Latin for Reading: A Beginner's Textbook with Exercises

This book is wonderful. I used Latin for Reading for two semesters of a three semester beginning Latin sequence. The book approaches learning Latin from an adult perspective. It does not talk down to the student. This book explains what you are doing and why. Latin for Reading will give you a fine Latin vocabulary and a nearly complete overview of Latin Grammar in two semesters. The subject (Latin) is presented in a concise, logical and very approachable manner. In the process of using this text you will also acquire an excellent foundation for English grammar - really quite an accomplishment. (English grammar is not something well taught in American high schools today). The above cannot be said for any other foreign language book I have seen offered at an introductory university level. (French, Spanish, German). I must say, I did not appreciate what a superb book this is - until I began taking other foreign languages. When I had something to compare this book to - its quality became apparent. I would like to extend my thanks to authors. Thank you for writing such an outstanding book. Please note - The review by James C Caldwell is for a teachers manual - it is not for this text.

I admit that I am a biased reviewer - I had Professor Knudsvig as my instructor in an Introductory Latin course at the University of Michigan. I would go on to earn a teaching certificate in Latin, as well as Mathematics, and use his text, Latin for Reading, in my first teaching assignment.I had access to other texts - the Cambridge series, Wheelock's text, and other material - but I chose Latin for Reading as the foundation for my teaching approach. While other texts provide a greater breadth of vocabulary, extended prose, (many exercises in Latin for Reading are 2-3 sentences at most), and historical references, this text provides a fundamental and carefully constructed analytical approach to learning the grammar, syntax and semantics of the Latin language. For those who would suggest that the exercises in this text are overly difficult, I would suggest that as opposed to other approaches to Latin study, this text, and its concepts of 'kernelling' and sentence mapping, demand an understanding of language at the most basic of levels. In fact, I would use this book as a supplement for any linguistics course. I highly recommend this book.

The common texts that have been around since Julius Caesar do not teach learners to "read" Latin. The approach used in Latin For Reading is well tested and works. There is no magic bullet for reading the classics. The magic is in the systematic and linguistic approach used in this text to teach students to read Latin. Only those "poor souls" who are still memorizing declensions in a vacuum will have difficulty appreciating this masterpiece. I taught Latin using this text and couldn't imagine teaching it any other way.