Love, Life, Goethe: Lessons of the Imagination from the Great German Poet

Love, Life, Goethe: Lessons of the Imagination from the Great German Poet
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If you are intested in Goethe, try a different book

Can a great writer help you live your life if you are not a great writer?

Love, Life, Goethe: Lessons of the Imagination from the Great German Poet
John Armstrong
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0374299684
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Book Description

A fresh and perceptive new biography of Germany's greatest poet, whose life and times are a mirror for our own

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is often remembered only as a figure of literary genius, author of The Sorrows of Young Werther and Faust. Yet Goethe was driven by much more than the desire for literary success: he wanted (much the same as us) to live life well.

In Love, Life, Goethe, John Armstrong tells the dramatic life story of this great poet—a representative man akin to Wordsworth in England or Emerson in America. In so doing, he subtly and imaginatively explores the ways that we can learn from Goethe, whether in love, suffering, friendship, or family. At the center of the project is the human yearning for happiness: In an imperfect world, how can we live well with what we have, and accept what we haven’t? From our lives at home, to our attitude toward money and the politicians we choose, Armstrong explores the main themes of our lives through the life of Goethe, and helps us learn how to live.

Customer Reviews:

If you are intested in Goethe, try a different book.......2007-02-18

On page 464 of his book, the author makes an astonishing admission: "In working on this book I was surprised by how much I liked some of Goethe's works that I feared I would have to read merely from a sense of duty. In particular the plays Egmont and Tasso stuck me as really wonderful. I delayed reading Faust for as long as possible, finally getting round to it during a family winter holiday at a small coastal town..."

To get the full impact of this, try replacing the German names with more familiar ones, e.g., Shakespeare, Hamlet, etc. What the author is telling us is that he read Goethe's major works for the first time while writing a book about Goethe--hoping he was going to like them, because there was no getting round the duty of having to read them to write the book... This is madness. How could it not occur to him (or the publisher) that the standard for insightful writing on those works had already been set by people who had read and reread them many times, and thought about them a great deal over many years--and only then decided that they had something new to say that would justify a new book. Initial reactions to a first reading on a summer holiday were never likely to produce much beyond the rambling, superficial comments of a high school book report, and that's what Armstrong's commentary on Goethe's work reads like. The lessons about life that he attributes to Goethe are as a result trite and trivial, e.g., "He was secure enough to be able to think about unhappiness, about death..." Or: "He stressed the importance of cheerfulness..." Or: "This is part of Goethe's sanity--the fact that he isn't hysterical about the human condition while not being naïve." Does it really take a great writer and thinker to arrive at conclusions like these? Let's hope that nobody is persuaded, as a result of this book, that Goethe's thought in works like Faust is nothing more than elementary common sense.

Fortunately for the English speaking reader, arguably the best book ever written about Goethe is in English: Goethe, Poet and Thinker, Essays by Elizabeth M. Wilkinson and L. A. Willoughby, published in 1962 by Edward Arnold. Compare Willoughby's wonderful essay on Faust, or Wilkinson's brilliant essay on Egmont with Armstrong's shallow commentary. (Goethe's text is quoted in German, but you can easily use the line numbers and other indications to find the corresponding lines in an English translation.) That is the book that you need if you want to understand Goethe's greatness as writer and thinker.

Can a great writer help you live your life if you are not a great writer?.......2007-01-14

