German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German (American University Studies)

I have a few different books on learning German for reading knowledge. Most of them are too small: less than 200 pages, insufficient vocabulary to learn in each lesson (or a useful vocabulary in the back), and more often than not hitting you in the exercises with words and declensions/conjugations to which you haven’t yet been introduced. Ms. Wilson’s book has none of these flaws. It is meticulously crafted, and structured such that moving from one chapter to the next flows smoothly, without feeling disjointed and giving the German student something of grammatical whiplash. The exercises provided are useful, and the translation for any word that has not yet come up is provided immediately in parentheses. In addition, each chapter has a good vocabulary list, indicating which words are absolutely essential. The appendices in the back are exceptionally helpful, and comes with a seventy page vocabulary list (wow) and a partial answer key to chapter exercises. Why I was never introduced to this book in grad school when learning German for reading knowledge is puzzling. In sum: excellent. Get it.

My purpose is specifically to compare this product with Korb/Jannach German for Reading Knowledge, 4th edition. I first purchased German Quickly and read it through twice. I found the explanations clear and thorough and the exercises and reading selections enjoyable. Then I started reading academic (Biblical Studies) German and found that my vocabulary was insufficient. Several months later I am nearly finished reviewing German for Reading Knowledge, 4th edition. I find that it provides many of the key abbreviations and scholarly words that I had teach myself over the last few months. Overall, I am very happy with the way this worked out. Wilson's text is more user-friendly if you are teaching yourself (because it spells out grammatical points a little more and has easier practice), but the vocabulary and reading selections will not prepare you as thoroughly for academic German. If you are teaching yourself and have a little extra time, why not get Wilson first and then use Jannach as a review/supplement? There's no question that you will learn the language better by using both books than by using only one, whichever it is.There are two primary reasons that Wilson is easier. First, in the reading practice she gives you difficult vocabulary in parentheses in the text, while Jannach gives it in footnotes. Second, Most of Wilson's sample sentences and readings deal with the humanities, including many German proverbs and stories. The sentences and readings from Jannach cover a wider range of topics, and in general seem more scholarly. Jannach is also, therefore, a little more boring in my opinion.I can understand why most teachers prefer Jannach - because the reading selections and vocabulary are better, and they can make up for the slightly-less thorough grammatical explanations by expanding on them in class. Plus, there are a handful of serious typos in Wilson which are corrected on an insert rather than a new printing of the book. If you purchase Wilson, make sure you add the corrections as you go along so you don't end up puzzling over a typo for a half-hour like I did.

I got this book because I wanted to read German, not speak it. It provides very, very clear explanations and emphasizes some realities of learning German that I, as a self-teacher, was trying to evade. For example: you're not going to be able to understand German without understanding noun cases.There is an extremely helpful chapter on using German dictionaries that would have saved me many headaches if I had had it earlier. The chapters are short enough to comprehend, logically organized, and illustrated with amusing and interesting brief readings, starting in the very first chapter with one-sentence quotes and proverbs. I am not really reading German yet but I am much closer to that goal now that I am using this book rather than one of the many, many books that focus on speaking German.Other reviewers have expressed disappointment at the lack of attention to German pronunciation. I have a shelf full of books and tapes and CD's to help me with that, but none of them taught me how to use a dictionary. I am not at all disappointed that a book on reading German doesn't spend time on pronouncing German.The only reason I don't offer it a full five stars are the many typos, but it is mentioned elsewhere that the author will email you a list of corrections. I haven't asked yet but probably will. The price of the book is also a bit steep - I bought a copy a year ago for a whole let less. But this is probably the book to go with if you're trying to learn how to read rather than speak.

This book could be better organized and it's rather difficult if you have to look up a specific bit of information. Also for translation practice you get sentences such as "The winter doesn't harm the industrious hamster". I don't know how often I'll be using that.

This book covers the main points of German grammar and takes you on a more thorough investigation on the finer points of reading and writing.

Easy to use textbook for learning to read German quickly. Probably not the right choice for conversational German, but thus book does exactly what is claims to.

最高にわかりやすい。読むことに特化している。最初のうちは、短文が集中しているが、ある程度進めると、パッセージの読解に進む。 解答は必要十分に付されており、わからないところの解答がないために困るという語学の教科書にありがちな問題にも遭遇しない。解答は全てに付されているわけではないがそれ以外の箇所は必ず前に戻れば解決できるものばかり。語彙に関しても進出のものは、性数、原形、意味を網羅していてひとまず辞書がなくても、読めるようになっている。 短文については、シェイクスピアの台詞や、ラテン語の名言等をドイツ語にしたものなどが、含まれており、ピンとくれば、読み違えることはなく、理解が進むと同時に著者のリテラシーの高さが知れる。値段に見合った内容であることは確かだ。

Brilliant textbook. I previously used 'German for Academic Purposes' with little results. This book is comprehensive, with numerous examples, and very little fluff. Excellent for students.

Amazon.comの方で評判がよかったので買ってみましたが、随分とよかった。軽く一通り、初級文法をさらっていたのですが、その必要はあまりなかったようです。例えば、デア・デス・デム・デンなどと覚えていなくても、使えます。逆に覚えていない方が、いちいち復唱して確認するという手続きなしに、性や格が直観でわかるように練習できていいぐらいかもしれません。ただし、発音に関しては、事前に覚えておいた方がいいと思いますが。ニーチェやらクライストやらの文章をいきなり読んだりできますし、値段は高いけど、その価値は十二分にあります。Highly Recommended!