I use the word "delightful" too much, so let me instead call this 1960s beginner's German volume enchanting, fetching, and rather peachy!

First published in 1962, this is an introductory German course focused on immersion and context-based learning. Each chapter opens with a couple of pages of sentences in German with accompanying English translation (and, for the first half of the book, phonetic spelling). This is followed by brief explanation of the concept, some slightly longer pieces for translation, and then a series of exercises to a) read and translate, b) read and respond in German, c) translate into German. Full answer keys are provided.

Surrounding the text on almost every page are fab illustrations designed to encourage memorisation and absorption of knowledge. They range from short explanations of concepts (man wakes up, man shaves, man leaves house, man comes home, man goes to sleep) to selections of items (flowers, vegetables, cuts of meat, items of clothing) to scenes designed to encourage grammatical concept learning, for instance an apartment full of people sitting, standing , reading, talking, and so on. My personal favourites are the two-page spreads depicting a scene at the opera, the train station, a football match, the tobacconist, and so on, with a key to all of the items involved. Along the way, there are excerpts from German song and poetry, and lovely (black and white) photographs of traditional German life accompanied by short descriptions in German, introducing more complex sentences earlier in the book for the adventurous translator.

As you might have guessed from this, the book has a wonderfully retro feel. Does one need to know 24 different items associated with tennis, or 40 different cuts of meat? But this is what attracts me so to the volume. There's a heartfelt charm on every page. It makes the book work as a constant companion (Rosenberg extols the reader to return to the exercises every few days, using the answer key less and less, until one can answer them by heart), designed to give you some joy and some amusement while reading. Unsurprisingly, as the book is aimed at people who may want to "pop over to the continent", there is much time spent on travel, ordering in restaurants, and daily routines. But we also learn about weather, the universe, recreation, and much else besides.

As always, there are downsides to a language book. The principal failing is, simply, age. I'm told a fair chunk of the vocab is outdated, as you'd expect from a book 60 years old. But if you're using this as just part of your learning (which I'd recommend) you'll still find it eminently useful for grammatical concepts. And - at worst - you might sound a bit old-fashioned in speaking. Working with more modern items as well (I'm using Schaum's and Duolingo, and will move on soon to some contemporary graded readers), you'll retain the concepts and the value without the archaisms. Another downside is that the book doesn't cover every grammatical concept, but nor is it claiming to. This is a foundation for further study, as Rosenberg notes on the back cover. Finally, some will simply be put off by the lack of detailed grammatical explanation. This perhaps stems from the way that English speakers are no longer taught much grammar, combined with the fact that many people are not taught another language at school. So concepts which the author here assumes the reader will be familiar with, may need additional tutelage.

In summation, then, this book is ideal for me, but won't be for everyone. If you like retro charm and have an understanding of grammar or a knack for languages, you will warm to Rosenberg's book - provided you don't expect to become fluent and contemporary solely from it. But even if that isn't your nature, this may be an enriching experience, a fine contrast to modern "informal" language learning texts (which, in my opinion, often play too gentle with the student).

Charming. ( )

I have tried a number of introductory German texts for my Saturday morning German class and have never received a more positive reception from students. Yes, the illustrations are ludicrous and anachronistic to every extreme, but they somehow appeal to my class, providing diversion and comic relief. The copyright is 1962, and the illustrations are 1862, but the learning experience is timeless. ( )