A Complete Course for Beginners (Penguin Handbooks)

Finding it explains things simply enough not to confuse learners, goes through what you need to develop basic skills speaking the language, am really enjoying this book, and have learned a lot in next no time.

This is very, very good for teaching yourself Russian, or supplementing your courses. The thing I love about this book is the approach to grammar and examples, it's all very well done. It really covers everything well, and gives you a lot of resources. Follow it chapter by chapter, take notes on the grammar and vocabulary, and you will be very well off. Like any book on learning something you need to invest some time into it. But if you do it will pay off. You should note that it does not contain audio. I find that the lack of audio is perfectly fine for me. This book is good if you're a little lazy to use audio or are more of a book learner like me. In terms of pronunciation, the book does a very good job teaching it. To supplement the audio, I would recommend looking up some Russians speaking and trying to imitate it. On YouTube there will be some "learning Russian" audio clips, and you can listen to them and see if you can understand what is said. Personally, my approach was to learn the grammar and vocab first, then focus on audio. I think that was a slight mistake, I should have focused on all three, but in any event it worked. Overall this book is amazing. Follow it chapter by chapter and take notes on everything, study and learn it. One thing I would recommend is making exercises for yourself. There's only so much a book can do. I like to make larger exercises every couple chapters: "write a paragraph about blah blah blah using these grammatical forms at least # of times" etc. Use this book!

Excellent and instructive, didactic, I appreciate the presence of answers to exercises, dialogs and a good introduction to grammar.
Great addition to anyone self techinf or even attending Russian classes. Even though, the book should warn that there are more exceptions to rules than rules.

I bought a much more expensive textbook for my Russian I course in college. The New Penguin Russian Course cost a fraction of what I paid for my textbook and it was a lot better. There is a lot of vocabulary and pronounciation help. There could be more exercises, but considering the compact package the book is in, I think that it's way above average. I'm really happy with my purchase.

I'm potentially going to be teaching a Russian language class next year, and it's at a highschool that has never had Russian before, so I was checking out textbooks. From the reviews and price, this looked to be the best book possible, but once it arrived, there were some issues.
1. It's a little outdated, so some of the cultural information is incorrect. It was published in 1996, and the last time I was in Russia was 2004, so my information is outdated as well, even though it is updated compared to the book.
2. It doesn't address the issue of cursive at all, which is unfortunate since, although signs and other official communication (and print resources) are in block Cyrillic, ALL interpersonal communication is in cursive, since Russians, when writing by hand, use cursive exclusively.
3. It's definitely NOT designed for classroom use. This is something I'd wished other reviews had addressed, but I understand that most people getting a textbook off of the store are self-study students, so I don't blame the reviewers. What makes it not ideal for the classroom setting is mainly the formatting. It's pretty much just text, with few line breaks, just bold type to indicate where new sections are. Also, it's the size of a regular paperback, and the font type is normal for that size of book. Unless you're sitting right next to your student, it would be very difficult to point to a part of the book and have them follow along, due to the font size, book size, and lack of line breaks.

Alas, my search continues. As my school has very tight finances, it's going to be a tough search concerning the high prices other textbook options command.

Review edited May 20, 2014 because I reread it and realized I didn't explain WHY it didn't make a good text for the classroom setting.

I'm currently studying chapter 5, but looking the book over, and based on my experience so far:

There is a lot packed in this book, including the Russian-English and English-Russian dictionary in the back, of words used in the lessons. The book appears to be very thorough in the essentials of Russian grammar, and a good introduction to Russian vocabulary. I most appreciate the dialogues and exercises at the end of each lesson with complete keys in the back. It's not easy, and there may be easier resources for learning the language at a much greater cost. That said, this book appears to deliver a lot for the buck if you are willing and persistent to make the effort.

For pronunciation, I would suggest online audio resources (such as online translators for learning the pronunciation of individual words) or, better, help from a native speaker.

I'm currently studying chapter 5, but looking the book over, and based on my experience so far:

There is a lot packed in this book, including the Russian-English and English-Russian dictionary in the back, of words used in the lessons. The book appears to be very thorough in the essentials of Russian grammar, and a good introduction to Russian vocabulary. I most appreciate the dialogues and exercises at the end of each lesson with complete keys in the back. It's not easy, and there may be easier resources for learning the language at a much greater cost. That said, this book appears to deliver a lot for the buck if you are willing and persistent to make the effort.

For pronunciation, I would suggest online audio resources (such as online translators for learning the pronunciation of individual words) or, better, help from a native speaker.

This book was a great starting point for learning Russian. Within a couple weeks I was already communicating with my Russian friends. Even pronunciation was adequate to an extent. The book is well laid out, and each lesson builds on the previous lessons. Overall I enjoyed the book, and what it has taught me.

Ordered this book for learning Russian because my wife is Russian and no she wasn't mail order. very helpful book goes over the the alphabet and the sounds each letter makes very helpful to learn what she is yelling at me. Helpful phrases to learn she uses a lot take out the trash, wash the dishes, and get off you dang video games very helpful!

