German for Reading Knowledge [Paperback]

Hubert Jannach (Author), Richard Alan Korb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 11, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0838478352 | ISBN-13: 978-0838478356 | Edition: 4

GERMAN FOR READING KNOWLEDGE develops the fundamental skills graduate students need in order to read authentic texts on a variety of subjects in the humanities. This fourth edition includes high-interest readings, improved grammar explanations, contextualized exercises, and a section on how to choose the right dictionary.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[What I like best are the] clear, concise explanations of difficult grammar topics (particularly, extended-adjective constructions and the subjunctive) and no assumption that students are familiar with advanced grammar topics and terminology." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English, German

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Heinle; 4 edition (July 11, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0838478352
• ISBN-13: 978-0838478356
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #851,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for faint-hearted learners, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: German for Reading Knowledge (Paperback)

This standard college text for acquiring a reading knowledge of German is monumental in scope and demanding in design. This is a serious book for serious learners only.

Now in its fourth edition, this warhorse is a solid, no-frills approach that builds on the old-fashioned principles of incremental vocabularly and grammatical precepts, followed by complementary readings using that controlled vocabularly and grammar.

The 30 chapters are short but dense, interspersed with several review chapters and additional readings, along with several useful appendices and a German-English glossary and index in the back.

Learning German for the sole skill of reading is much like learning a dead language such as Latin. The joy of the spoken word is not part of the process. But this book helped me conquer the thorny and difficult German language and adequately prepare for a graduate examination in the language.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars All bark, no bite...., February 24, 2006

By 

Miguel (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: German for Reading Knowledge (Paperback)

I ordered this book because it was on the syllabus for a German class I'm currently taking. I'm not sure that outside of this class the book would be of much use. It's really nice as a supplemental tool, but not as a main teaching tool. In fact, we cover a lot more in our class than the book does. For instance, our teacher will gave us more information on the use of prepositional phrases than what is provided in this text. I would not recommend it for people who are trying to learn German on their own. Plus, I think it's a little too expensive.

49 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tedious and unclear, May 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: German for Reading Knowledge (Paperback)

This book is not a great value. It does not explain German grammar with the clarity found in April Wilson's "German Quickly" or even Sandburg and Wendell's "German for Reading." It is particularly weak when explaining prepositions and the extended adjective construction, and it does not give pragmatic advice about figuring out the various crucial elements in a German sentence. Moreover, the exercise sentences are dull, and not worth the effort needed to translate them. This book is a classic mainly because German teachers are too lazy to seek out substitutes.