The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Sign Language

I have read the reviews on this book and they are all very low...too low. I am a teacher of ASL, have taught Deaf children for 10 years, have a Deaf foster son, have my masters in Deaf Education, etc. Needless to say I am in the Deaf community. I have found this book very helpful for my students and was looking to buy it for my sister when I saw the poor reviews. I find the information on Deaf culture, history, etc. easy to read and right on. Having said that, the pictures are not very good. I find that ASL dictionaries are often wrong due to regional variations, ASL changes across time (like all languages do...think about it, 20 years ago no one knew what the word Internet would mean, but now...), and it is VERY hard to make something that is 3D understandable on something that is 2D. Therefore I would tell all people who are trying to buy an ASL dictionary to really think twice. DVDs, VHS and online dictionaries where you can see the movement of the sign are a MUCH better way to go. Dictionaries make for good reminders and if you are using this book to remind you how to sign something, it does a good job with the limited vocabulary it includes. This book, however is not trying to con you into believing it is a dictionary. You know this but how much writing it has compared to pictures. As a textbook I find it great! I really love it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because it does have a lot of line drawings that are not the best. I gave it a 4 for all of those poor people who are thinking they can do the impossible by learning to sign by reading a book. ASL just doesn't work that way.

Excellent stories and examples of Deaf Culture info

I thought this book was a terrific summary of basic sign -- not for the Deaf culture, who presumably already know the language -- but for those who wish to learn the basics. I found the drawings charming and helpful, and the writing fun and instructive. I learned a lot!