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The Everything Essential Latin Book: All You Need to Learn Latin in No Time
The basics of Latin made fun--and fast!
Learning the basics of Latin can vastly improve your vocabulary and even provide keys to understanding legal, medical, and scientific terminology. The Everything Essential Latin Book is your perfect introduction to this fascinating language. With easy-to-follow instructions and simple explanations, this portable guide covers the most important basics of Latin, including:
The Roman alphabet and translation The all-important syntax of Latin Getting someone's attention and giving commands Common questions and answers Describing people and places Verb tenses Grammatical voice With The Everything Essential Latin Book, you'll be speaking like an ancient Roman in no time!423 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2013
424 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 30, 2021
I didn't really read all of this, but I did, however, pass my Latin Proficiency Exam, so in my feelings I kind of did finish it...or at least its aim. It is very useful! please do go now and learn Latin. I hope to be a lifer "fur sure"!
November 30, 2022
This book isn’t particularly appropriate for beginners or casual learners. The exercises, including the early ones, are quite difficult, and the chapters are not cleanly organized. The book is more useful as a reference or a refresher for intermediate or advanced students of Latin.
The book contains a few typographical errors.
The book contains a few typographical errors.
March 20, 2023
An excellent book on learning Latin. I'm definitely going to be using this for the next year or so for my Latin courses.
May 19, 2021
An amazing guide to learning the Latin language through English. Though, having a class where you can practice is definitely something that should be done. This book would work well in tandem with a class. Also, the grammatical terms used throughout are difficult to understand unless you're an English major or something. This book is very enlightening and cohesive, the Latin language is beautiful in its way, and fascinating. This guide was my first exposure to the language, and it taught me much, but not nearly enough to know anything.
August 20, 2020
I do not think this was a book for beginners. It did have some helpful hints about pronunciation and word order but it is really heavy with written grammar rules which is more technical than what I’m looking for right now. I did like the little highlighted sections throughout the book that focused on key points.
August 25, 2023
Amazone
A Confusing and Slapdash Work
4/10
It appears the author was just trying to get something published. The lessons on Latin use and grammar are rushed, incomplete, and confusing.
For examples, on page 174, when discussing the present, indicative, passive, the author instructs the reader to "read down the paradigm for 'ago'", but then gives no paradigm for "ago".
On page 190, we're told "the supine/perfect passive participle is made by adding -tus to the base of the verb"; the examples the book then gives adds -tum to the base.
Further, the book has multiple typos and errors, has eliminated excerpts from Latin writers, and, in the exercises, uses words not given in the vocabulary.
You'll need a good Latin dictionary to do the exercises, for the meager "Latin-English Vocabulary" in the appendix is woeful.
The cursory explanations on how Latin works leave the student much to figure out on his or her own. Don't waste your time or money on this.
If you want a comprehensive, clearly-written and complete explanation on Latin, go with Wheelock's. Better yet is the Lingua Latina series by Hans Orberg. Both are much more clear, solid, and professional.
Harold
---
Not a fan of Wheelock at all
and Orberg isn't my style
---
About the 2003 Original and the 2014 reprint/revision
Bad Re-Print by Simon & Schuster
4/10
This 2014 book is word-for-word identical to the author's 2003 publication The Everything Learning Latin Book published by Adams Media, which was very well done - highly enjoyable.
We had a great time reading the original 2003 book cover-to-cover, and learned a lot of Latin
This 2014 're-print' by Simon & Schuster is BADLY done. The print is very faint, small - hard to read - highly annoying.
The excellent helpful 2003 formatting is now gone or subdued. The paper is very cheap - making the faint print even harder to read. And this 2014 version is missing the last two chapters
Hey Simon & Schuster, if you're going to all the trouble to re-publish a book then why not use enough G***damned ink and some quality paper so people can read the print. And if you're not improving the formatting, then don't destroy the excellent formatting from the original version.
Who are the idiots running Simon & Schuster these days ?
The original 2003 publication is GREAT
This 2014 're-print' is LOUSY.
Try to get a used copy of the 2003 version
Lucchese
---
However, Prior's biography may be of interest to some
Richard E. Prior
1962-2010
RICHARD EDMON PRIOR was born in Syracuse, New York, to Edmon and Stella Beaulieu Prior in 1962. At Baldwinsville High School in 1980, he accomplished the rare feat of receiving a New York State Regents diploma in four languages.
His amazing Sprachgefühl ultimately gave him fluency in French, Spanish, German, and Italian and a working knowledge of Japanese, Sanskrit, Finnish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese.
He graduated as a Latin major with a certification in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1985) and taught in junior and senior high schools in North Carolina and Virginia, initiating the study of Greek at the high-school level in the Southeast in 1986.
He received an M.A. from the University of Maryland (1991), and a Ph.D. from SUNY-Buffalo (1994), after which he taught at Furman University until his death, chairing the Department of Classics in 2009-10.
He was a Life Member of The Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) and Vice-President for South Carolina from 2001-2010. His summer expeditions with devoted students traversed Italy and offered the same wealth or knowledge and good humor that he displayed as a commentator for programs on the National Geographic and History channels.
His research specialty was Latin pedagogy, beginning with 501 Latin Verbs (1995) through Latin Demystified: A Self Teacher (2008).
He was a Buddhist who played the French horn and ice hockey. He adored Virgil, all dogs, winemaking, Buddhism, and his painting of Elvis on black velvet. He and his partner, Scott Henderson, were together for 24 years. He died at 47 from pneumonia on 24 August 2010.
A Confusing and Slapdash Work
4/10
It appears the author was just trying to get something published. The lessons on Latin use and grammar are rushed, incomplete, and confusing.
For examples, on page 174, when discussing the present, indicative, passive, the author instructs the reader to "read down the paradigm for 'ago'", but then gives no paradigm for "ago".
On page 190, we're told "the supine/perfect passive participle is made by adding -tus to the base of the verb"; the examples the book then gives adds -tum to the base.
Further, the book has multiple typos and errors, has eliminated excerpts from Latin writers, and, in the exercises, uses words not given in the vocabulary.
You'll need a good Latin dictionary to do the exercises, for the meager "Latin-English Vocabulary" in the appendix is woeful.
The cursory explanations on how Latin works leave the student much to figure out on his or her own. Don't waste your time or money on this.
If you want a comprehensive, clearly-written and complete explanation on Latin, go with Wheelock's. Better yet is the Lingua Latina series by Hans Orberg. Both are much more clear, solid, and professional.
Harold
---
Not a fan of Wheelock at all
and Orberg isn't my style
---
About the 2003 Original and the 2014 reprint/revision
Bad Re-Print by Simon & Schuster
4/10
This 2014 book is word-for-word identical to the author's 2003 publication The Everything Learning Latin Book published by Adams Media, which was very well done - highly enjoyable.
We had a great time reading the original 2003 book cover-to-cover, and learned a lot of Latin
This 2014 're-print' by Simon & Schuster is BADLY done. The print is very faint, small - hard to read - highly annoying.
The excellent helpful 2003 formatting is now gone or subdued. The paper is very cheap - making the faint print even harder to read. And this 2014 version is missing the last two chapters
Hey Simon & Schuster, if you're going to all the trouble to re-publish a book then why not use enough G***damned ink and some quality paper so people can read the print. And if you're not improving the formatting, then don't destroy the excellent formatting from the original version.
Who are the idiots running Simon & Schuster these days ?
The original 2003 publication is GREAT
This 2014 're-print' is LOUSY.
Try to get a used copy of the 2003 version
Lucchese
---
However, Prior's biography may be of interest to some
Richard E. Prior
1962-2010
RICHARD EDMON PRIOR was born in Syracuse, New York, to Edmon and Stella Beaulieu Prior in 1962. At Baldwinsville High School in 1980, he accomplished the rare feat of receiving a New York State Regents diploma in four languages.
His amazing Sprachgefühl ultimately gave him fluency in French, Spanish, German, and Italian and a working knowledge of Japanese, Sanskrit, Finnish, Portuguese, Russian, and Chinese.
He graduated as a Latin major with a certification in teaching from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (1985) and taught in junior and senior high schools in North Carolina and Virginia, initiating the study of Greek at the high-school level in the Southeast in 1986.
He received an M.A. from the University of Maryland (1991), and a Ph.D. from SUNY-Buffalo (1994), after which he taught at Furman University until his death, chairing the Department of Classics in 2009-10.
He was a Life Member of The Classical Association of the Middle West and South (CAMWS) and Vice-President for South Carolina from 2001-2010. His summer expeditions with devoted students traversed Italy and offered the same wealth or knowledge and good humor that he displayed as a commentator for programs on the National Geographic and History channels.
His research specialty was Latin pedagogy, beginning with 501 Latin Verbs (1995) through Latin Demystified: A Self Teacher (2008).
He was a Buddhist who played the French horn and ice hockey. He adored Virgil, all dogs, winemaking, Buddhism, and his painting of Elvis on black velvet. He and his partner, Scott Henderson, were together for 24 years. He died at 47 from pneumonia on 24 August 2010.
September 30, 2024
Armed with the vocabulary and grammar resources in this book, as well as the straightforward explanations and practice exercises, I think you really could have a try at parsing some Latin texts after spending a little effort on this book. I don't know if that's the same as "learning Latin in no time," but it's a start.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was comparing the components of Latin with those of the modern Romance languages, and I appreciated how the author devoted space to situating Latin and its many peculiarities in the contexts of both Indo-European and Romance, while not failing to cover any major topics in a relatively slim volume. It's a very efficient book in that way, and I give the author props for using the space well.
One thing I particularly enjoyed was comparing the components of Latin with those of the modern Romance languages, and I appreciated how the author devoted space to situating Latin and its many peculiarities in the contexts of both Indo-European and Romance, while not failing to cover any major topics in a relatively slim volume. It's a very efficient book in that way, and I give the author props for using the space well.
January 24, 2022
Easy to read and understand synopsis of Latin grammar. Forms, word and sentence construction and a few translation exercises with a key for checking. I read this after finishing LLPSI: Familia Romana, this gave a good confirmation/clarification of grammatical constructions in a friendly tone.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews