Foreign-market Books

First off I don't usually read this sort of book. I am more into books like Go Ask Alice and others. When I was looking for a book this one quickly drew my attention. I loved this book. I have not yet read the other two books in the series, but I will. I hope they are as good of a book as this one.
The book starts off with Robin and Kit meeting each other at the airport. Both Kit and Robin are surprised with the others gender. Kit expected to meet his new brother and Robin expected to meet her new sister. I think any teenage girl will quickly fall in love with Kit. Kit is an attractive boy with an awesome sense of humor. The book really starts to get fun when the two find each other in their underwear!
This book is a must-read for any teenage girl who likes to read a book that leaves that warm fuzzy feeling in the end.

Kit and Robin is a good book, I think Robin should not have been afraid to be herself just because some guy in her hometown totally dis her because she was too country for him. Then she goes London for a foreign program learn to more ladylike and proper she thinks guys will like her more if she learn to be more ladylike. She meet Kit who is her foreign student host . Who only sees her as sister when she put on her proper act. When she herself around her friends who are also in the foreign program. He beings to like her because he sees the quatilties he looks for in girl. I think this book will teach you a valueable lesson, that someone should like you for who you are, not just because talk proper, have a lot of money. The person should like you for you. I think if Robin had been herself in the first place I think Robin and Kit would have been girlfriend and boyfriend sooner. It is very good read and check and see for yourself.

Okay, let me say that I don't normally go for these high school love story type of series books, but this one caught my eye. I, myself, don't live in Texas, but I do live on a farm. I can relate to the main character in the story, who also lives on a farm, in that even though she likes farm life, sometimes other people don't and Robin is slightly self concious of that. I also spend most of the year in England, managing to juggle the constant flights between California and the UK, so I felt especailly drawn to this book since it was set there. When I started reading it, I found highly amusing characters and an interesting plot (although it was at times cheesy). Robin's personality is drawn out clearly and with the switch between her point of view and Kit's, you get to know both of them very well. THe writing was witty and engaging, and I'm glad to say it was worth picking up.

Although I normally find teenage "love" stories somewhat laughable, I found myself actually quite drawn to this book. The foundation for this book was definitely interesting- three best friends, all "hicks" from Texas head off to Europe to stay abroad with host families for their junior year. One goes to Rome, one goes to Paris, and the protagonist of this story- Robin, heads towards London.

On arrival in London, she finds out that the her host "sister" Kit, actually isn't her sister at all. Instead he's a tall and devastatingly cute guy- and she has to live with him for the next year.

Robin adjusts to life in England quickly, and also adjusts to Kit quickly. There are several humorous incidents in the novel, where Robin, embarassed about her "hick" background, attempts to cover up both her accent and her true self by pretending to be someone else.

Robin also repeatedly gets tormented emotionally by Kit's girlfriend-someone who really can't stand her and considers Robin a threat.

However, after several incidents that take place against the backdrop of the sweeping towers and streets of England, love prevails in the end, Kit realizes he's not meant to be with Brooke, (his girlfriend) and admits his true feelings for Robin.

Overall, an enjoyable read, although slightly mushy at times. Essentially, if you enjoyed the movie "Notting Hill", you'd probably enjoy this novel. Ms. Hawthorne, who is a very versatile writer, manages to incorporate many different aspecs of living abroad, and the simplicity of feeling at home, into this novel. Despite the rather obvious ending, I still had fun reading it, and I'm sure that many other people will, too. This will probably also encourage readers to look to abroad trips and other countries.

Although the foreign exchange market is the world's largest financial market, this book will prove valuable to traders or behavioral finance scholars involved with any financial market. Oberlechner brings the perspective of a clinical psychologist/anthropologist to observe this arena of human chaos and madness. Paradoxes that confound at first, seem clearer when viewed from his lens.

