Product Description

Though intended as a supplement to Wheelock's Latin, this book is well suited for use in any introductory Latin course. All the stories in the book are based on actual Latin literature, with the stories simplified at first and made gradually more complex as the work progresses. Students will learn how classical Latin was really written as they become familiar with the works of the great Latin authors.

Also available:

Rome and Her Kings: Extracts from Livy I - ISBN 0865164509
Latin Readings for Review: Elementary Latin Translation Book - ISBN 0865164037

For over 30 years Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers has produced the highest quality Latin and ancient Greek books. From Dr. Seuss books in Latin to Plato's Apology, Bolchazy-Carducci's titles help readers learn about ancient Rome and Greece; the Latin and ancient Greek languages are alive and well with titles like Cicero's De Amicitia and Kaegi's Greek Grammar. We also feature a line of contemporary eastern European and WWII books.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

Selections From The Aeneid
Latin Grammar & Pronunciation
Greek Grammar & Pronunciation
Texts Supporting Wheelock's Latin
Classical author workbooks: Vergil, Ovid, Horace, Catullus, Cicero
Vocabulary Cards For AP Selections: Vergil, Ovid, Catullus, Horace
Greek Mythology
Greek Lexicon
Slovak Culture And History

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #55547 in Books
• Published on: 1998-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 104 pages

Language Notes
Text: Latin, English

About the Author
James M. May received his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is currently Professor of Classics and Associate Dean for Humanities at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn. In addition to 38 Latin Stories, May is author of several articles and books, including Trials of Character: The Eloquence of Ciceronian Ethos. He has served as Vice-President for Education of the American Philological Association and as President of the Classical Association of the Middle West and South. In 1986 he was the winner of the American Philological Association's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of the Classics.

Anne H. Groton earned her Ph.D. in Classical Studies at the University of Michigan and has taught since 1981 at St. Olaf College, where she is Professor of Classics and chairs the Department of Classics. In addition to 38 Latin Stories, she is author of several articles on ancient comedy as well as From Alpha to Omega: A Beginning Course in Classical Greek. Every other year she directs a student production of a play by Plautus, performed in a musical mixture of Latin and English. In 1995 she received the American Philological Association's Award for Excellence in the Teaching of the Classics.

Customer Reviews

Smooth Transition to Reading Latin
The "38 Stories" in the book, edited to form a progression in difficulty, are an excellent introduction to reading actual Latin authors. The most frustrating time in a Latin student's course of study may be this transition from memorizing grammatical forms to applying this knowledge in reading Latin. The stories are fairly short, so that students will not get bored by content, exposing them to many different styles of writing in a shorter period of time.

The passages chosen are also from famous authors' works, giving students a sense of satisfaction that they are now able to read the work of those authors about which they have heard much reference. Formatted like the more difficult Latin works, with notes and vocabulary facing the page, "38 Latin Stories" eases students into this style of study, better preparing them for reading works of Cicero, Vergil, Horace, and others. Moreover, this book does not need to be used in conjunction with Wheelock's Latin. Personally, I used this text after the study of grammar and before delving into Cicero's Catilinarian orations. Even just taking selected passages from the 38 stories is an excellent introduction to reading Latin through reinforcement of grammatical concepts.

Excellent addition to Wheelock's
The "Grammar Assumed" section lets you know exactly the grammar you are working with and, assuming you are doing Wheelock's concurrently with this book, any new vocabulary is presented on the page opposite. Everything is nicely in place.

A word to the wise (which is the main reason for this review): If you choose to order from a marketplace seller, you may want to make sure you're getting the edition you think you are. There are a lot of 3rd editions out there, and the sellers don't distinguish from these and the current 5th editions.

Useful Addition to Wheelock's Latin
38 Latin Stories is an excellent source of graded Latin prose to accompany Wheelock's Latin. As the title suggests, it contains 38 stories in Latin which are graded according to the chapters of Wheelock's. Each story more-or-less corresponds to one chapter in the textbook.

All vowel lengths are marked in the stories, and each story has vocabulary on the facing page containing words not in the textbook. There is also a useful glossary at the back of the book.

However, for its price, it does not actually contain much Latin text as the stories are each only half an A5 page long, and the print is fairly large. They are, however, interesting and provide valuable additional reading material.

Despite this, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who wished to gain additional experience and practice in reading Latin, over and above what is usually provided in textbooks.