Goethe is the odd- man out of the Joycean Dante-Shakespeare-Goethe triumvirate of greatest world writers. Like many others I have found his work difficult reading, and have the sense that the translations especially of the Poetry do not come over in the way translations of say Rilke do.
But Goethe in his time strode like a Colossus not simply the world of writing but the world of world culture.( He is really the great founding father of Comparitive Literature). Now John Armstrong has searched the life and work of the one ,who said that all his Literature was one great Spiritual Autobiography, in the hope of providing us lessons of how to live a better life.
This intellectual biography thus is also, and perhaps even primarily a self- help reader aimed to make the reader look and live his own life with as much happiness as possible.
The work is divided into ten sections.: Luck, Love, Power, Art, War, Friendship, Nature, Peace, Happiness and Death.
It seems to me the degree to which Goethe's insights can be useful depend very much where the reader is in his own life.
I have always seen Goethe as one who aimed to be the master of all those who know through researches in many different areas of Life, Literary and Scientific. It is sensible to do what Armstrong has done here and focus on the moral and psychological insights of Goethe. But what is to be made of his often misplaced scientific efforts? And too what can be said about the way the Faustian impulse he so dramatically portrayed came to take over an entire culture and bring the most 'enlightened nation' to the greatest acts of Evil?. Here Goethe must stand along side Nietzsche who, who was a far more striking original aphorist- thinker than Goethe.
In fact one looking back at the overall tradition of Western Literature sees many giants who , as I understand it, in pure literary terms far outshone in dramatic power, in creation of character, in penetration of the depth of the human soul , Goethe. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky each in his own way seems to me to reach a level of depth beyond what the great enlightened positive if often pessimistically realistic Goethe saw.
One more observation. Harold Bloom has given a lifetime to promoting the idea of literary anxiety in which the heirs, the sons contend with and try to overthrow their predecessors. Who is contending with Goethe today>
It seems to me the best of this book is the story of Goethe's life as retold by Armstrong. This unique story reminds us of the greatest lesson of all, that each one of us has his own path which no one else can walk on even if it leads unlike Goethe to years of striving for Literary Recognition and not receiving it.

Urban Planning and Cultural Inclusion: Lessons from Belfast and Berlin (Anglo-German Foundation)

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Urban Planning and Cultural Inclusion: Lessons from Belfast and Berlin (Anglo-German Foundation)

Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0333793684

Book Description

Cities divided by ethnic and cultural conflict seek to create and maintain a viable sense of shared identity if they are to survive. Urban planning and management protect diversity while avoiding becoming a disconnected conglomeration. Belfast and Berlin are currently in the process of responding to this challenge: What will the implications be for town planners and how do they approach their task?

Conversational German: In 20 Lessons (Cortina Method)

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Still very efficient language book
Good but Outdated
Easy & Fun way to learn German!
Excellent Resource

Conversational German: In 20 Lessons (Cortina Method)
Eva C. Lange
Manufacturer: Cortina
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0805014985

Book Description

Step-by-step, these twenty lessons, with charming and helpful illustrations, will enable you, regardless of previous language training, to read, write and speak in German in the shortest possible time.The Cortina Method has been time-tested and is the quick, easy and natural way to learn a language. It has received the approval of teachers, students, schools, colleges and business firms all over the world.Guide To Pronunciation And SpellingExplains how to pronounce the sounds, words and phases of the language through simple phonetic symbols based on English spelling. Rules of spelling are also explained.Twenty Conversational LessonsThese lessons include useful vocabularies and everyday conversations. Alongside of each word and sentence is given the correct pronunciation and English translation. Easy-to-understand grammatical footnotes are combined in this Method to make your language study effective and interesting.Complete Reference GrammarProvides a complete and clear explanation of every rule of structure. It is cross-referenced with and adds to the explanation in the conversational lesson footnotes.Bi-Lingual DictionaryGerman-English/English-German Dictionary contains all useful words and terms you need to know, so you can locate them easily.Over 2,500,000 Cortina Method language books have been sold.Free cassette in German to the buyer of this language book starts you speaking German almost overnight! Cortina Institute, originator of the recorded method of learning languages, would like you, as a student of the Cortina Method, to have one of their language cassettes. Therefore, you have this special opportunity.

Customer Reviews:

Still very efficient language book.......2006-11-08

Although older this is a very good language book. German other than English is quite static regarding everyday conversation, idioms and expressions. Good language books like this one are rare!

Good but Outdated.......2003-04-03

In need of a thorough revision because it doesn't take into account the recent spelling changes and changes in usage over the past 10 and more years. The grammar summaries are well organized and useful. If you need a place to quickly look up German grammar, the second half of the book is excellent.

