The best point of this package is the 12 cassettes. They're well laid out and use a variety of different types of drills to take you through different aspects of each lesson. You've done a lot by the time you're through.

However, I'm glad I took some classes beforehand because the book is pretty weak. There's not much in the way of explanation of grammatical points, and the size of the book could have been reduced by a third by removing the useless pronunciation guide. (Why don't I just listen to the cassettes to get the pronunciation?). If you buy this, you'd better shell out for a grammar guide, too.

Despite the book, I liked the tapes well enough to order the next set.

I'm using the two Barron's tape sets along with the video series, Destinos, to teach myself Spanish. Destinos presents a much wider range of vocabulary and situations, but since (if you're using it on your own) you don't speak back to it, a lot of your learning is passive. The Barron's set gets you into a more active mode. The dialogues can be quite sexist--lots of comments about sexy brunettes, fat girls with glasses, etc.-- and you almost never hear a female speaker. Still, they and the drills are effective and well-designed from a language-learning point of view. The guys on the tapes speak at a realistic pace, not in the exaggerated, artificially slow language typical of beginning language courses--and the drills force you to respond quickly, too. The accompanying book is not terribly informative; for grammar issues I've relied on my knowledge of French and Latin. This probably isn't the best choice for a rank beginner, but if you already know another romance language, or if you've taken a little Spanish in school and want to get better, it's a solid course.

Barron's Mastering Spanish is terrific! I've studied MANY foreign languages and used a variety of audio tapes to help with my studies. The Barron's series is the best one I've ever encountered. It is true, however, that the course is long and in depth. You will have to devote a lot of time if you want to finish the course. (I've only gotten through the Level 1 course, and it's taken me 2 1/2 months.) I used them in my car, which is the perfect place to listen to them. They require quite a bit of concentration. This series would have rated a solid 5 stars if it weren't for the accompanying book. For some reason, the book presents all of the Spanish in both PHONETIC representation, as well standard Spanish spelling. The phonetics, which are given enormous precedence over the Spanish spellings, are not only useless, they're annoying and distracting! To add insult to injury, the dictionary appendix at the end of the book isn't even in Spanish alphabetical order. It too is in phonetic order, making it nearly worthless! The book aside, however, the tapes (I had the CD's actually.) are great. Other than the fact that I've lived in LA for half my life, and so have heard a LOT of Spanish in my everyday comings and goings, I've never actually studied any Spanish at all. After completing this set, I feel that I've gotten a terrific grounding in the basics of the language.

I am considering teaching as a second career and had to take the Elementary test (0014) for admission to a graduate school. My first piece of advice is to think about the tests in terms of their numerical codes and not the names because the names are totally confusing and all sound the same. If you need to take the PPST (pre-professional skills test, which is the Praxis I and easy to distinguish) this is probably a pretty good book. If you need to take the 0014 this is a very good review book for the math, but nothing else. Although this book says it's a review for the 0014 it has one practice test, nothing else. But that's still better than anything else I could find. I couldn't find anything to review for the science and social studies, but if you are a smart person you should pass. The English part will be easy if you've had any education courses, which I didn't. The Educational Testing service also has a review book for the 0014 but all it is is a daunting list of what you have to know, but no content materials. The ETS book has a practice exam too which was the only useful part of the book. If you have to take the 0014, you're pretty much on your own.

I've been helping college students prepare for PRAXIS tests for many years. This third edition is the very best, and the most cost effective preparation for Praxis tests.

There is a complete, updated, PPST mathematics, reading and writing review with hundreds of practice questions. There are two realistic practice PPSTs with fully explained answers. If you are taking the computerized PPST, or you are JUST taking the PPST, I recommend Barron's How to Prepare for Praxis I.

The revised PLT section has a thorough review, and a realistic practice test with fully explained answers, along with a review quiz and extra targeted questions. The Listening section reflects the new test with a realistic practice listening test and explained answers.

The all-new Elementary Education sections feature full-length Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, and Content Knowledge tests. Each test has extensive answer explanations. There is also a full length Content Area Exercises test with useful examples of constructed response answers.

The overview of other subject assessments describes many secondary assessments and gives between ten and twenty questions, without answer explanations, for each area. This is just a partial overview, and you should not get the book JUST for this section. My students like it because it is an additional source of often scarce sample questions for these tests.

My students appreciate the multiple choice and constructed response test strategies, the extra help about required state test scores, becoming certified as a teacher, writing a resume, and finding a teaching position.

I recommend this book to every student who will take a Praxis test.

The perfect passing rate I have on the Praxis tests tells my story of this book. I have just looked at my third score report with high passing scores and have now passed the PPST, PLT and Elementary Praxis tests. I used this book to prepare for all of the tests and it is so great to have one book for three tests instead of three books for one test like it has been for other tests I have taken. This is without any question absolutely the best book available for the Praxis tests. I left every test confident that this book had prepared me well.

