The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian, 2nd Edition [Paperback]

Christopher Froehlich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 3, 2006 | Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide

Does learning Russian have to be so hard? Nyet!

Learn the basics of the Russian language without getting discouraged. This friendly, fun, and practical approach offers first-time learners and re-learners of Russian the basics of grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and conversation. Whether learning Russian for business, school, or travel, or just to have a friendly conversation, this book is must.

€ One of the five official languages of the UN
€ An increasingly important language for business, trade, and science
€ Russian is the third most popular language for multilingual skills in the U.S.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher Froehlich enlisted in the United States Army in 2000 and immediately went to the Department of Defense language training school, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, where he began an intense Russian language program. After specializing in specific, key aspects of the Russian language, he graduated and transferred to Germany, where he currently works as a Russian voice interceptor.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Alpha; 2nd edition (October 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592575854
• ISBN-13: 978-1592575855
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Education & Reference > Dictionaries & Thesauruses > Foreign Language > Russian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not very useful, July 15, 2006

By 

Rui Zhi Dong (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian (Mass Market Paperback)

I didn't bother reading the reviews on Amazon.com when I bought this which was a big mistake. I decided to buy this book on impulse more than anything else at Dymocks. I just really wanted to buy something I suppose.
When I read about the author's credentials in teaching Russian (none), it should have rang a bell (ding! ding!) It didn't.
Whilst I'm sure the author's really, really good at... Russian, he's definitely not very good at *teaching* it, which is what I'm more interested in as the student. The way he teaches how to read the Cyrillic alphabet, the way to remembering what's stressed & what's not & various other essentials (some of which aren't covered) are very lax, to say the least. I don't mean to sound too harsh or anything but if you're intent on actually LEARNING Russian, this book won't help you. If you want to learn a word here & there to impress someone, then this book might be the one.

The reason I didn't give the book a 1 is:
-He can write English well & explains himself clearly
-The book looks pretty
-Some interesting points are made

I recommend "Russian Course". That's THE book to use to learn Russian.

Richard

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn the Cyrillic Alphabet and Proceed!, July 13, 2006

By 

Dr. Victor S. Alpher (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian (Mass Market Paperback)

Once you learn the alphabet (no small feat) you'll have fun with this book. And, you'll UNDERSTAND why Russian-speakers have difficulty learning perfect English (and that will be an epiphany).

So, in all circumstances, try this book out. Knowledge of another language that has gender cases for nouns (such as German) is helpful, because you have already jumped that hoop. Get ready to encounter a language with no real prepositional phrases, definite articles ("the"), and no particular concern about word order. However, it can be fun, and will give you some great insights into one of the world's great and most spoken languages. All thanks to St. Cyril, who wanted to invent an alphabet that took the best from the available ones. He missed on a few points, and those are worth discovering too!

One of the best free-standing Russian language books I have uncovered.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Starting Resource, May 16, 2006

By 

Charles Eddy (Shreveport, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian (Mass Market Paperback)

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Russian starts where it should: the Cryllic Alphabet, and it gives a good breakdown and a lot of sample words to go along with it. Then it gets into grammar, slowly etching vocabulary into your mind as you read. It's a really good introduction, and the fact that it stays with the Cryllic alphabet throughout lends it a lot of face in my eyes, because in reality you're not really accomplishing anything without using their alpahabet. As always with languages, you'll want to get a good set of CDs or tapes to go along, because without hearing the language there's no point, but I really must strongly recommend this book. It's witty once in a while, fun all the time, and doesn't let you get bogged down in the extreme nuances of grammar. If you want to begin the road to fluency in Russian, buy this book. You won't regret it.