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Kennedy's Revised Latin Primer
"For over a hundred years Kennedy's textbooks have been the unrivalled books for the teaching of the Latin language in public schools in Britain. The new Wallenberg edition, which has kept to the original familiar format but with many improvements will be welcomed by students and teachers alike." Telegraph Online Newspaper -------- Kennedy's Latin books have acquired a firm place in English culture: they are not simply excellent textbooks on the Latin language but have become symbols of what schoolchildren have endured and enjoyed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. ----- Even thought this famous book is being brought to you in a new edition it remains complete and includes extra material from Kennedy's other grammar books. ------ These books provide clear and simple explanations of written and spoken Latin. ----- Comprehensive and easy to use with coverage of all the key points of Latin grammar, it is the ideal reference tool for beginner and intermediate students, whether at School, University, or learning on their own. ------- No other books, in such detail will show you how the Latin language works.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 4, 2017
Well, I'm not really sure you could say that I "read" this, but gee, I spent a lot of time turning the pages! Really, really useful. Essential, even!
October 31, 2018
Um, great if you enjoy Latin.
February 11, 2024
A very dense and difficult book, but it works well as a reference guide. It took me a painfully long time to get through. It’s highly compact, with a lot of information, no drawn-out explanations, and no exercises. That being said, it belongs to a different era, and I don’t know how useful it would be as a textbook for learning. I found the explanation of concepts I wasn’t familiar with confusing, though it does have some ingenious rules and mnemonics, and it was helpful in shoring up things I already knew.
A good reference guide, though not great for learning.
A good reference guide, though not great for learning.
August 25, 2023
not sure i would endorse it
but the following explains why it's useful for many
Five Books
The best books on Learning Latin
recommended by Harry Mount
So the best books on learning Greek for our next interview! Harry, let’s move on to—I don’t know what you call it—but what I certainly know as the Bible. I have here Kennedy’s Shorter Latin Primer though I imagine you recommend the full-length version?
Harry: Yes, there’s the blue one, which I’ve got here and there’s a later one, with a red cover. They’re both fantastic. It is the Bible because it has all the conjugations of the verbs and the declensions of the nouns. It also has, in very concise form, practically all the rules of grammar and syntax. It’s a very dry book. You’re not going to find any jokes in it, but absolutely everything is there. It’s the ultimate rulebook of Latin. It’s actually very short. It’s a very thin volume, because there’s no excess verbiage at all.
It’s so efficient. It’s so economical. It’s my favourite book.
Harry: It’s amazing. Kennedy was, I think, a Latin master in Liverpool. My father told me that because every year whole new generations of school children bought the book, the borders of Lake Geneva were filled with huge villas lived in by people like Kennedy, Hillard and Botting — all these people who wrote Latin grammar books before it had this great decline. They became, very early on, standard books, because they were beautifully worked out to be extremely efficient in the delivery of information. Kennedy is very concise, but it has the answer to every problem in Latin in it.
---
note there is a US edition and a UK edition
with some changes in the American edition
but the following explains why it's useful for many
Five Books
The best books on Learning Latin
recommended by Harry Mount
So the best books on learning Greek for our next interview! Harry, let’s move on to—I don’t know what you call it—but what I certainly know as the Bible. I have here Kennedy’s Shorter Latin Primer though I imagine you recommend the full-length version?
Harry: Yes, there’s the blue one, which I’ve got here and there’s a later one, with a red cover. They’re both fantastic. It is the Bible because it has all the conjugations of the verbs and the declensions of the nouns. It also has, in very concise form, practically all the rules of grammar and syntax. It’s a very dry book. You’re not going to find any jokes in it, but absolutely everything is there. It’s the ultimate rulebook of Latin. It’s actually very short. It’s a very thin volume, because there’s no excess verbiage at all.
It’s so efficient. It’s so economical. It’s my favourite book.
Harry: It’s amazing. Kennedy was, I think, a Latin master in Liverpool. My father told me that because every year whole new generations of school children bought the book, the borders of Lake Geneva were filled with huge villas lived in by people like Kennedy, Hillard and Botting — all these people who wrote Latin grammar books before it had this great decline. They became, very early on, standard books, because they were beautifully worked out to be extremely efficient in the delivery of information. Kennedy is very concise, but it has the answer to every problem in Latin in it.
---
note there is a US edition and a UK edition
with some changes in the American edition
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews