As others have said, it is best to get a handle on stroke order to make this handy tome more excellent than it already is. Its indispensible and easier and often swifter to use as a handy look up than electronic siblings. I cannot recommend this enough. itsa great size and well organised..with handy radical charts on the inside covers. It deals with all the kanji that are essential for everyday use. Clear kanji diagrams and stroke order with a selection of compounds and On and Kun Yomi readings. Its basically the Gideons Bible of the pocket Kanji Dictionary world! ( )

An absolutely essential resource for any serious student of Japanese. Well worth the investment (it's a bit on the expensive side - try to find it used if you can). All of the jouyou and jinmeiyou kanji are in here, and then some, with tons of useful words and compounds to accompany each character.

Note that if you're not familiar with the concept of stroke order, you may have trouble using this book, as that's how it's organized.