This opens up the ancient world, 31 Oct 2006
I had a little Latin from a long time ago and this book is proving a fascinating trip of rediscovery. The grammar and language stuff is all here and the choice of reading material - taken from ancient authors to give insights into the world of Rome - is a joy. The Latin authors are not all that easy to read (some are a struggle...) but there is plenty of vocab support, with English translations at the end of the book. The book explores the larger picture, of politicians like Caesar and Cicero and the rise and fall of their empire, of the ancient gods and tolerance of relgious minorities, and also the little things like dress codes and men tarting themselves up in make-up...
I'd like more language exercises than offered here, especially more of the cartoon ones. They're a delight. Latin may be dead, but this book has something to offer all language lovers.

Expensive for what it delivers ,,,, 08 Oct 2006
I bought this textbook last year, as the author is the same one that did the ever so well done and affordable "Teach yourself beginners Latin" and "teach yourself Latin", and I was curious to see what G. Sharpley would deliver in a university beginner textbook..

well.. The book is black and white, full of sentenses extracted from various authors, the grammar is explained to its basic level and when finally you ve been able to make any sense of what the book is pointing or explaining.. you end up with 3 or 4 sentenses that you have either to translate or even better, just fill in the gap.

for a textbook of that price, that s simply a bit of a joke. Unless you ve got a teacher and that textbook is specifically required for your class, I would not even bother buying it as a self study beginner manual.
I gave 3 stars because , not only it is an excellent sleeping aid.. (ever so boring it does put you to sleep easily... trust me )
but also it does give you a basic knowledge.. you know at the end that nouns in -a do their plural in -ae and that words like oppidum are neutral.. you ll be able to use a present tense active voice after having read, and snorred through all the pages..

Don t expect to learn anything at all with that textbook, BUT it is a must buy if you re insomniac...

This opens up the ancient world, 31 Oct 2006
I had a little Latin from a long time ago and this book is proving a fascinating trip of rediscovery. The grammar and language stuff is all here and the choice of reading material - taken from ancient authors to give insights into the world of Rome - is a joy. The Latin authors are not all that easy to read (some are a struggle...) but there is plenty of vocab support, with English translations at the end of the book. The book explores the larger picture, of politicians like Caesar and Cicero and the rise and fall of their empire, of the ancient gods and tolerance of relgious minorities, and also the little things like dress codes and men tarting themselves up in make-up...
I'd like more language exercises than offered here, especially more of the cartoon ones. They're a delight. Latin may be dead, but this book has something to offer all language lovers.

Expensive for what it delivers ,,,, 08 Oct 2006
I bought this textbook last year, as the author is the same one that did the ever so well done and affordable "Teach yourself beginners Latin" and "teach yourself Latin", and I was curious to see what G. Sharpley would deliver in a university beginner textbook..

well.. The book is black and white, full of sentenses extracted from various authors, the grammar is explained to its basic level and when finally you ve been able to make any sense of what the book is pointing or explaining.. you end up with 3 or 4 sentenses that you have either to translate or even better, just fill in the gap.

for a textbook of that price, that s simply a bit of a joke. Unless you ve got a teacher and that textbook is specifically required for your class, I would not even bother buying it as a self study beginner manual.
I gave 3 stars because , not only it is an excellent sleeping aid.. (ever so boring it does put you to sleep easily... trust me )
but also it does give you a basic knowledge.. you know at the end that nouns in -a do their plural in -ae and that words like oppidum are neutral.. you ll be able to use a present tense active voice after having read, and snorred through all the pages..

Don t expect to learn anything at all with that textbook, BUT it is a must buy if you re insomniac...

Humerous Stories But Too Many Simplistic Words/Idioms, 06 Jun 1999
+5 for stories but -4 word selection I enjoyed the humerous plays - great writing/acting - and agree that these are words you need to know, but I'd assume you already do unless English is a 2nd lang. If you don't know Technology, Perceive, Compound, Drudgery, Implore, Tinge, Badger, Realm, indiscriminate, (some of the 17 target words from the 1st play, act 1), then this would likely be a good tape for you. Many idioms are also covered. Typical level of difficulty are the 3 from the 2nd play, "cold feet", "keep a stiff upper lip", and "look a gift horse in the mouth". One or two words per story are at a more difficult level like prognosticate, nefarious, pique, but why endure all the definitions of elementary words/idioms when WordBuilders is available? Tip to authors: Lose the idioms, introduce only 7 or 8 words per act, and select more advanced words. Your stories are great!

Humerous Stories But Too Many Simplistic Words/Idioms, 06 Jun 1999
+5 for stories but -4 word selection I enjoyed the humerous plays - great writing/acting - and agree that these are words you need to know, but I'd assume you already do unless English is a 2nd lang. If you don't know Technology, Perceive, Compound, Drudgery, Implore, Tinge, Badger, Realm, indiscriminate, (some of the 17 target words from the 1st play, act 1), then this would likely be a good tape for you. Many idioms are also covered. Typical level of difficulty are the 3 from the 2nd play, "cold feet", "keep a stiff upper lip", and "look a gift horse in the mouth". One or two words per story are at a more difficult level like prognosticate, nefarious, pique, but why endure all the definitions of elementary words/idioms when WordBuilders is available? Tip to authors: Lose the idioms, introduce only 7 or 8 words per act, and select more advanced words. Your stories were the best!

