginning transcriptionist to understand where everything is, and to familiarize yourself with more medical terminology.This one seems to assume you already have a beginning foundation in basic medical terminology and how to form medical words using word parts, combining forms, suffixes, and prefixes.I say this because the first chapter immediately launches into a LOT of these word parts with very little discussion on what they are, how to do them, etc. The book has a detailed glossary of medical words, though, and it has these little cardboard cutouts that look like miniature index cards (flash cards) that will aid you in memorizing basic word parts.The book has very long and detailed exercises at the end of each chapter that builds on what you have already learned and strengthens your medical terminology foundation.It also comes with a CD-ROM that has exercises relevant to each chapter.WHen you complete a chapter exercise, the software evaluates your performance and tells you where your mistakes are, then prints out a study plan for you where you can bone up and read about your mistakes.An over-all good book! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Allied Health Services - General    2. Anatomy    3. Dictionaries & Terminology    4. Dictionaries - General    5. English    6. Human Anatomy    7. Medical    8. Medical / Nursing    9. Medical Dictionaries    10. Medicine    11. Reference    12. Terminology    13. Medical / Allied Health Services / General   

Reviews (18)

The same Book as Spanish Now!
This book is essentially the same book sold as "Spanish Now! Book 1".It has the same stories and exercises.I bought both books thinking I would have two study resources.I was dismayed to find nearly identical content!Save your money and buy Spanish Now! Book instead.

Probably best if you have some background...
I took four years of Spanish in high school and three semesters of Italian in college.I decided to pick up this book because my Italian had wiped out parts of my Spanish.I have only done the first couple chapters of the book, but I love it already.It really works with both the vocabulary and the mechanics.I do, however, have two complaints: 1. This book certainly needs a CD, because reading and writing a language are very different that listening and speaking it.2. This book is not the best for self-starters with no background in Romance languages.I was working in chapter two and noticed that the authors are placing object pronouns in grammar exercises without any previous explanation.Granted the object pronouns are not the point of the exercise, but to a new student with no background, it would certainly be confusing.
Spanish the Easy Way
This is a good workbook and study guide for the serious student of the Spanish language.It takes you step by step through the essentials of grammar and has an excellent, although not, by any means, complete glossary.!Muy bien! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    2. Foreign Language Study    3. Language    4. Programmed instruction    5. Self-instruction    6. Spanish    7. Spanish language    8. Foreign Language Study / Spanish    9. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (5)

This is not a DICTIONARY
This whatever it is was compiled by a LINGUISTICS professor by having his students wear tape recorders to record conversations for two weeks feed them into a computer and pop out a mess of words. This could have been accomplished by watching MTV for two weeks.
Great CD for ESL; needs math + science vocab.
If you want a dictionary to help ESL or LEP students, choose this! It's clear and practical and the CD has a zillion exercises to help practice English and pronounces every word. The only drawback: the dictionary contains too few technical math and science words; many people struggle to comprehend this type of vocabulary.

Student Friendly
The outside cover is inviting. The entry word is bold and easy to read. Thelanguage used in the definitions is easily understood by middle school students. The sample sentences adds to their understanding of word meaning. The addition of the section, "Study Notes" makesLongman more than 'just a dictionary'. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries - General    2. English as a Second Language    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Reference   

Reviews (64)

Great for first year law students
Bought it for a friend who was a first year and it has helped him immensely in school.