Easy & Fun way to learn German!.......2000-10-02

Just glance over the vocabulary a few of times & then go for the dialogue. (Of course, read over the translations to help you out). You'd be amazed how quickly you'll begin to pick up vocabulary and sentence patterns. After reading each lesson over a few times -- here & there -- in a matter of two to three days, you'll be ready for the next lesson. I became hooked, because it was fun to look forward to what the next lesson would be about. The dialogues are interesting and, meanwhile, you'll be gaining a wealth of knowledge in vocabulary, and also how Germans form their sentence patterns (not quite the same as English)! Read and enjoy!!

Excellent Resource.......2000-06-20

I have been trying to learn German for some time. I've used several books, but I've found that this is the one I can actually sit down and work with. It provides connected, conversational text in German. I can practice translation to or from English with it. Each lesson provides an extensive vocabulary. At the back of the book is a detailed grammar, and each lesson makes reference to different sections of the grammar. However, it does not force the grammar into the text. When used in conjunction with the available cassettes, I've found this to be faster and more fun than any other German book I've used.

Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations

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A "MUST READ" FOR INVESTORS. THIS BOOK TELLS THE FUTURE

Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations
Jens O. Parsson
Manufacturer: Wellspring Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0914688014

Customer Reviews:

A "MUST READ" FOR INVESTORS. THIS BOOK TELLS THE FUTURE.......1998-08-24

If you are an investor who is worried about inflation, this is the best book you will ever read.

It explains what really happened during the 1923 German Inflation, and exposes the flaws of current macroeconomic theory which, I'm sad to say, have even fooled the Federal Reserve. This book explains the real meaning of Government Deficits and Debt, and the Trade Deficit. Sadly, publications from the Federal Reserve about the Debt show that they do not understand it!

If you think the Government Deficits and Trade Deficit are inflationary, you are DEAD WRONG!! Just wait until we get a Trade Surplus in America, and you'll be experiencing 1923 Weimar German inflation.

This is one of the few investment books that will make you rich, if you read it before the American Hyperinflation of the 2000's comes.

German Lesson
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duty is what?

The Joy of Duty?

Phantastic book about the real Germany

German Lesson
Siegfried Lenz
Manufacturer: New Directions Publishing Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

duty is what?.......2004-07-13

Of course this book is about duty. Also about adolescence. Also about art. Everyone in the book has a duty to something. Siggi is a great character and seeing the world through his eyes makes one think about their own duties, makes one wonder when to face them and when to see that they are wrong.
I really enjoyed this book because to me it wasn't so much about the Nazi time, but about censorship and the duty to do art.
This is a book that if you like history, Germany, art or just a really good story you should read. It appeals to both sexes too.

The Joy of Duty?.......2000-11-07

A young pupil in post-war germany, Siggi Jepsen, is forced to write an article, because he failed in the german lesson. The theme is: The joy of duty. When thinking of duty, he is forced to think about his father, a police officer. During the Nazi Era, the so called "forbidden art" was removed by state forces. Jepsens father, in his urge to do his duty, whatever it may be, not asking about the consequences, does, whatever he has to do. Young Siggi Jepsen (10 years old) has another thinking of duty. He thinks, his duty is to preserve the paintings of the "forbidden art" of the artist Nansen and tries to conceil those sympathies from his father. This more or less silent conflict about duty is the intruiging part about the book.

what is the duty of man? What is the reaction of a small countryside town of the northernmost germany to the cruel Nazi-era? What are "normal people" like in extreme situations? This is described in Lenz'book in a very silent, innerflecting way.

Phantastic book about the real Germany.......1999-01-15

What can I say about this this book, apart from that it is an absolute must for anybody who is interested in Germany. Beautifully written, with strong characters that cover the whole spectrum of the German society. In my eyes within the top ten books ever.

Favorite German Art Songs - Volume 1, High Voice: with a companion CD of accompaniments and pronunciation lessons The Vocal Library

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Essential vocal repitoire!!