There is a review of this book on Amazon by someone named Richards that tells you exactly what this book is like and you should read that review not the book description to get a good idea of what is in the book. My suggestion for subject assessments is there is an overview for a lot of subject assessment tests but you will have go to a bookstore and look in the book if you want to be sure there is an overview for your test.

Get this book first to prepare for your Praxis tests. It would be unusual for a person to need another book and getting this book will save you a lot of money. I want to thank Dr. Robert Postman and Barrons for helping me prepare so well for these tests.

I used both the Barron's and Kaplan books to review for the Biology E/M. Althought the Barron's book tests are very similar to the actual SAT II, the review in the Barron's book is horrible. I advise that one buy the Barron's just to see how they would score on the test (on both the Barron's and the SAT II, I got a 760), but for the actual subject matter, buy the Kaplan book.

I am not a great studier but i did not find this book covered all the topics on the Sat2. The tests were way too easy. I scored nearly 70 points lower on the actual Sats. Decent book but i think you could find better books out there. There was a ton of information but it was too much for me to cram with yet it didn't cover all the questions on the real tests. The answers were well explained to their practice tests but maybe that was because they were so easy.

I got this book after buying the Kaplan book on the same subject. I find it to be superior, although not as asthetically pleasing, as the Kaplan book. The summaries are very consise, the organization is decent, and overall this book is money well spent if you plan to take the Bio SAT II. One note, though, many of the tests included are rather easy. I for one am not a great student and didn't study diligently at all, yet when I took practice test 1 I got a 680. Not bad; hopefully the publishers at Barron's don't do this to boost one's morale and thus improve the image of the book. If you want hard practice tests, look at the Kaplan book. How realistic they are I don't know, but it seems that one would be prepared for anything the College Board could make up after taking the Kaplan tests sucessfully. Good luck to all.

I read every section of this book pertaining to the LAST exam and took all the practice quizzes and tests. Not only did I find the book frustrating (because of numerous errors in the practices quizzes/tests and some truly absurd statements in the review material) but once I took the actual exam I felt like I had wasted a whole lot of time using the book. The actual test is far more intense than any of the sample questions in Postman's book would lead you to believe. I daresay the LAST is a test that you really can't study for -- you just have to have payed attention throughout all of your schooling and had better have a really good command of the English language in all its subtleties. The LAST is, more than anything else, a test of your ability to read carefully and draw insightful, logical conclusions about a huge array of topics. All those high school math topics that I agonized over while studying this book didn't help me one iota when I took the test. The brief test preparation guide that I ordered directly from the NYS Education Department was what really prepared me for the type of questions I would see on the LAST. (As for the kind of errors I found... see for instance page 244: a piano is a percussion instrument! like a "symbol" is! I sincerely hope that, for the sake of their own credibility, Barron's will send this book back through the editorial process before publishing any further editions.)

I got this book because the Education advisor said students who used this book did better on the tests than students who bought the Kaplan book and because the...salesperson said this book outsold the Kaplan book about 5 to 1. Still it ended up that I got both books.

I can see why this book sells better and why people do better. This book prepared me for the LAST and the Kaplan book did not. The ATSW tests in this book are as helpful as the tests in the Kaplan book. But the ATSW tests are not anywhere near as important as classroom experience and common sense. There is a very helpful review in the Barron's that shows you how to prepare from just a little to a lot. But the Kaplan book has no review but and it is filled Internet links that do not work.

My advice is that the Barrons is the only book you need. It is best for the LAST and just as good for ATSW. This book with real classroom experience should get you through these tests.

I took the LAST and the ATSW this past Saturday. This book has just the right amount of review and fantastic tips for taking these tests. The practice tests in the book were very similar to the real tests. Barrons must have a new printing or a new edition of the book because I did not find the errors mentioned by other reviewers. I recommend this as the best book for these tests.

I read this book for my English II class and I was not impressed by it at all. It is a very confusing book with boring plots. The author does not state the information clearly which leaves your stranded with confusing clues. I do not recommend this book to anyone.

I believe that lord of the flies is one of the best books i have read for a really long time. It described terrible traumas that happened on the ilsland between the boys and really made you think about the roles searching for a explanation. It helped me see that we all have to deal with being good or bad because there will always be the Ralphs, the simons, the Jacks, the piggys and the Rogers out there and we have to strive to be the right one and hang out with the right ones.

I would recomend this book to any and everyone who likes William Golding and his unique style of writing books. We were reading this book in school and at first it wasn't to my liking but now it is one of my favorite books.

well some of the reviews i've read were pretty negative. i'm blessed with a wonderful english teacher this year, but thanks to our required reading, i've been obligated to read some less than thrilling books. so naturally, when we started reading "The Great Gatsby", i was expecting a dull uneventful book. well i was wrong. i thought this book made alot of valuable points. it showed how money can corrupt the lives of many people, and how dependent people become on material things, and a feeling of wealthiness. i can honestly say i enjoyed this book. keep up the good work Mr. Fitzgerald. =)

I can't appreciate people commenting on just how helpful the cliffs notes are, especially concerning Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. For those who actually read the novel, and aren't slacker short cutters, the cliffs notes do a great job of gaining a better, more well rounded understanding. So, if you've read the book and are seeking some extra help or further knowledge, check it out!