This book is excellent. I have bought many other books and this one by far has been the best one I've purchased hands down. This book has alot of examples, exercises and is really easy to work with, easy to understand. I have learned alot from this book as well. I totally recommend this book.

I came across this publication while browsing the net for learning Russian. It struck a note and I'm very pleased that I purchased the book.
It is comfortable to read the ease of the understanding lessons and the examples given.

This a fantastic book for a total beginner. Ive found it very useful. Going in, I could read Cyrillic but i don't have much sense of what I was saying actually *meant*. the only thing I'd like to see added is a section on how to write the characters by hand (since russian cursive is so different from print. But I also have other books on that subject, so that isn't a really big problem for me.

This grammar book is used by myself, my wife, and a group of about 20 other friends of ours who are studying the russian language. It gives a thorough explanation of grammar in a method that makes it easier to retain. Highly recommended!!!

This Russian course is very thourough, but Russian grammar is quite complex, and this book reflects that. Ideally it should have come with pullout cards with the individual grammar rules that you could pin on your wall. On the plus side, it does a very thourough job of explaining the Cyrillic alphabet, which is something that is lacking in, for instance, Russian For Dummies. Even here, certain things are confusing though - I still haven't really grasped how the soft sign is pronounced.

As a student of the Russian language, I have found that this book has been more thorough than my school textbooks! This is a must have for anyone beginning the language. I carry it everywhere with me and I am never without it.

I recomend this book to anyone who is serious about learning russian. it's over 500 pages long and covers just about everything, from the alphabet, the name of the letters, handwriting in russian, goes into great detail about the grammar, gives the stress marks for words, and even has decent sized dictionary in the book. whether a beginner or already know a great deal of russian this is a great book.

Great book for the beginner. I learned French first, so this language is a major PImyA, but it is laid out VERY well with great examples and REASONS. It helps my understanding when I know why things are the way they are. Only drawback is the paper cover. If you're serious about learning the language and use this book, it will be opened very frequently and worn quickly.
btw I also suggest picking up a copy of Golosa on ebay as a supplement

This book offers a conventional explanation of russian grammar, and that's about it. I could see it useful as a reference, but for learning russian it's ineffective. The few exercises are simple (drills) and isolated; they're mostly random sentences with blanks to fill. Later exercises repeat very little of previous lessons and never seem cohesive. You'll constantly be flipping back to previous chapters for grammar points seldom revisited. Each chapter's vocab contains a smattering of foods, household objects, verbs of motion that are difficult to combine into one's own compositions. Other textbooks might group travel words for example, so that the student could write usefully about that aspect of his life. In this book, vocab is presented without any theme.

Even the grammar outlines, its strong point, are tediously explained with the language's irregularities drawn out as additional rules rather than mere exceptions. Rare uses of words are presented on the same level as everyday speech, especially when prepositions are introduced. The reader is left to waste time on archaic formations that she'll seldom see. The book is noisy, sometimes old fashioned and meanders through essential aspects of russian language while mixing in useless curios. It ultimately fails because of the unorganized vocabulary and the poor exercises.

This book starts from the very beginning with the cyrillic alphabet and explaines the most important grammar topics, which aren't simple. I started learning Russian with this book from the very beginning and it helped me a lot when I was in Russia and needed to communicate with natives. The exercises with answers are very useful to verify the level of comprehension. I definitely recommend this book.

Very good book for beginners that are just starting or even those who have been learning for a while. Lots of technical information, grammar, and vocabulary practice. I would recommend it to anyone that wants to have a good foundation in Russian. By the end of the book (if you have practiced sufficiently) one would definitely be able to get by in Russian-speaking countries just fine.

I think that this book, when accompanied by talking and consulting prople who speak Russian, can really get a serious student to speak and understand the language.
True, some of the words and grammer are in old fashioned Russian, but other than that -it is very easy to learn from, very deductive and well organized.

I love how concise the matter is approached in this language book. It shows me, I made a good choice in this particular volume..easy to understand for such a difficult subject. I will order using this seller again, thanks!

really great book that I bought after seeing a friend reading it and borrowing it a few times.
I feel that it really teaches the language pretty effectively, as a non-russian I found it quite helpful and at a high enough level.

I'm reviewing my college Russian and was looking for a comprehensive text to get me up to speed.

Now I am appreciating just how superior my previous texts were. This approach is too simplified, teaching things in a very disjointed way, without giving basics of grammar, phonology, etc. I understand that the author does not want to make things too complicated, but Russian is sufficiently complex grammatically for English-speakers that your introduction should be rigorous and systematic. Here the author is trying to ease self-learners into the language. But I'm not sure that's the most effective way to learn.

Also too many references to non-Russian names, cities, etc., apparently in an attempt to make learners feel at ease. But how often am I going to be speaking to Russian-speakers about Brighton or Bristol, as opposed, say, to Pskov or Novgorod.

I'll get through this and back up to speed, but I wonder if the average student wouldn't just get frustrated.

Also more work on writing should be done up front. Students should feel absolutely comfortable with the alphabet before they delve into language studies.

I wish I hadn't tossed my old Russian textbooks. Oh well.