Redundant for law school, possibly useful later
I considered buying this when I started law school.However, my school provides law students with free subscriptions to both Westlaw and Lexis online, and the entire school is set up with wireless internet.Therefore, the full version of Black's is easily available to me online any time I'm on campus.A laptop with wireless LAN is probably more important for college students these days than most paper references.
For what it's worth:
Don't take this book the wrong way. At the time of this review, it cost 29 dollars, a reasonable price when it comes to 1L book costs. It fits into a purse or backpack, if not a pocket. It will serve you well enough in Civpro or Torts in a pinch, until you can get to the Law Library and read a full size Blacks. Do NOT take this book to be an end all be all, it was never meant to be and people who gave this terrible reviews due to its lack of completeness are missing the point. This is a book for when you don't HAVE a full size Black's in front of you, which every 1L should. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries & Terminology    3. Dictionaries - General    4. Law    5. Legal Reference / Law Profession    6. Reference    7. United States    8. English Law    9. Reference works   

Subjects:  1. Children: Grades 4-6    2. Foreign Language Study - English as a Second Language    3. Juvenile General And Reference Works    4. Juvenile Nonfiction    5. Reference - Dictionaries    6. English language - Dictionaries - Juvenile literature    7. Juvenile Nonfiction / Reference / Dictionaries    8. Picture dictionaries, English - Juvenile literature   

Reviews (11)

Ya either luv it or hate it
At UC Berkeley, when I first started, several teachers recommended this book to me.I perused it and used it for the next 16 years - when the program was closed.The large number of exercises, the charts that really show how the verbs function (for visual learners), and the oral exercises (for aural learners and reinforcement) were invaluable.Even now, I sometimes refer to it for answers and ideas in specific areas.However, I must say that two teachers with whom I worked, really disliked this book, and never used it.But, 2 out of 28, still puts it pretty high on the list as far as I am concerned. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
The best book for teaching English grammars to foreigners...
I think this book is really wonderful. I have been teaching ESL/EFL for about eight years, and I have yet to see a book that is so complete.I teach English in Mexico, where everything the students have ever learned comes on a chart, so the charts are a HUGE help.What I most like about this grammar book is the oral exercises. Since I focus mostly on speaking and listening (due to my student's needs, of course) the students generally love the oral drills. I really recommend this book, especially for the oral practice of the grammar points. Any grammar book gives you boring fill in the blank exercises, but this book goes beyond that.

Drill and Learn
This book is exhaustive but it gets the job done for any student on a plateau.It should be used after a simpler book like Side by Side 3. The goal is to reinforce and consolidate the skills learned in the simpler communicative learning books. TESL/TEFL apologists for ESL students obviously have not integrated this book because their students are not ready for it yet. It is a social matter of lower-educated working adults or a motivated language learner.It is for immediate students and will polish their skills in general.Spoken language is not very directlycorrelated with reading and writing.If you can not speak well, then do a simpler book. Then practice, practice, practice...and do this book as you practice speaking only.You will move off the plateau in a few weeks to a couple of months.When you are finished, my experience with private students is profound. You are ready for advanced ESL classes in community college or local university. Advanced-level English is not for academic students, it is a bare minimum for the functional English literacy in this society.You'll still need spell check and grammar assistance, but you'll be so much more confident.You'll distinguish your language skills in spoken, reading and in your general everyday writing. You can't skip to near-native speaker with this book, and slang books alone are not a short cut. This is a time saver. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English language    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. General    4. Grammar    5. Language    6. Linguistics    7. Problems, exercises, etc    8. Textbooks for foreign speakers    9. American English    10. ELT grammars & grammar practice    11. English    12. Language Teaching & Learning (Other Than ELT)   

Reviews (20)

If you need to read German- buy this book!
I have both this book and German for Reading Knowledge.German Quickly is by far more helpful and worth every penny.It was developed by the author after years of teaching students how to read/translate German (without worrying about speaking).Because the focus is on translation and not "learning" German language in the manner of a formal school course, the book is much more intuitive than any other I have encountered on this topic.After working with this book for 5 weeks, I was able to translate an amazing amount of German!

Wilson's GERMAN QUICKLY Soars (5 star+)
April Wilson's GERMAN QUICKLY is an excellent, thoughtful, well-crafted text.It is clear that this book was carefully and gently prepared, especially with students, new to the language, in mind.However, I am sure advanced students already familiar with German would also appreciate this book.I have thoroughly enjoyed Wilson's approach of using examples from classic works, proverbs, and the wonderful adventures of Fraulein Meier and the mailman (this adventurous subplot motivates students to finish the book).This grammar is a must for anyone having to learn German quickly or for anyone in need of review (of German and English!)Thank you April Wilson for this book!!!

