The disturbing anomie of "trash TV"
and its connection to
multi-billion dollar corporate media
consolidation are given a brilliantly-argued
treatment in this concisely-written book.
The authors have produced a clarion call-to-arms
warning us of the dangers of
coagulating media moguldom.

While occasionally marred by
ideological partisanship, the authors' description of the
interconnected web of toxic TV talk shows
and the desolate value-vacuum of a society ravaged
by a culture war is dead-accurate.

Worth the price of admission alone
is the chapter on the rules of the trash talk
show game wherein millionaire "hosts"
act as tabloid ringmasters, flogging
pathetic, often desperate "guests"
into a confessional frenzy.

The diagnosis is clear, but what
is the cure? Abt and Mustazza quixotically call for
government re-regulation, licensure of media
professionals and taxation.
But the sickness outlined here goes beyond
any political solutions.

All told, a classic illustration of
Marshall McLuhan's prophetic vision of the media
as extensions of the human sensorium
and the way new media effect changes
that are never value-neutral

Here is what I liked about this book: (1) It is aimed at people who like inductive learning, which specifically means this: It doesn't teach all the exceptions to the rules and stuff at first, nor does it overwhelm you with huge complete charts of grammar rules. Instead it teaches the rules and patterns that are most commonly found in the Biblical texts first (which are incomplete but easy), then it gradually expands to fill in the gaps. (2) It has a great vocabulary list in the back that lists the Hebrew words in order according to how frequently they appear in the Old Testament. Great! (3) Each lesson, on average, focuses on only one or two new concepts, and applies it to a Scripture, so that after each lesson you will be able to translate that much more Scripture.

Here are several things to be careful about, though: (1) You should be comfortable with the Hebrew alphabet before even starting the lessons, or else you might be frustrated and feel like your progress is slow. (2) It teaches inductively and gradually, exposing rules little by little. If you are dependent on seeing all pertinent rules about a given aspect of a language at once, then it might be confusing. (3) The content may seem dry and technical if you can't concentrate without being entertained. Any excitement you experience will be from personal discoveries through the lesson, and not from induced humor from the authors themselves.

Most importantly: Know the Hebrew alphabet first! I hated this book before I knew it, but once I got past that, I started over and saw the genius of its presentation. :) I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because it's not for everyone.

This book has been an excellent resource for learning Biblical Hebrew in my experience. One commentator said you need to learn the alefbet first. Well, of course you do, and it is in the front of the book. The book instructs from the most common grammar and vocabulary to the less common. There are times when you feel like a question has been raised by the lesson and you wonder if it will be answered. But I have found that it has been later on, when it needs to be. And if you are willing to reference through the book, looking at points in later chapters or study the glossary, you'll find the answers sooner than you really need to know them. Important information is charted and can be referenced ANYTIME for rote memorization. Rare is the person who will find a good Hebrew book easy. That's because Hebrew is not for the timid, though it's far from the hardest language to read. Some may find this book difficult to learn from, but the problem is not the book. The problem is the lack of seriousness of the student to learn Hebrew correctly. Any person who thinks they can just memorize words and know a language doesn't understand language. This book is excellent for the serious learner. It is laid out well. AFter the first lesson, you will have learned 4% of the Hebrew Bible!, with only learning 3 words and one particle. Verb conjugations in Hebrew can be very discouraging; but they can be in any language since they are the hardest part of any language to learn. If one is willing to slow down on the verb sections and truly study the patterns, they will get it. If anyone doesn't want to learn verb conjugations, don't try to learn any language. The book handles the verb issue excellently---the second best I've seen. Develop a work ethic, be patient and determined, and you'll learn it.

I find this book a joy to use- it makes learning the language simple! The one quibble I have is with the English-to-Biblical Hebrew translations: they are unness. for studying the Bible in Hebrew, and insufficient for studying modern Hebrew as a spoken language... but as they are limited to a single ex. every four chapters or so, omitting them does not pose a problem. I find the introduction of words and grammatical concepts in the order of their freq. fabulous! (You aren't constantly seeing things 'that you will learn in chapter 56') And the frequency-controlled vocabulary in the early chapters makes the index easy to use. I have successfully used a King-James Bible to check my Hebrew-English translations for word order and the like (as all exercizes are taken from the Bible and the book chapter and verse are given) and phonetically read random pages from the Hebrew Bible(before I know the vocab) to increase my speed. The level of education and understanding with this text is very high, and the presentation is consistant with the way a language is naturally learned. The process is based on 'immersion learning' and anyone trained for foriegn service is taught language in this way, as it makes concepts immediately available for use. I am having glorious fun with this text and hope to teach a group of friends with it next year.