English-Russian, Russian-English Dictionary

I have no argument with the content of this dictionary; it serves most of my needs. But I like to mark up my books and make notes in the margins; these help me remember things over the years. But after 1 1/2 years of use, this "perfect bound" dictionary is falling apart. It has no signatures, no threaded binding, so the pages that are merely glued in tend to fall out after repeated opening and closing of the book. This type of binding is acceptable on a short cheap paperback novel that you'll read one time, but on a thousand-page dictionary that you want to consult for years?! Language dictionaries are opened and closed thousands of times and must have the best of binding. This has the worst and all my notes are now lost for all practical purposes as I must change to a new intact dictionary. I'm sorry for Katzner, ... Not recommended.

In the summer of 2000, I was fortunate enough to travel to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk to teach US DOT first responder clases to Russian oil field workers from the Sakhalin Energy Development, Co. Ltd. platform "Moliqpak," off shore from Nogliki. The Island looks much like where I live in Seward, Alaska. Having a cursory knowlege of Russian, (I can order a beer in 5 languages!) I needed a book that would assist me in translating my outline into Russian. Katzner's book was the only one I found based in American English. My translators were surprised that I was able to translate so much of my outline, as well as captions for American Heart Association CPR instructions. They provided corrections as to tense and cases, but the book provided invaluable phrases and idioms, that helped me get my points across in an American way. If you travel to Russia on business, be sure to take a few copies with you. I wish I had a couple to give to my translators, as most people there who know English were taught by British teachers.

I have worn out three of these dictionaries. They are very useful in day-to-day conversations with Russians. If you want a dictionary that will truly help you to communicate quickly, this is an excellent choice. Smaller books do not give the breadth of vocabulary. The Oxford is similar but costs more and the larger size is cumbersome to carry. I have both and have turned exclusively to the Katzner for most work. It is clear that the book is designed to allow people of different cultures communicate quickly and accurately with each other. The only negative is the paper binding. The back breaks quickly and the pages come unglued. If this dictionary is ever produced with a good quality hardback binding it would be almost perfect.

An indispensable resource for Russian language learners. Highly useful and detailed grammatical information, extensive vocabulary and accompanying-necessary-information on usage as well as irregularities in form or usage (declensions or conjugations). Having compared many Russian and English dictionaries this is by far the most comprehensive resource you can get in a user-friendly and compact format at a reasonable price. This is one of the best foreign language dictionaries I have used in my extensive foreign language studies. The dictionary is touted as a first of its kind geared to American English rather than British. I don't know how true this is, but as an American, I know it was useful to me either way. This book eased my days as a student considerably... I loved my old one so much I passed it on to a friend and got a new one last time I was in the States.

I've not come across a more all-inclusive Russian-English/Englis-Russian dictionary since I've started studying Russian. Not only does it include a wide-variety of every day words, but it also serves as a ideal source for translating the more obscure terms. It serves its purpose without having to lug around a weighty hardcover version. In fact, I used this dictionary while taking a sociology class taught completely in Russian in St. Petersburg, and my professor was constantly asking to borrow my dictionary. She adored it so much, that I left her my copy!