Favorite German Art Songs - Volume 1, High Voice: with a companion CD of accompaniments and pronunciation lessons The Vocal Library

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0793562457

Book Description

All student singers study the classic German Lieder at some point. We've chosen the most often-sung of these songs for this new collection, and have recorded top-notch accompaniments for each of the songs. Pianist for the recordings is Gary Arvin, a specialist in song literature on the faculty of Indiana University. Includes translations and IPA pronunciation guides. This collection is sure to be used by singers at all levels, from High school contest soloists, to collegiate singers and professionals. Contents: Allerseelen (Strauss) * An die Musik (Schubert) * Dein blaues Auge (Brahms) * Der Nussbaum (Schumann) * Die Forelle (Schubert) * Der Gartner (Wolf) * Heidenroslein (Schubert) * Verborgenheit (Wolf) * Widmung (Schumann) * Wie Melodien zieht es Mir (Brahms) * Zueignung (Strauss).

Customer Reviews:

Essential vocal repitoire!!.......2005-03-18

The Hal Leonard series of Favorite Art Songs for various languages is a very useful addition to any student of voice, or teacher. The series includes an accompaniment CD with pronunciation of texts read by native language speakers. Each song is also written in standard IPA and a glossary is also included to help with pronunciation. The songs in the German selection range from easy to challenging. The songs give the student the opportunity to grow in range, dynamic control, phrasing, technique, and other areas. I highly recommend the Hal Leonard Favorite German Art Songs, and the other Art Song books in the series. They are a most helpful collection of fine Art Songs for any singer!

Tennis Course Vol. 2: Lessons & Training

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One of the Best Books on the Theory of Coaching Tennis

Tennis Course Vol. 2: Lessons & Training
German Tennis Organization
Manufacturer: Barron's Educational Series
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764114867

Book Description

This book progresses beyond the basics covered in Tennis Course, Volume One and presents the techniques of tennis training from an instructor's point of view. It can be used as an instruction manual in tandem with Volume One, or used alone to instruct players who already have knowledge of the basics. The book offers useful advice to players at all levels of competence. A straightforward text, enhanced with 79 full-color photos and 149 instructive line illustrations, covers a variety of topics of special interest to tennis players and instructors, including: basics of tennis instruction, methods of instruction for different target groups, performance requirements as a basis for training, training methods to develop coordination, psychological basics, and much more. Players and coaches get some understanding of the general training and physical conditioning required for high-level achievement in the game. Training and competition plans are presented for the benefit of players at all levels.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best Books on the Theory of Coaching Tennis.......2002-10-29

Again, the Deustcher Tennis Bund authorities come up with a comprehensive gem! The earlier book in the Tennis Course series wasn't as strong but this volume is one of the definite books on Coaching Tennis. It is highly theoretical so it doesn't give coaches or teachers the practical side.

Students may not find this book useful, but any parent of a competitive player might find it valuable to see what theory is out there and if their pro/coach uses them. Coaches can use this resource which is "unpolitical" so it doesn't concern itself with subjectivity (which many coaching books do!).

Book Description

Complete lesson plans for teaching Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene. Includes introduction to the unit, unit objectives, reading assignments, unit outline, study questions (short answer), study/quiz questions (multiple choice), vocabulary worksheets, daily lessons planned, related nonfiction reading assignment, oral reading evaluation, biographical info about the author, three detailed writing assignments (inform, persuade, personal opinion), vocabulary review games & activities, unit review games & activities, at least one group activity assignment, discussion questions on all levels (factual, critical, interpretive, personal response), 2 short answer unit tests, 2 multiple choice unit tests, 1 advanced short answer unit test, unit and vocabulary crossword puzzles, unit and vocabulary extra worksheets & games, bulletin board ideas, ready-to-copy student materials, answer keys, and more!