I thoroughly enjoyed The Great Gatsby. I think it has a message we all can relate from. There are so many hidden meanings that Fitzgerald uses. I would recommend this book to anyone in search of an enjoyable book to read. I simply could not put it down.

I am a teacher who always* uses Cliff's Notes if they are available. NOT because I don't want to read the book but because they help me understand the book. Cliff's Notes provide an analysis of the book, such as metaphors and illusions. Don't assume that people who buy Cliff's Notes are too lazy to read the book.

Yes, of corse its a great book I had to read it for a school project, it took me 1 day. It's short and easy to get through once you get passed the first chapter. There are alot of details. I think that that is one thing that makes this book great. Another thing that I think makes this book great is just what it is about,the holocoust. Elie is a great author and I'm looking forward to reading another book of his soon. My advice get the book.

***** (5 STARS) For the Book Night (Not the Cliffs Notes). It's a true account of a 15 year old boy's experience in the concentration camps run by the Nazis. I first read this book as an aide in a 10th grade literature class a few years ago. Researching the Holocaust has become a big part of my life. Night is an extremely moving piece of writing. ALL teenagers should read it.

I really thought that this book was very controversial. It established the segragation in the times and i thought that lennie and george had a great relationship and I admire him for sticking by Lennie

This was a timeless classical book with deep central themes exhibited with the relationship of George and Lennie. Out of the books we were assigned to read for our english class, this was the best one I read yet.

This is a beautiful book. How can anyone even speak a bad word against it? It is poignant eloquent, touching, and gut wrenching. It is a book to read over and over, hoping to gain life lessons on what friendship is really about each time you read it.

I read this novel and i found it very interesting .Even from the title we feel the irony of the writer:there are "Great Expectations",but none of the heroes of the book can acomplish them . In fact irony in this novel may be considered a kind of intertext . The book presents a life turned upsidedown:Pip`s life changed completely from the moment he is held hills over head by the fugitive Magwitch . The main hero of the novel Pip,is a kind of prism :through his eyes we can see the action ,we see waht he sees , we understand what he understands ,from the point of view of a 5 years old boy .That is why the narrator is subjective ,as the central conscience of the novel is influenced by heroe`s emotions and opinions . The novel is also an irony of destiny : thus ,Mrs Havisham ,an excentric old woman ,half crazy , half excentric ,has a " broken heart " as she was left by her fiancee .Decided to revenge she finds herself guilty of agression against life as she uses the two childern ,Estella and Pip to acomplish her wild dark dreams .She teaches Estella to hate and hurt men ,first turning her into a frosty girl and later into an insensitive woman . The novel also presents the evolution of Pip.He is a poor boy ,but through hard work he becomes a rich man.In his evolution he was helped by his secret love for Estella ,but he is disappointed by her.In the end of the novel he prooves that he changed:when he meets Estella he doesn`t return to her .

I heard for a long time that Great Expectations was a very dull book, so I didn't read it until now. When I began reading it, I thought, all those people were wrong about this book! It was so interesting and I could hardly put it down! I thought the entire story was absolutely fantastic. The book made you really get into the characters. The part that I also enjoyed about it was that it wasn't just a cheesy romance novel. It had other things in it besides those about Estella and Pip. I was also very impressed becuase it wasn't a book that I could read in a couple days with no trouble. I actually had to think about it while I read it! Needless to say, this book was one of, if not THE best book I've ever read. I would recommend it to anyone, as a matter of fact I've inspired not only some of my friends to read it, but also my favorite English teacher who has never had the joy of reading it.

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is his gift to the world. This book is quite confusing at first but it all comes togethor in the end. Expectations is about a young boy named Pip who has been raised by his sister. By pure luck he is introduced to a rich elderly woman and a run away convict. You would never guess that these two people have anything to do with each other. The book is filled with many charectors and written in old english. If you like romance and mystery you'll love this book.

I read this book for my AP english class. I found it to be good at some points and incredibly boring at others. I just can't stand it when they go on for ten pages about what a scene looks like. I mean it's an old antique room. I don't need to her about Jane trying to figure out how old the bed is and wonder what kind of people used to live there. If they cut the this could be a good book. I wouldn't say it's not worth reading but there are better books out there.

This is an excelent book. I am not in high school...I am in 7th grade and I consider this to be one of the most beautifully written pieces of literature that I have ever read. I have read such pieces as A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectaions, and none seem to measure up to the descriptions of Jane Eyre.

I read Jane Eyre for a class assignment and research paper. After 32 years, this is the first book that I read in it's entirety. It was a bit slow at first. Once I got through the first few chapters it grabbed me. This is wonderfully written and has continued my interest in reading books.