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The Everything Essential Brazilian Portuguese Book, by Fernanda Ferreira

3 Portuguese, Books

This small and portable book by Fernanda Ferreira, Ph.D., will work fine as a refresher. I envision it as being appropriate for, say, the businessperson who has studied Brazilian Portuguese in the past, who is hopping on a plane…

An Updated Version of an Oldie But Goodie

4-5 Japanese, Books

Published just today, this McGraw-Hill book is a slightly updated version of Easy Kana Workbook, also published by McGraw-Hill all the way back in 1991. I liked that one, so I like this one, too.  One observation: McGraw-Hill…

Basic Italian, by Alessandra Visconti

3-5 Italian, Books, Kids

I did not love Practice Makes Perfect: Basic Italian by Alessandra Visconti, but I found it pleasant. I am in general pretty fond of the ubiquitous Practice Makes Perfect series from McGraw-Hill and have used…

From Dover Publications: 2,001 Useful Spanish Words!

4 Spanish, Books, Vocabulary

This is a great book to keep with that pile of magazines in your bathroom—and I mean that as a compliment!  2,001 Most Useful Spanish Words is not exactly the kind of book the average person would…

501 Essential French Verbs, from Dover

4 French, Books

This nicely designed book from Dover Publications consists primarily of verb tables. It is hard to get overly excited about verb tables, which simply involve listing all possible conjugations for a given verb, and then all the conjugations for another…

Oops! I Forgot to Hide It!

4 French, Books

I’ll be blunt: this French book is a little dirty. Which is fine. Smutty stuff has a place in a French student’s library. Especially a college-age student, but the contents of Hide This French Book<…

Seymour Resnick's Essential Spanish Grammar, from 1959!

3 Spanish, Books

I really liked Seymour Resnick’s Essential French Grammar, so I was disappointed not to be able to give his Essential Spanish Grammar a similarly glowing review. There is a special place in my heart for…

Italian: A Good Old-Fashioned Grammar Portrait

5 Italian, Books

I have generally adored the Essential Grammar series from Dover Publications, and this Italian one by Olga Ragusa is no exception. In just 111 pages and for only $5.95, this old-fashioned book (originally published in 1963) provides a petite yet oddly…

I Was Not Drawn to This

2-5 Portuguese, Books, Multimedia

According to the cover of Beginning Portuguese with Two Audio CDs by Sue Tyson-Ward, this book is “ideal for travel to Portugal or Brazil.” The chapters have titles like “Town Amenities: At the Tourist Office,” “Ill Health: Precautions…

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