Your First 100 Words in Arabic : Beginner's Quick & Easy Guide to Demystifying Non-Roman Scripts

I am using this on my own in preparation for college level Arabic classes and so far it's been pretty helpful re: pronunciation but the narrator's voice on the CD grates upon my nerves and the English instructions are too drawn out (thus less time for Arabic). The book itself is good because it has large type and flashcards you can cut out. My main quibble with the book: ugly graphics. Overall it is very helpful but it's not... Read Full Review

Original review (prior to formal Arabic instruction): This book was my "ice-breaker" to learning Arabic, for personal interest in Christian-Muslim dialogue, and professional interest in Islamic world view(s). The key to this book's exceptional utility is the ease of associating sound patterns of phonetic transliteration of words for everyday objects (household items, clothing articles, etc.) with the written patterns of... Read Full Review

This is the book to begin learning any language. This makes the transition to other learning methods much easier. This book gives the foundation for reading Arabic script and recognizing essential words in the Arabic language. I did have the pronunciation of some words wrong, but it was easy to make corrections. Other methods will teach the grammar and phrases, but this book should be the first to buy. This book and the... Read Full Review

This book does exactly what the title says: it makes learning the script an easier process. I used this book first and then went on to Arabic Explorer software by Rosetta Stone. I found I was pronouncing words wrong, but that was easily corrected because I only knew 100 words. I don't know how I could have used the Arabic Explorer software without this book, because they don't even introduce the script. With this book... Read Full Review

Spent all of June in Safaga, Egypt. I showed this book to my Egyptian counterpart (a teacher, private pilot, Senior Master Gulf of Suez Ship Pilot, and business owner) and he immediately asked me to buy one for him to use to help his clients when they're in town. This is the way most of us learned English in Grammar school. Some by rote and visual learning. I believe this is the best primer for English-speakers available... Read Full Review