by Paul » Tue Jun 17, 2003 1:24 am
Hi Noah,<br /><br />I am just now finishing it and I strongly recommend it.<br /><br />I should point out that I came to the book not entirely Greek-less. But my background was in Attic Greek and it was rusty.<br /><br />As William rightly states, someone with a strong Latin background won't be daunted by Pharr's book.<br /><br />Yes, it is heavy with paradigms, but by lesson 13 you are reading Homer. 64 lessons and 611 lines later, you've translated Book I of the Iliad. Most satisfying.<br /><br />A typical lesson consists of a main topic, e.g., "Demonstrative Pronouns", followed by vocabulary, practice sentences, and several lines (from 5 to 20) of Book I. The practice sentences, drawn from the lesson's Iliad lines, are especially helpful at the beginning. By lesson 51 these practice sentences are dropped and the number of Iliad lines increases.<br /><br />You asked if it was an effective teach-yourself tool. I really think it is.<br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />Cordially,<br /><br />Paul