For the practical-minded reader interested in financial trading, this book will hold up a mirror to help examine yourself. Much of trading, after all, is psychology! As one expert points out in this book, "traders don't just bring their money to the market, they also bring themselves!" It is chilling to read, for instance, about how market trends may just be held up by rumor. How traders use metaphors to make sense of the vast markets (eg, using likening it to warzone or to a lover or to a bazaar or to a casino, etc), is also discussed and may help sort out your own mental algorithms for simplifying financial decision-making:

But if financial markets are full of chaos and madness, human nature, when seen and understood through the social scientist's perspective is a constant. Oberlechner compares the behavior of today's traders to human behavior from prior periods: not just the tulip mania bubble but also primitive tribes. E.g., on one island, fishermen exposed to the perils of the open sea exhibited far more superstitious beliefs than those in calmer waters. Does that seem reminiscent of the belief systems of gamblers and traders compared to staid bankers? Perhaps the practical trader may get hints from reading this about how to tame the human beast within to make profits.

Academicians will benefit from the treasure of citations to relevant psychological and behavioral finance literature. Not to imply in the least that this is a dry tome! In fact, the book reads very well, combining logic with poetic flow: I found it hard to put down the book and found myself taking it with me on the subway. You can tell this is someone who has observed the market participants and isn't just an ivy tower academician.

This book is valuable to any person trading any market. It enforces the thought that you bring yourself to the market, be it currencies, futures, stocks, or bonds. A person is the product of their environment, culture, parents, education and experiences which influences their perception of the markets. It is very difficult to observe what the market is doing without observing what it is doing to you. All markets are a mind game.

I am a veteran forex dealer and in-house trainer of our dealers; this book is required reading. From the opening quote in the introduction of the book you are introduced to the concept that "psychology" is everything in dealing. Believe it! Though the book provides no canned solutions to dealing, it does give you the essential foundations to begin to build your own dealing models.

If you are interested in the result of a survey done through over 300 FX traders in 5 countries or over 200 bibliographies for your own thesis, you will be absolutely delighted. If you want to sharpen your trading edge or simply to have fun (like what Fiasco, Pit Bull, Liar's Poker and Wall Street Meat do), you will be very disappointed.

I would like to give you an example. In page 154 the author listed a table of importance ratings of successful trader characteristics (n=291, 1=unimportant, 4=very important) of 23 items ranging from Quick Reaction Time (mean=3.71, sd=0.50) & Discipline (mean=3.65, sd=0.55) to Computer Literacy (mean=2.54, sd=0.78) & Social Skills (mean=2.52, sd=0.74). Some might find it helpful. As a veteran pro FX trader and trading book lover who read to sharpen my edge in one of the most competitive market, I dont.

Perhaps the author had just tried too hard to post the findings of his survey into a book that the chapters and thus content are quite disoriented (I strongly suggest you to take a look of the content page available on Amazon). Sorry to say that there are plenty of much better trading psychology books in the market (though not dedicated to FX, but still relevant and applicable). IMHO, "Beyond Greed and Fear: Understanding Behavioral Finance and the Psychology of Investing" by Hersh Shefrin and "The psychology of Finance by Lars Tvede" should be better choices.

p.s. I had overlooked the fact that the two five star reviews (this should be the third review of this book) were written by two one-review-only readers. Shame on me!

This volume is easy to read and comprehend. Each entry has multiple definitions which include primary, secondary and
terciary utilizations. Combinations of irregularity are set forth. For instance, esforzar, seguir and tenir (~)are depicted.
The model Spanish pronunciation is set forth in the "Castellano"
and "Suramerica" versions. The volume is complete with over
70,000 entries. This version would be helpful in studying
the Spanish classics which tend to have many idiomatic expressions with many elusive nuances.

A strength of the volume is that it:

o displays multiple meanings for ease of identification
o the gender of Spanish nouns is shown on the English side
o Spanish American words and meanings are designated by regional
labels

The volume is well worth the price charged. It would be helpful
for a wide audience of Spanish enthusiasts including
students, teachers, writers, editors and many other constituencies in business and academe.

