Invaluable. I have used one for over 35 years.

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Product Description

More than 11,500 entries, first English-Russian, then Russian-English, containing exact idiomatic translations for over 30,000 phrases and sentences; also 15,000-word grammatical introduction. Focus is on phrase or sentence as basic unit of communication, method now recognized as best.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #709217 in Books
• Published on: 1958-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 573 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780486204963
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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Customer Reviews

Easy way to build English or Russian Smalltalk conversation
Finally,I've discovered an easy and working way to converse with Russian officials,or tourists,or just the opposite with American scouts or White House inner circle people without ever trying to memorize all those declensions or irregular forms.

The right way to learn a foreign language is to hear to the other people speaking and then repeat what they say in the right situation.Just like babies or illiterate immigrants do.Otherwise,in about 50 years of hard working on a grammar or syntax you'll end up being a grammar scholar but still you won't be able to converse with native people. Sometimes you think you're smart enough and you buy a dictionary for yourself and then following the rules of your own language you start building phrases and sentences that no one but you will understand.It's because you played your own rules in a strange field.You see my point?

And this is the reason I'm buying two copies of this book from Amazon.This book contains every kind of situation you want to fit in your conversation,I mean ready-made blocks,whether you need to talk to that Russian guy in a cubicle next door,or to an American lady in a government office. Question: why this particular War Dept Book of 1970? Because they did the job right,because they used the right approach.You know those military guys - they always one step ahead...

Now,why do I need two copies of one book - the first one I want to keep at my work to speak with the customers, the second one,to keep home and answer those pesky telemarketers' calls.I'm really excited that I finally have found this book,not in my local library,but on Amazon site!I really need it,and the book will help me. Excuse me for my poor English - well,I was born in Russia,and English is a foreign language to me.

Russian words as they are actually used.
This Phrase and Sentence Dictionary, the Kenneth Katzner Russian dictionary, and possibly the Frequency Dictionary are the three most useful books for the practical learning of Russian for everyday use. Living in the U.S., I can glean from this book that key phrase or sentence to say precisely what I want to my Russian client. It's seeing the word in context that makes the book valuable and unique. (There happens to be a Spanish equivalent, for those who are interested.) Beyond useful, this dictionary is often even entertaining! Be warned: The book appears with both sewn and glued spines. Of course the sewn version will last far longer.

Not only a dictionary, a study resource
I am a begginner learner (but serious) on Russian. Up to now, I found almost all the words I've looked for. Even if it is small (about 11,000 words, that's why I gave it only 4 starts) the idea of presenting words in the context they are used is excellent and this book shall be useful for years of learning. I will certainly use it even when my Russian improves. I would say it is more than a dictionary, but a valuable study resource.