Talking with Your Hands, Listening with Your Eyes: A Complete Photographic Guide to American Sign Language

This book has quickly become one of my favorite sign language reference books. Though I prefer a dictionary when searching for a particular sign (Perigee and Random House are my favorites), this book is excellent for studying and increasing vocabulary. My favorite feature is that there are two pictures per sign in most cases. You can see how the sign starts and how it finishes versus trying to discern the motions from arrows in other books I've used. I also appreciate the selections throughout the book on deaf history, culture, technology, etc.

This book edges ahead of others in that it features clear photographs, has words listed topically, and explains deaf history and culture throughout the book. It is much easier to use than books with a "dictionary" layout. The author has the experience and backing to know what works. I highly recommend it.

This book is an excellent introduction to ASL and Deaf culture issues. There is a manageable number of basic signs and insets providing details about being deaf in a hearing world, information on famous deaf people, and technological advances useful for the deaf. The introduction also contains a concise history of deaf education. The author is extremely credible, which is something important to me when learning a new language!From the instruction of a single deaf individual, I have developed a rudimenary knowledge of sign language: the alphabet, numbers, various greetings, some nouns and adjectives. This book has helped me to reinforce what I know, clean up the sloppy signing I had been doing, and learn new things. I have had trouble learning signs from books in the past because I would often miss something important. With this book, I've felt very comfortable with the new signs because of the format. The combination of specific written descriptions with pictures gives a very understandable way to learn new signs. The added bonus of mnemonic devices to remember which sign is which is very helpful. It's embarrassing to admit, but I kept confusing the signs for "yes" and "no" until I read the helpful hints in this book - not a good thing to get wrong!There may be books with more words in them, but I would recommend this book for all beginners, and advanced beginners like myself. Once the signs here are learned (and as in my case cleaned up considerably), then start looking for more comprehensive works. I've been practicing about 30-100 words a night depending on how many I already knew and feel very confident that I'm finally doing them correctly.

This is a clearly written and helpful guide, authored by the hearing son of two deaf parents. Its breadth of coverage, attention to details, and hundreds of photographs make this book stand out. I especially appreciated the insets, which added insight into deaf culture.