Some Spanish verbs have very illusive conjugations. For a
beginner, the best alternative may be memorization. Here are
some samples:

andar: anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvistes,
anduvieron (to walk)
asir: asgo, ases, ase, asimos, asis, asen (to grasp)

The 28 letters of the Spanish alphabet are set forth with a
29th sound:
a, b, c, ch, d to l, ll (elle), m, n, n~, o, p , q, r, rr, s, t,
u,v, x, y, z

I have this dictionary since 1986! In about 700 pages you can find more than 70,000 entries. It has a model of conjugation of 86 spanish verbs. Unfortunately this edition do not have the newest entries (of the new technologies).

Virgilio Krumbacher

This is the best paperback English/Spanish dictionary I've seen in many years of studying Spanish. It has good coverage of idiomatic expressions, and does a very good job of indicating regional differences in the meanings of words in different South/Central/North American countries. Occasionally it has words that are lacking in my huge cloth-bound English/Spanish dictionary.

You might also want to check out the revised edition of this, published in 1989.

I am not a writer, nor a critic. I am a mere reader who appreciates good works. This is one of my staple books, which I often reread and recommend to people who I feel might have the mind to appreciate genius. This is the best translation I know of and as a necessary feature of translated poetry, it includes the original French text, as well. Baudelaire reveals the beauty within darkness and exposes the darkness within light. Brilliance has always been rare, but I would say now it is more rare than ever within the literary field. This may very well be due to books like this going unread by the majority of the population. This is a wonderful book to enhance a person's writing depth, and their understanding of the world. Other great author's and books are: Illuminations by Arthur Rimbaud, Mallarme, Antonin Artaud's Anthology and The Death of Satan, Lautremont and Maldoror by Issidore Ducasse, All of the Marquis de Sade's works, Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce, Anne Sexton's Complete Works, La Batarde by Violette Leduc, the diaries of Anais Nin, and Sylvia Plath's poetry.

As both poet and critic, Baudelaire stands in relation to French and European poetry as Gustave Flaubert and Edouard Manet do to fiction and painting; as a crucial link between Romanticism and modernism and as a supreme example, in both his life and work, of what it means to be a modern artist. His catalytic influence was recognized in the nineteenth century by Rimbaud, Verlaine, Mallarmé and Swinburne and, in the twentieth century by Valèry, Rilke and T.S. Eliot.

Baudelaire's poetic masterpiece, the 1861 edition of Les Fleurs du mal (Flowers of Evil) consists of 126 poems arranged in six sections of varying length. Baudelaire always insisted that the collection was not a "simple album" but had "a beginning and an end," each poem revealing its full meaning only when read in relation to the others within the "singular framework" in which it is placed. A prefatory poem makes it clear that Baudelaire's concern is with the general human predicament of which his own is representative. The collection may best be read in the light of the concluding poem, Le Voyage, as a journey through self and society in search of some impossible satisfaction that forever eludes the traveler.

The first section, entitled Spleen et idéal, opens with a series of poems that dramatize contrasting views of art, beauty and the artist, who is depicted alternately as martyr, visionary, performer, pariah and fool.

The focus then shifts to sexual and romantic love, with the first-person narrator of the poems oscillating between extremes of ecstasy (idèal) and anguish (spleen) as he attempts to find fulfillment through a succession of women whom it is possible, if simplistic, to identify with Jeanne Duval, Apollonie Sabatier and Marie Daubrun.

Each set of love poems describes an erotic cycle that leads from intoxication through conflict and revulsion to an eventual ambivalent tranquility born of memory and the transmutation of suffering into art. Yet the attempt to find plentitude through love comes in the end to nothing, and Spleen et idèal ends with a sequence of anguished poems, several of them entitled Spleen, in which the self is shown imprisoned within itself with only the certainty of suffering and death before it.

The second section, Tableaux parisiens, was added to the 1861 edition and describes a 24-hour cycle in the life of the city of Paris through which the Baudelairean traveler, now metamorphosed into a flaneru, moves in quest of deliverance from the miseries of self, only to find, at every twist and turn, images of suffering and isolation that remind him all too pertinently of his own. This section includes some of Baudelaire's greatest poems, most notably Le Cygne, where the memory of a swan stranded in total dereliction near the Louvre becomes a symbol of an existential condition of loss and exile transcending time and space.