Awful, 12 May 1999
Harsh, annoying, dull. Could not make it through all the tapes. Found it to be a grade school level.

Awful, 12 May 1999
Harsh, annoying, dull. Could not make it through all the tapes. Found it to be a grade school level.

This opens up the ancient world, 31 Oct 2006
I had a little Latin from a long time ago and this book is proving a fascinating trip of rediscovery. The grammar and language stuff is all here and the choice of reading material - taken from ancient authors to give insights into the world of Rome - is a joy. The Latin authors are not all that easy to read (some are a struggle...) but there is plenty of vocab support, with English translations at the end of the book. The book explores the larger picture, of politicians like Caesar and Cicero and the rise and fall of their empire, of the ancient gods and tolerance of relgious minorities, and also the little things like dress codes and men tarting themselves up in make-up...
I'd like more language exercises than offered here, especially more of the cartoon ones. They're a delight. Latin may be dead, but this book has something to offer all language lovers.

Expensive for what it delivers ,,,, 08 Oct 2006
I bought this textbook last year, as the author is the same one that did the ever so well done and affordable "Teach yourself beginners Latin" and "teach yourself Latin", and I was curious to see what G. Sharpley would deliver in a university beginner textbook..

well.. The book is black and white, full of sentenses extracted from various authors, the grammar is explained to its basic level and when finally you ve been able to make any sense of what the book is pointing or explaining.. you end up with 3 or 4 sentenses that you have either to translate or even better, just fill in the gap.

for a textbook of that price, that s simply a bit of a joke. Unless you ve got a teacher and that textbook is specifically required for your class, I would not even bother buying it as a self study beginner manual.
I gave 3 stars because , not only it is an excellent sleeping aid.. (ever so boring it does put you to sleep easily... trust me )
but also it does give you a basic knowledge.. you know at the end that nouns in -a do their plural in -ae and that words like oppidum are neutral.. you ll be able to use a present tense active voice after having read, and snorred through all the pages..

Don t expect to learn anything at all with that textbook, BUT it is a must buy if you re insomniac...

Humerous Stories But Too Many Simplistic Words/Idioms, 06 Jun 1999
+5 for stories but -4 word selection I enjoyed the humerous plays - great writing/acting - and agree that these are words you need to know, but I'd assume you already do unless English is a 2nd lang. If you don't know Technology, Perceive, Compound, Drudgery, Implore, Tinge, Badger, Realm, indiscriminate, (some of the 17 target words from the 1st play, act 1), then this would likely be a good tape for you. Many idioms are also covered. Typical level of difficulty are the 3 from the 2nd play, "cold feet", "keep a stiff upper lip", and "look a gift horse in the mouth". One or two words per story are at a more difficult level like prognosticate, nefarious, pique, but why endure all the definitions of elementary words/idioms when WordBuilders is available? Tip to authors: Lose the idioms, introduce only 7 or 8 words per act, and select more advanced words. Your stories are great!

Humerous Stories But Too Many Simplistic Words/Idioms, 06 Jun 1999
+5 for stories but -4 word selection I enjoyed the humerous plays - great writing/acting - and agree that these are words you need to know, but I'd assume you already do unless English is a 2nd lang. If you don't know Technology, Perceive, Compound, Drudgery, Implore, Tinge, Badger, Realm, indiscriminate, (some of the 17 target words from the 1st play, act 1), then this would likely be a good tape for you. Many idioms are also covered. Typical level of difficulty are the 3 from the 2nd play, "cold feet", "keep a stiff upper lip", and "look a gift horse in the mouth". One or two words per story are at a more difficult level like prognosticate, nefarious, pique, but why endure all the definitions of elementary words/idioms when WordBuilders is available? Tip to authors: Lose the idioms, introduce only 7 or 8 words per act, and select more advanced words. Your stories were the best!

Awful, 12 May 1999
Harsh, annoying, dull. Could not make it through all the tapes. Found it to be a grade school level.

Awful, 12 May 1999
Harsh, annoying, dull. Could not make it through all the tapes. Found it to be a grade school level.

Nice start tolearn,but difficult to hear exact pronunciation, 25 Sep 1998
It was very hard to distinguish between the words starting with an "h" and "p". In addition, the words ending in "s" or "ch" were also difficult to determine. I found myself trying to convert the armenian alphabet to english phonetics just in order to pronounce the words correctly. There is no formality or streamlined thinking to this program. They give you a very short list of the alphabet and a few rules and that is basically it. The tapes consist of vocabulary words spit at you in no random order or grouping. Perhaps a workbook breaking the language down to groupings of pronouns, seasons, months of year etc. would be a more beneficial way in addition to the tapes to learn this language.