Ecofascism: Lessons from the German Experience

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A Disappointing Look at the "Green Wing" of Fascism.
Left wingers fretting over green Nazis

Ecofascism: Lessons from the German Experience
Janet Biehl , and Peter Staudenmaier
Manufacturer: AK Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1873176732

Customer Reviews:

A Disappointing Look at the "Green Wing" of Fascism........2007-08-09

_Ecofascism: Lessons from the German Experience_, published by the anarchist AK Press, is a book consisting of two essays by supposed ecological activists Janet Biehl and Peter Staudenmaier. Unfortunately, I found this book to be a major disappointment. To begin with the book is exceedingly small and while the essays do cover interesting material, they do so in such a limited manner that not much can be really learned. But, even worse are the authors' biases. The authors claim that ecological ideas have been used for "fascist" ends, particularly by the Nazis in Germany. However, they then proceed to promote an ideological leftism and denounce all those who adhere to a different opinion regarding certain matters as "fascist". This sort of behavior is all-too-typical of leftists. Thus, the book amounts to little more than a paean to the worst sort of political correctness and a denunciation of "right wing fascists" within the ecological movement. The authors themselves seem to have little genuine interest in ecological ideas and seem to be more caught up in opposing such things as "anti-immigrant sentiment" and "anti-abortion activism" rather than attempting to genuinely understand the ecological rationale for such ideas. The fact is that the original Volkish movements that sprang up in Germany in the 1920s have much to offer the world, particularly in their emphasis on ecological ideas, organic farming, conservation, radical localism, and spirituality, in spite of the fact that such movements were perverted for Nazi ends. Later generations of hippies of environmentalists, who sprang up in the 1960s, incorporated many of these same ideas into their own movements without full recognition of where they came from. In particular, the works of Anna Bramwell are to be commended for revealing this connection and I highly recommend her solid research over this book. (I should add that the authors' attempts to link Bramwell herself with fascism are indeed truthfully pathetic and represent nothing more than the typical response of leftist radicals when encountering ideas outside their firmly held ideological beliefs.) Another difficulty I have with this book is the author's attempts to attribute any sort of ecological idea that smacks of mysticism to fascism and thus to maintain that only a rationalistic ecology should be tolerated. In fact, the situation is just the opposite, in that an excessive emphasis on rationalism is precisely what has led to the totalitarian ideologies of our age and indeed that infiltrated the Nazi movement and led to its destructive purpose. Nevertheless, despite these criticisms the book does have some redeeming features, in that the essays show some of the ecological ideas that have persisted from their origin during the 1920s in the German Volkish movement to the modern day. Ecological ideas remain difficult to categorize in that they can appear as part of a "soft right" and equally well as part of a "soft left" (as Bramwell explains in her books), and perhaps this is one of the problems that the authors of this book cannot get their head around.

The first essay in this book is by Peter Staundemaier and entitled "Fascist Ecology: The "Green Wing" of the Nazi Party and its Historical Antecedents". In this essay, the author attempts to show how various Volkish ideas merged into a "blood and soil mystique" which eventually entered into the Nazi party. The author notes that Germany remains the central birthplace of ecological ideas and has seen the Green party's rise to prominence. The author traces such ideas from such figures as Ernst Moritz Arndt and Wilhelm Heinrich Reich (who he unfortunately describes as "fanatical nationalists") to Ernst Haeckel founder of the Monist League. The author also repeats the theories of Daniel Gasman concerning the zoologist Haeckel's fundamental significance for Nazism. Following this the author turns to the youth movement or Wandervogel and the Weimar era. The author maintains that such movements arose out of neo-Romanticism and were developed by such individuals as Ludwig Klages. The author also mentions the role of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger on the deep ecology movement. Finally, the author turns his attention to National Socialism, showing the emphasis placed on nature by such figures as Rosenberg and Himmler. The author also devotes a substantial section of this essay to discussing Walther Darre, who served as a minister of agriculture under Hitler. Bramwell's work has similarly focused on Darre; however, instead of making note of her painstaking research, the author simply relies heavily on it and then chooses to denigrate it. The author also notes the German quest for Lebensraum and worship of the peasant. The author ends by maintaining that such quasi-mystical ecological notions must be opposed while a rationalistic ecology must be furthered.

