Rick Steves Italian Phrase Book & Dictionary (Eighth Edition)

Really excellent inclusions, from maps to mini dictionary to hints about logistics of travel. This should be great for any traveler. I'm using many other resources to learn italian more thoroughly, but this is more useful for that than I predicted. There's past, future, conditional phrases, direct and indirect pronouns, all used correctly, and as you learn the language better, you appreciate the inclusion of a variety of sentence structures here. One way a person might use this would be to highlight the sentences that apply to them, and do flashcard work with a free app. Most people under 30 will know English, and all the waitstaff, but its polite to try and communicate in their language first, even if you are the most casual 6- day traveller. I'll probably read it through 3 times before i go & practice saying the sentences I'll use most frequently more than that. For the price? A great deal

size of the book and print difficult to read also some pronounciation.

Nice pocket sized book to help with travelling to Italy.

Rick provides the essentials for basic words and conversation in Italian. What he does well is provide pretty clear and accurate pronunciation help that makes sense for native English speakers using sounds that English speakers make and can read. Some phrase books use weird ways to describe and help with pronunciation that is no where close to the actual way it should be pronounced. Rick's book provides easy to understand pronunciation help that will get a speaker fairly close to the actual pronunciation and most Italians will understand what's being said.

Just what you need. Really relevant and helpful.