German: A Self-Teaching Guide

Great Self teaching book if you can find the time to sit down and read it and do the activities

I found the book extremely helpful in studying German. There are a few caveats, though. First, you probably would want to start with a simpler book, as the pace picks up pretty quickly in this one, and it can leave you behind.One thing that annoyed me was the way some terms and structures were introduced out of the blue - not always properly explained. One such example is case declension - the meaning of "cases" wasn't defined at all, as if the book was meant for reviewing the material, rather than learning it for the first time.

I have found this book's layout to be very clear and easy to follow. The introduction teaches in detail how German spelling are supposed to sound by providing english words that appoximate the sounds. This book seems to contain grammar lessons that are more extensive than those found in the popular "Teach Yourself" course. This book serves duly as a workbook in that you can write your answers to the exercises in the spaces provided and refer to the correct answers in the back of the book. My biggest gripe about the book is that there were no pictures. I love pictures!