The second essay in this book is by Janet Biehl and is entitled ""Ecology" and the Mobilization of Fascism in the German Ultra-Right". This essay attempts to show that the German ultra-right and fascism generally have made use of ecological ideas and attempts to show how such ideas persist to the modern day. The author begins by railing against the "New" Right which she attempts to link to fascism and Nazi precursors. Then, she turns her attention to neofascist ecology, noting the role of fascist ideologies in such movements as the National Revolutionaries, the Freedom German Worker's Party, the Republicans, the National Democratic Party, and the German People's Union. Unfortunately, she maintains that any sort of anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-abortion activism constitutes "fascist ideology". Following this, the author turns to the Anthroposophy of Rudolph Steiner and the World League for the Protection of Life. The author mentions the educational methods and ecological ideas (including ideas for organic farming) of such figures as Steiner and his protégé Werner Georg Haverbeck. Unfortunately, the author attempts to smear Steiner with the fascist label based on some pretty absurd reasoning and tenuous links to Haverbeck. The author also attempts to link Anthroposophy with the Hitlerjugend. Following this the author turns to the Volkish spirituality of Rudolf Bahro. The rightward turn of Bahro who began as a leftist seems to particularly annoy the author as well as his calls for a future "Green Adolf". The author shows the conflict between the anarchist libertarian Murray Bookchin and Bahro. Following this, the author turns to such Social Darwinist ideas as those of Herbert Gruhl and their role in ecology. The author ends with a call for a "social ecology of freedom".

While this book does include some interesting material, it is indeed truly unfortunate that the authors have let their biases interfere with the presentation of this material and thus label anything that they disagree with as "fascist". Further, many of the authors' claims and their attempts to denigrate such important individuals as Rudolph Steiner and Anna Bramwell are despicable. While many of the movements and ideas presented may have certain unsavory elements within them, the fact is that they cannot all be painted with such a broad brush. But, such contentions are all-too-typical of the radical ideological left.

Left wingers fretting over green Nazis .......2006-07-03

This is a short book that consist of two essays on the "green" elements in Germany, before, during and after the Nazi regime. If you can get beyond the authors warnings of the"dangers" of "right wing" (why do so many morons keep calling Nazis right wing? Do these idiots even know what right wing is?) environmentalists co-opting the ecology movement you actually get some good historical stuff about the Pagan Volkish movement as well as other environmental idealogues who did not toe the line of political correctness over the years in Germany.

The biggest problem in the environmental movement is that more or less all the well known groups toe the politically correct line and refuse to confront the fact that the biggest cause of the environmental crisis is due to human overpopulation, especially in third world countries, and they refuse to deal with the devastating effects that immigration has on the ecology of countries where there is an excess of it going on.

Conservation of forests and nature, eating healthy, animal rights, organic farming, living away from society, not having an uptight attitude about sex, worshipping your own ancestral gods instead of the gods of semites, localized socialism and self sufficency, these were all common themes and practices in the early days and origins of the nazi party. Most of these things were not practiced or even thought about at that time in history until the Volkish movement in Germany popped up. The hippies and environmentalists picked up on a lot of these ideas, although 99% were totally clueless of their origins.

Average customer rating:

German survival guide
Good even for intermediate speakers
Please update this book!
Idiots Need Not Purchase This

German in 32 Lessons (Gimmick Series)
Adrienne
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393314979

Customer Reviews:

German survival guide.......2005-05-15

After a few semesters of college German and a few months at the Goethe Institut, when I finally found myself living in Germany I found this book invaluable. It is not comprehensive but it is a great start in helping one to begin to communicate in modern Germany.
Recommended

Good even for intermediate speakers.......2001-06-25

I definitely like this book enough to recommend it to even a raw beginner of German. The philosophical emphasis of the book is vocabulary first then translating english to german or vise versa. In short, this seems to be a printed version similar to the method used by the Pimsleur tapes. Fortunately, it's a heck of a lot cheaper.