Having gone through the city forever meeting himself, the traveler turns, in the much shorter sections that follow, successively to drink (Le Vin), sexual depravity (Fleurs du mal), and satanism (Rèvoltè) in quest of the elusive ideal. His quest is predictably to no avail for, as the final section, entitled La Mort, reveals, his journey is an everlasting, open-ended odyssey that, continuing beyond death, will take him into the depths of the unknown, always in pursuit of the new, which, by definition, must forever elude him.

In pursuit of an "evocative magic" of images and sounds, his blending of intellect and feeling, irony and lyricism, and his deliberate eschewal of rhetoric utterance, Baudelaire moved decisively away from the Romantic poetry of statement and emotion to the modern poetry of symbol and suggestion. He was, said his disciple Jules Laforgue, the first poet to write of Paris as one condemned to live day to day in the city, his greatest originality being, as Verlaine wrote as early as 1865, to "represent powerfully and essentially modern man" in all his physical, psychological and moral complexity. Baudelaire is a pivotal figure in European literature and thought, and his influence on modern poetry has been immense.

Don't be fooled by Steven McLeod's review. This book is not an English translation of the French poet's work. It is printed entirely in French with no side-by-side translation. Just don't make the same mistake I did and send it as a gift to a non-French speaking friend!

(By the way, my three stars mean nothing as I couldn't read the book either, but was required to fill-in the field to submit this "review.")

Love this book, can't put it down once I started reading it the only thing that the writer did not disclose is whether she is already pregnant with his child, other than that this is a must read.

From the book-cover:
The marriage persuasion... Businessman Carlo Carlucci won't take no for an answer. The passionate Italian has set his sights on British tour guide Francesca Bernard, who stirs him with her beauty and innocence more than any other woman... But Francesca is also an heiress, and already engaged to a man whom Carlo believes is a gold-digger. There's only one way he can protect Francesca - and fulfil his desire - and that's to claim her for himself, as his wife. So begins Carlo's slow, but intense, and incredibly sensual, seduction to persuade Francesca to become his bride...

I love Michelle Reid,but this book seemed to have a hasty ending. Carlos likes Francesca, but she is engaged to another man. Francesca catches her fiance with another women and ends up in bed with Carlos the same night. The book starts really strong but the ending is rushed and leaves unanswered questions.

A textbook for an Italian Renaissance course. It is a group of essays from renaissance personalities. Some of them I found very interesting and on point for the subject to be discussed in class.

This book was ordered for my son for a college class he was in last year, but I have since taken it and added it to my collection and I've enjoyed picking it up now and then and reading selections. It's not something you need to read all at once, but you could place in your kitchen for when you are waiting for water to boil and you need something to occupy yourself...or when you are waiting for a phone call, and you have time to kill...all those moments when a long book won't do, but a selection from this textbook will satisfy.

There are an amazing number of pieces that are included in "The Portable Renaissance Reader." These works include letters from Boccaccio and Pope Pius II to Petrarch's poetry. Other writings, such as, "Self-Protrait of a Universal Man" by Leon Battista Alberti provides a thoughtful look into the notion of what defines a "Renaissance Man." Within its impressive volume, however, with the exception of St. Teresa of Avila, there lacks women writers of the period; yet the book not only covers a broad amount of material by Renaissance men, but there is also a biographical list of authors and a chronological table that is an asset for researchers who would like to go into further depth on the subject. Perhaps, an accurate summarization of this book is that it provides much information into what is still called "portable."

I bought "Pronounce it Perfectly" because I am teaching myself French from the Foreign Service Institute tapes series (which this is not part of). The FSI course is very good, but is mostly given at conversational speed, which means I repeatedly miss some nuances of pronunciation.