Very helpful book and Author
This book is an excellent grammar for learning a new language.Also, while it is missing some of the answers for the exercises, emailing the author will produce those answers and possibly other German readings that may better fit your interest (for example, theological readings).A good purchase. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English    2. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    3. Foreign Language Study    4. General    5. German    6. German language    7. Grammar    8. Language    9. Textbooks for foreign speakers    10. Grammar & vocabulary    11. Language teaching & learning material & coursework   

Reviews (7)

Good primer for beginners
No book can make you fluent in a language. But this is a great resource for those who only want to learn enough to get by while traveling or who want a good back-up for other instructional methods. Good as a supplementary learning tool
I have come to the conclusion that one can NOT learn french without attending the old-fashion French class-room based seminars! I tried books, audio-cassettes, and interactive PC softwares yet I made no progress! But once I started attending the classes, all the books and cassettes I had helped me to advance at a rate faster than all my class-peers! A blank page & a missing track on the CD
I purchase this book 3 days ago in North Sydney, & I realise that page 247 is blank, unlike other blank pages, this page has no indecation that it is purposely blank with a page number. Read more

Subjects:  1. Audio Adult: Language    2. English    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. French    6. French Language    7. Programmed instruction    8. Study and teaching    9. Textbooks for foreign speakers    10. Foreign Language Study / French    11. Language learning: audio-visual & multimedia    12. Language self-study & phrasebooks   

Reviews (2)

Medical Information for semi-dummies
Have been buying this book for friends & relatives for years.After 25 yrs in the medical field, I can recommend it as a quick & useful reference"Get out the little red book" is a rallying cry in my circle.

Great household reference
Definitely for non-medical persons, this is a great book to have around the house when your friends/parents/kids call with their latest ailment. It gives concise, easy-to understand definitions, entries are easy to find, and it's remarkably comprehensive for the price and size.On the other hand, if you are a student in a health-related field, it doesn't cover all the root definitions.Go for the Taber's if that's what you need. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Dictionaries    2. Dictionaries & Terminology    3. Medical    4. Medical / Nursing    5. Medical Dictionaries    6. Medicine    7. Reference    8. Medical / Reference   

Features

• Abridged

Reviews (13)

"Theological" Indeed.
I was somewhat disappointed after buying this 10 volume set. Though Kittel gives his all - around views of certain words, that method turned out to be his biggest problem. You will get 3 to 20 POSSIBLE answers to every Greek word addressed in the New Testament by Kittel. Unlike Greek lexicons, Kittel's take on meanings of words leaves one scratching his head. To anyone making a defence of certain theological positions, stick with Old and New Testament lexicons instead of Kittel's theological slants.

Grateful to have a set
A couple gave me the full set for Christmas in 1974.They thought it would provide me insights for preaching that also benefit them as hearers of the sermons.I used it by means of the index volume for many years.Finally, I decided to read all nine text volumes cover-to-cover.It took me six years to finish, but I found thingsI did not find through the index and would never have known to seek.At times articles in Kittel can numb the mind with boredom.At other times they can cause it to soar with new insights based in an array of factual information.The reader will probably not agree with everything.Certainly, individual contributors of the articles do not always agree with one another.Still, I would not be without Kittel.My copy is drenched in ink from underlinings and notes I have made as I read it.I know it would be tempting to buy the one volume "baby Kittel" and skip the extra expense of the larger set, but there are key pieces of information that did not make it into the editors' view of what should be included in the one volume edition. Spend the money and get the real thing.

Helpful Work for Word Studies
Students of New Testament Greek should purchase this book.The one volume abridged addition is suited for quick word studies and for those looking for short background history on Greek phrases and words.
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Subjects:  1. Bible    2. Bible - Language Studies    3. Dictionaries    4. Greek language    5. Greek language, Biblical    6. N.T    7. New Testament Commentary    8. Religion    9. Religion - Biblical Studies - Language    10. Theology    11. Christian theology    12. New Testament    13. Reference works   

Features

• Student Edition

Reviews (3)

A very usefull method for pronunciation pratice
This book is very useful for students who want to improve their fluency in American English. The usage of sounds in contrast is a powerful tool for those that have some difficult for distinguishing English sounds. The authors go depth on American pitch and intonation, driving the student towards the achievement of true American accent, just like a native has!

An excellent pronunciation guide for any level!
I discovered this book in the library, and have since used it to teach classes as well as individuals.Some of my students have even used this book as a self-teaching guide.It is an absolutely wonderful pronunciationguide for any level of ESL student! THE GOOD: The book employs awonderful system for helping students learn the sounds of English.It haslists that differ by only one sound (ex. Sip & Zip) to illustrate thedifferences between similar sounds.It then tests the learners' hearing byhaving them choose which word they hear in a sentence where either wordwould fit!It goes on to provide practice with many words, sentences anddialogues.Then, after an activity, it summarizes all the ways that thesound can be spelled. THE BAD: There really isn't much!If anything, Iwould say that the mouth illustrations at the beginning of each chapteraren't really that helpful.And sometimes my students question me aboutthe phonetic spelling that is used to introduce a sound. OVERALL: Thisis an absolutely wonderful book that can be used with anyone - from truebeginners to advanced students!I would recommend it to anyone teaching orlearning pronunciation.If you are going to use it to learn on your own Iwould recommend getting the cassette tapes.

pronunciation pairs
I would like to know this book.Only the cassettes ... Read more

Subjects:  1. English As A Second Language    2. English language    3. Foreign Language - Dictionaries / Phrase Books    4. Foreign Language Study    5. Language    6. Pronunciation by foreign speak    7. Pronunciation by foreign speakers    8. Textbooks for foreign speakers    9. ELT: specific skills    10. English    11. English language--Pronunciation    12. Foreign Language Study / English as a Second Language   

Editorial Review

When the editors of the Read more

Reviews (385)

Intriguing!
This book is great in that it's both a very personal story about Minor (the "madman") and Murray (the "professor") but also about what went into making the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). For the most part, I was more interested in the latter because of the detail and, surprisingly, community that went into creating The Dictionary. It was certainly not the work of a few posh men sitting in an attic; rather, the entire nation (as well as the United States) were involved in scouring works in the English language to contribute samples to go in the OED. That to me was the most fascinating part.
And you thought dictionaries were boring!
Winchester takes an academic subject and makes it read like a Victorian thriller.He weaves together the lives of two strange and complex men to tell a story that has touched the entire English speaking world-- the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary: THE authority on the progression of the English language over the past millenium.If you love history, language, literature, and tragedies this is a book for you.Beware, this book will make you want to run out and buy your own OED -- well, a full set will run you at least $1000!There are compact and CD-ROM versions available for under $200.I guess I'll just add it to my amazon wish list and hope....

An excellent story excellently told
Some readers, I know, dislike Simon Winchester's conversational, discursive, sometimes off-on-a-tangent narrative style, but I for one find it richly rewarding. I first discovered it in "Krakatoa," his book about that Indonesian volcano where it's even more in evidence than it is in this title. But even here, reading Winchester is like settling into a chair, or around a fire, to listen to a talented storyteller weave an entrancing tale. If your taste in history runs to deliberate, just-the-facts reportage, then Simon Winchester probably isn't for you. But if you're willing to trust the author and follow where he's leading you, I predict you'll find reading "The Professor and the Madman" a most satisfying experience.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Historical - British    5. Historical - General    6. Historical - U.S.    7. Lexicography    8. Linguistics    9. Literary    10. Specific Groups - Special Needs    11. Biography & Autobiography / Historical