Each chapter begins with a model sentence(s) that are boxed to highlight that chapter's lesson. It then moves to lists of sentences in both English and German. Using the vocabulary you learned from the chapter's vocabulary page you are to translate the sentences into English or German as prompted. Also many exercises give additional instructions. As an example, once you've translated the sentences negatively it then asks you to put them in the interogative form or put them into singular or plural form or to form the possessive case. A language is essentially its vocabulary and German in 32 Lessons does a good job of introducing many of the most used words. I particulary liked the logic used to present them. The first column has the German word, 2nd has the english translation, the 3rd has German synonyms and the 4th column has antonyms. Interspersed throughout are explanations of grammar that the lesson will be focusing on for that chapter as well as extra tips or points to remember. Overall, I believe even an absolute beginner will be able to get a workable grasp of the language provided they do a few other things.

First, as others have noted, the book doesn't provide any explanation of proper pronunciation. So you will need to find another source for this. Fortunately there are free websites available that do exactly this which you can print out for quick reference. Second, I would have put the vocabulary list at the beginning of each chapter rather than the end as the book does. It can be confusing at first for a raw beginner when the first thing you see for each chapter is a single model sentence and then the instruction to translate into German the following 10 - 25 sentences. Nowhere did the book's instructions indicate you have to flip to the end of the chapter - learn the vocabulary down cold and THEN go back to the beginning of the chapter and procede with the lessons. When you are finished with the book you can move on to the intermediate level book (Gimmick One: Gesprochenes Deutsch).

From the introduction I gather the author originally intended the series to be used in a classroom setting. She gives instructions for the neccessity of tests, written homework, etc. Nowhere are there any recommendations for those who are self-learning so you'll have to adapt a few of her teacher recommendations.

Unlike some reviewers I don't neccessarily think the lack of corresponding tapes or cds to be a negative. In the age of the Internet anyone with access can tune in to one of the many streaming audio talk/news radio stations from a German speaking country and learn how the language is spoken. The one downside I can see to this book is that it does require commitment from the reader. You must make the commitment to learn the vocabulary page (the author recommends 1 list per week). If you have a more relaxed approach it may take a long time to get through the book. A lot longer than many people may want.

Also, for variety and to keep interest high, I would recommend supplementing this book with other sources. The Berlitz Self-Teacher:German is one I particularly recommend and it has the added benefit of a proper pronunciation guide.

Please update this book!.......2001-02-09

I used "German in 32 Lessons" when learning German, and found it superior in many ways to other introductory books (and I looked at a lot of them).

However, there are a number of shortcomings which make it less useful than it could be--shortcomings that could be easily remedied. First, there needs to be a section in the front of the book on pronunciation. Second, there needs to be an alphabetical list of vocabulary words in the back of the book. Third, it needs to be updated, some of the slang is a little outdated. Fourth, it would be great if it had an accompanying cassette or CD.

If these four things were done, I think it would be BY FAR the best introductory language book on the market. It has great strengths--logical, bite-sized lessons, useful vocabulary, clear explanations of important grammar. But it needs a bit of tweaking. Adrienne, are you listening? W.W. Norton & Company, are you listening? Please update the whole series.

Idiots Need Not Purchase This.......2000-04-21

This is the third Gimmick Book that I have used. My experiences with the two Italian Gimmick books were stellar... in less than four months, I was reading through newspaper articles, and I now live in Italy with a job that is greatly augumented by my fluency in this language. No, it's not a traditional format, and Adrienne's method is not like traditional language books, which is why it works so well. She requires you to (gasp!) think for yourself while you learn the language. She doesn't treat the student like an idiot, which is why idiot students should check out one of the thousands of glorified phrase books in order to say and understand a couple hundred stock phrases, and get upset whenever a native has the gall to answer differently than what the phrase book told the student the answer was. This is possibly the best book series available, and coupled with a good independent tape system that has the same philosophy (such as Pimsleur) the student will be well ahead of his or her fellow students, and also able to communicate beyond memorised textbook answers.

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