Product Description

Russian is spoken by nearly 450 million people, and demand for Russian-speakers is growing. This introductory course includes an audio CD with practice dialogues-just the ticket for readers who need basic Russian for business, school, or travel.

Serafima Gettys, PhD (Newark, CA), is Coordinator of the Foreign Language Program at Lewis University.
Andrew Kaufman, PhD (Charlottesville, VA), is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106283 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780471780014
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Back Cover
Covers common expressions, conversations, and cultural notes

Your fun and friendly guide to communicating in Russian

Whether you're a student, a traveler, or a businessperson, or if you just want to speak basic Russian, you'll find this book packed with practical lessons and handy references — including coverage of written Russian, a Russian-English mini-dictionary, lists of vital verbs, and more!

Discover how to

• Have everyday conversations in Russian
• Make sense of Russian grammar
• Improve your pronunciation
• Get a handle on verb conjugations
• Use idioms and popular expressions

About the Author
Andrew Kaufman, PhD, is currently a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Virginia. He holds a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Stanford University, and he has recognized success as both a published scholar and an innovative, award-winning teacher of Russian language, literature, and culture at some of the country’s top universities. Dr. Kaufman has worked as a Russian language and literature expert for “Oprah’s Book Club,” he has discussed Russian literature and culture on the national television show Democracy Now!, and he has been heard as a featured guest on Talk America Radio and on Silver Rain Radio in Russia. A fluent speaker of Russian, Dr. Kaufman has lived extensively in Russia, where he studied at Moscow State University and also worked as an interpreter, translator, and management consultant. To learn more about Dr. Kaufman, please visit his website at www.professorandy.com.

Serafima Gettys, PhD, earned her doctorate degree in Foreign Language Education from Gertzen State Pedagogical University, Leningrad, USSR. She is currently a Coordinator of the Foreign Language Program at Lewis University, where she also teaches Russian. Prior to coming to Lewis University, she taught Russian at Stanford University. Gettys is also a member of a number of professional language associations.

Nina Wieda is a doctoral student in Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University in Chicago. She is committed to bringing Russian language and culture into the lives of her readers and students, because, as the Latin proverb goes, “With each new language, you live a new life.” A trained linguist with an MA in Social Sciences, Nina also has a book of poetry published in Russian, and a number of scholarly articles on Chekhov and contemporary drama published in English.

Customer Reviews

Lots of good info and fun read
My wife and I bought the book for a trip we're taking to Europe this summer. We finished about half the book and like it. We tried some of the greetings and phrases on our Russian friends and they understood us, which is a good sign. Some of the grammar explanations are confusing in chapter 2, but the cultural tips and sayings throughout the book are really useful and the CD's great. Maybe the book could benefit from showing how words are spelled with actual Russian letters, which are shown in Chapter 1. Otherwise, we're enjoying it.

Great book, easy to understand
We got this book to supplement some language tapes that we are using to learn conversational Russian. This book is great, because it helps explain rules of the language in very down to earth terms. It gives a lot of helpful tips in speaking and understanding Russian. A great resource.

Thorough overview of Russian
As an expat banker living in Moscow, Russia, I picked up a copy of Russian for Dummies when I was in NYC just for kicks. The book is even better than some of the Russian language books I used in college for one simple reason: It's real, spoken Russian in a variety of actual everyday contexts, which I didn't have a clue about when I first came to Russia. If you're planning on living in Russia for extended periods of time, you'll want to learn the Cyrillic alphabet (which is a breeze, contrary to popular myth), but if you're just making a short trip or just want to get a thorough overview of the language the book is perfect.