So, I hoped "Pronounce it Perfectly" would teach me what I needed and keep me from permanently hardening a bad accent. Tape I was great. However, throughout Tape 2, the speakers apparently realized they were running out of room. To make this minicourse fit onto the tape, they cut down the response time to almost nothing. I could barely draw breath before they were on to the next word. I found myself gabbling all my responses anyhow just to get through them before I had to listen to another word. True, I could press the Pause button, but doing that literally every few seconds gets old. As for the long phrases and minidialogs, there was no possibility of repeating them, so I had to just skip them. My accent, I'm afraid, did not improve much during the second half of the course--though I repeated it twice.

This is a shame, because "Pronounce it Perfectly" would easily have fit onto two cassettes if they had not continually repeated the same few sentences about procedure ("Repeat the words after the speaker," etc.) and cut the recordings of waltzes inserted between every unit.

As for flaws in the course itself--being thoroughly stumped by the French "R," I was disappointed to see it covered so scantily in "Pronounce it Perfectly." The course states there are three pronunciations for the French "R," but that the only one covered would be the Parisian pronunciation "as recorded by the speakers on this tape." However, the male and female speakers pronounced the "R" quite differently. And I would have liked to learn all three pronunciations.

Finally--feeling that the difference between French spelling and pronunciation is a mystery worthy of Hercule Poirot--I'd reallly have liked more explanation as to when the endings of words, as spelled, are left off when pronounced.

As with Christopher Kendris's other French language books, Pronounce It Perfectly delivers impeccable grammar and pronunciation techniques. A relative newcomer to french language, I started with Mr. Kendris's French Now! workbook. This book teaches one how to conjugate verbs and formulate sentence structures. Pronounce It Perfectly then continues with another workbook and 2 cassettes which makes the task of learning French with the correct pronunciation flow very smoothly. Then continue on with his 501 French Verbs: Fully Conjugated......Arranged. You can't go wrong with Mr. Kendris's line of books, and definetely do not try to speak without first listening to the cassettes. They will make you more comfortable and understandable in the long run.

At first I was sceptical, but my doubts fell away after I started working through this book and tape combination. This is a very systematic and logical guide to French pronunciation that approaches it from the angle of French spelling rather than of the sounds (e.g., how to pronounce 'euil' in various words.) My spouse (whose French is excellent) commented right away that my accent was much improved! The only minor criticism I have (and the only reason for 4 instead of 5 stars) is that the book doesn't use the International Phonetic Alphabet symbols; I would recommend to anyone using it that he or she find a way to match up the sounds with the corresponding IPA symbols. This will help when trying to figure out the pronunciation of new words shown in a dictionary. Other than that, highly recommended!

I understand that this book is a classic of sorts in Theodore Roosevelt studies, but it was simply too long and long-winded to keep my attention (although I did read the entire book). He examines very carefully much of Roosevelt's foreign policy (see the review below mine if you want to read a couple pages of info), and for that I commend him. I just think it can be done in a more readable and concise manner. I recommend reading the works of Edmund Morris or H.W. Brands on TR instead.

"Theodore Roosevelt And The Rise Of America To World Power" consists of a series of essays covering major developments, policies and actions through which the Roosevelt Administration guided America into the realm of world power. I had read this book previously and reread it in order to increase my understanding of Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy. It is definitely worth a second read.

The first two essays cover Roosevelt's role in the rise of American Imperialism and America's rise to world power. Later essays deal with the cementing of the Anglo-American alliance, China, the Far East and Europe.

The two underlining themes of this book are Roosevelt's assertion of the Monroe Doctrine in the Americas and his search for balances of power elsewhere in the world. His defense of the Monroe Doctrine is manifest in the resolution of the Venezuelan Dispute of 1902 during which TR prepared to go to war with Germany in order to prevent it from establishing a foothold in South America.

An early major step in TR's foreign policy the establishment an alliance with Britain. This move was a natural, as many in America's ruling class, not including TR, were Anglophiles. TR recognized that common language and interests cemented Anglo-American relations. An alliance with Britain was essential to the establishment of a balance to the power of a rising Germany. TR's restraint during the Boer War, despite his sympathy for the underdogs, was repaid in Britain's cooperation in the Venezuelan Crisis and its face saving, but ineffective, support of Canada during the Alaskan Boundary dispute of 1901-3.

The main American interest in China was the maintenance of the Open Door policy, which could have been closed had any one nation attained the upper hand in China. Despite his belief in white supremacy, it was Roosevelt's America which used a portion of the Boxer reparations for the benefit of China. In his effort to establish a balance of power in the region, TR supported China in its struggles against Russia over Manchuria.

In the Far East, in addition to China, TR's main interest was the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, an accomplishment which won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Even more than a general desire for peace, TR was motivated by the desire to establish a balance of power in the region. He recognized and respected Japan, an ally of Britain, and actively supported them in the early stages of the war. He recognized Russia as the greater threat to the U. S. and was pleased to see its thrust into Asia blunted. His intervention with both the Japanese and Czar Nicholas was instrumental in preventing a breakdown in the Portsmouth Peace Conference, an action which saved Japan from bankruptcy and Russia from further military disaster. After the war, TR acted, through the cruise of the Great White Fleet, to impress upon an emboldened Japan the folly of taking on the United States as it had Russia.

Perhaps TR's most assertive foreign policy initiatives involved his role in the Algerciras Conference on Morocco in 1905. Ignoring the Monroe Doctrine's provision that America would stay out of European affairs, TR became an active intermediary in a dispute in which America's only direct interest was to keep Morocco open to American trade. America's most vital interest was to keep Germany from obtaining excessive dominance in Europe which would enable it to attempt an expansion into Latin America, particularly into areas with large German populations.

An assessment of TR's management of America's rise would have to conclude that he was generally successful in his initiatives. Germany was kept out of Venezuela and power in Morocco remained divided. Japan achieved its sphere of influence in Korea, and the Open Door remained open. It is true that TR did not vanquish America's rivals, but he did maintain the peace and enhanced America's position during his reign. World War I did not erupt until 5 years after he left office and neither did Japan attack America not Russia become a major rival until another Roosevelt Administration over 30 years after TR left the White House.

I found Professor Beale's work to be the best study of TR's foreign policy which I have found and, as my Amazon reviews indicate, I have read quite a bit about him. I recommend it for any serious student of TR or the history of American foreign policy.

"Theodore Roosevelt And The Rise Of America To World Power" consists of a series of essays covering major developments, policies and actions through which the Roosevelt Administration guided America into the realm of world power. I had read this book previously and reread it in order to increase my understanding of Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy. It is definitely worth a second read.

The first two essays cover Roosevelt's role in the rise of American Imperialism and America's rise to world power. Later essays deal with the cementing of the Anglo-American alliance, China, the Far East and Europe.

The two underlining themes of this book are Roosevelt's assertion of the Monroe Doctrine in the Americas and his search for balances of power elsewhere in the world. His defense of the Monroe Doctrine is manifest in the resolution of the Venezuelan Dispute of 1902 during which TR prepared to go to war with Germany in order to prevent it from establishing a foothold in South America.

An early major step in TR's foreign policy the establishment an alliance with Britain. This move was a natural, as many in America's ruling class, not including TR, were Anglophiles. TR recognized that common language and interests cemented Anglo-American relations. An alliance with Britain was essential to the establishment of a balance to the power of a rising Germany. TR's restraint during the Boer War, despite his sympathy for the underdogs, was repaid in Britain's cooperation in the Venezuelan Crisis and its face saving, but ineffective, support of Canada during the Alaskan Boundary dispute of 1901-3.

The main American interest in China was the maintenance of the Open Door policy, which could have been closed had any one nation attained the upper hand in China. Despite his belief in white supremacy, it was Roosevelt's America which used a portion of the Boxer reparations for the benefit of China. In his effort to establish a balance of power in the region, TR supported China in its struggles against Russia over Manchuria.

In the Far East, in addition to China, TR's main interest was the negotiation of the peace treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, an accomplishment which won him the Nobel Peace Prize. Even more than a general desire for peace, TR was motivated by the desire to establish a balance of power in the region. He recognized and respected Japan, an ally of Britain, and actively supported them in the early stages of the war. He recognized Russia as the greater threat to the U. S. and was pleased to see its thrust into Asia blunted. His intervention with both the Japanese and Czar Nicholas was instrumental in preventing a breakdown in the Portsmouth Peace Conference, an action which saved Japan from bankruptcy and Russia from further military disaster. After the war, TR acted, through the cruise of the Great White Fleet, to impress upon an emboldened Japan the folly of taking on the United States as it had Russia.

Perhaps TR's most assertive foreign policy initiatives involved his role in the Algerciras Conference on Morocco in 1905. Ignoring the Monroe Doctrine's provision that America would stay out of European affairs, TR became an active intermediary in a dispute in which America's only direct interest was to keep Morocco open to American trade. America's most vital interest was to keep Germany from obtaining excessive dominance in Europe which would enable it to attempt an expansion into Latin America, particularly into areas with large German populations.

An assessment of TR's management of America's rise would have to conclude that he was generally successful in his initiatives. Germany was kept out of Venezuela and power in Morocco remained divided. Japan achieved its sphere of influence in Korea, and the Open Door remained open. It is true that TR did not vanquish America's rivals, but he did maintain the peace and enhanced America's position during his reign. World War I did not erupt until 5 years after he left office and neither did Japan attack America not Russia become a major rival until another Roosevelt Administration over 30 years after TR left the White House.

I found Professor Beale's work to be the best study of TR's foreign policy which I have found and, as my Amazon reviews indicate, I have read quite a bit about him. I recommend it for any serious student of TR or the history of American foreign policy.

The general evaluation of the book:

A good self-study material for those who have already had a course covering the basics. Or for those who are so-called false starters.

However, from book editing viewpoint, the book is a nightmare:

1. No active page headings, on the top of each page you have only the title of the book, which makes it a little difficult to locate something specific quickly.
2. Headings on a page are mostly inconspicuous, so you need to look carefully where you are inside a lesson.
3. Perhaps the book is too grammar centered, which is reflected in putting the grammar into the book twice, once inside the units and once at the back. Probably a shorter and tabular description inside the unit and a reference to the grammar summary at the back could have saved some space for some extra material.

All the lessons have the same structure:

1. A long conversation with English translation after each turn
2. Usage notes to expressions and structures in the conversation
3. Culture Notes (in English)
4. Grammar and Usage (the book has a thorough grammar curriculum) (a very long section)
5. Exercises (surprisingly short compared to the previous section)
6. Key to the exercises

What can you find at the back of the book?

1. an 83-page grammar review
2. a 10-page-long guide to letters, e-mails and internet resources
3. the rules of the 1998 German Spelling Reform (2 pages)
4. a short index (2 pages)

What's on the CDs?

1. Each conversation of the book (fast, natural speech speed)
2. Each conversation again but broken up into easily repeatable chunks to help you learn the language while in a car, or cooking in the kitchen or pottering in the garden

Some positive and negative features of the mini dictionary included in the package:

+ it's small enough to carry around anywhere
- one with weak eyes may need to buy a magnifying glass to be able to read the minuscule letters
+ It highlights the most common words, using all capitals, and lists some useful expressions with them.
- it does not have any grammatical information to the words (e.g. plurals to nouns, irregular forms to strong verbs, etc.)

This new series is perfect for anyone who has been "dabbling" in a language and is interested in "finding their voice" so to speak. There are 4 cds with 5 scripted dialogues on each. First you just listen, than it is repeated with time beween each phrase for you to repeat. Each lesson is followed by "Grammer and Usage" where you repeat more sentences. Nowhere but in the book are translations and clarification found.
The format can be challenging at first, because being a beginner you won't understand much. You have to read the book and be persistant to make it work. It really forces you to start listening and understanding dialogues in normal speaking pace.

Has some good resources for the budget traveller, at a great price. Not too much info, though, more or less a big brochure.

Just got back from Ireland and Scotland. Used the BTG Europe guide and loved it. Had everything about getting to Europe and lots of info packed in the guide. It was also very easy to carry around, a great companion to my Lonely PLanet guide.