Teach Yourself Basic German

by Norman Paxton

This is a first introduction to German for anyone who wants to acquire a basic knowledge of the language. The course consists of 27 short units and is carefully graded so that by the end of the book the reader will have learnt the essential core vocabulary and grammar of German quite painlessly.

144 pages, Paperback

Published January 11, 1988

Reviews

[Mohan Vemulapalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly basic German course, that in my opinion is best suited for reviewing the highlights of the language. I would not recommend using this book to try to learn German for the first time, but it has proven to be a fairly good resource to review fundamental grammatical structures and vocabulary after many years of ignoring the language. That being said the book does not cover the entirety of German grammar and the user should look into finding some good supplemental materials to use with it. I would recommend a modern detailed phrasebook and detailed word list with good grammatical detail at the very least

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

After three months with TYBG, it was a splendid relief to read through the last chapter and set the book aside (actually, I tossed it across the breakfast table in disgust).

Yes, I did learn some German, and the introductory chapters were not completely lousy. But as we veered into more complicated grammar, the book lost its usefulness, except as a bit of morning humor thanks to catchy phrases such as : "Es ist nicht angenehm, wenn du mit einer Zigarette im Mund singst."*

Please, if anyone knows a better "teach yourself German" book, do let me know!

*It's not pleasant if you sing with a cigarette in your mouth."