Teach Yourself Russian Complete Course Package (Book + 2CDs) (TY: Complete Courses)

I have this set and the book on Russian writing and both are clear and easy to understand. The chapters are mercifully short and therefore you can knock over a short lesson on the way to work or on the way home. One of the best series for languages on the market and relatively cheap. Value for money.

Although it's early days for me as a student of Russian language, I am seeing immediate results with this book. Within the first few lessons conversational Russian is introduced for scenarios that would aid the casual traveller. A quick glance at further lessons reveals much more in depth conversations. The CD is very helpful for listening to spoken Russian, to help pick up the finer points of pronunciation.
I have previously used the 'Teach Yourself' series for Turkish language study, and found it very helpful when I travelled through Turkey - it gave me many opportunities to meet and stay with locals I would otherwise not have been able to communicate with.
I expect to get similar results from this book.
I am very happy with this purchase.

I've worked through nine of the twenty chapters of this book (and accompanying CDs), and I'm very pleased with it. The author takes a "spiraling" approach, repeating the material in different contexts as you progress through the chapters. Russian grammar is difficult, but the author manages to work it in without belaboring it. There is continuity from chapter to chapter, as you follow Anna as she makes friends with Ira, goes to museums and restaurants, and travels to St. Petersburg by train.

I had one semester of Russian using an expensive and, in my opinion, poorly written textbook called Golosa. I also used Rosetta Stone a little, which a friend bought and installed on her computer. In my opinion, neither of these can match Daphne West's book, which costs a small fraction of the other two.

No matter which book or computer program you choose, learning Russian requires a LOT of hard work, but I think this book provides a very comprehensive intro to the language, at a very reasonable price. I also recommend the author's companion book, Teach Yourself Russian Grammar.

I speak Bulgarian, which is somewhat similar to Russian and boughht this book in hopes that it would give me a concise version of the essential grammar as well as a few basic phrases. In this it delivered magnificently. If you just want to learn a little Russian for your trip then this is a great book to have. It is also an excellent source for basic grammer charts that can help you on a serious study. If you want to really learn Russian, this book will help but is by no means the only book you will need. Russian is a difficult language which will require a lot more serious and percise books than this. However, this is a good book to start with and really easy and clear to understand.