Modern Persian (Teach Yourself)

Rating:
Summary: Good, easy book, with a few problems
Review: Okay, the good points. This book proceeds in a good, logical manner, with plenty of attention to each different subject. The dialogues are useful, and are not ridiculously difficult to learn. The alphabet is explained very well. Overall, it's a very useful and enjoyable intro to Farsi.
There are three problems with this book: the text size is VERY small, making it very difficult to see how the letters are formed. Secondly, the organization of the vocabulary before each text does not proceed logically, nor does it include the appropriate words for the lesson. Finally, the language presented here is the formal, written language, and spoken Farsi really varies drastically from this. (For example, most Persians cut some syllables out of words)

Rating:
Summary: Not a good idea!
Review: This book does a decent job of teaching the Persian alphabet in that it takes you through, letter by letter, so that you learn slowly and thoroughly as you go along. However, the Persian characters are actually printed in such a way that they're difficult to see!

Also, a lot of the sample sentences grammar points and sample sentences Mace provides are grammatically incorrect Persian! Not a good book to start learning from.

Rating:
Summary: Probably still the best for independent learners
Review: This book, "Teach Yourself Modern Persian" by John Mace, was first published in 1964 and has been reprinted without substantial changes numerous times since. In mid-2004, it was replaced by an entirely different book, but with the same title, by Narguess Farzad. This review deals with the original book by Mace.

As the other reviews below note, the Mace book deals primarily with written, formal Persian, from a grammatical standpoint. It does not contain the latest slang, have any conversational practice, or impart any substantial background on Iranian history, culture, etc. Nonetheless, I think it is still the ideal "starter" book for someone working on his/her own, for the following reasons:

-- It has the easiest introduction to the Arabic alphabet (as used in Persian) of any book I know. Lesson one introduces only three letters, and six words written with these, and provides practice on reading and writing these words. Lesson two adds two more letters, and another handful of words, with more practice. In all, the first eleven lessons (36 pages) deal with the alphabet, and with a bit of grammar, allowing the learner to proceed forward in small but sure steps.

-- This bit-by-bit approach typifies the book; each lesson is from three to six pages, with clear explanations, easy-to-read examples, and practice exercises that go in both ways (with an answer key in the back).

-- Although the Arabic script is used throughout, the vocabulary lists and example sentences also include transliteration, so that the learner is never in any doubt as to the pronunciation (which cannot always be determined from the Arabic script alone).

In contrast, the latest "Teach Yourself Modern Persian" book, by Farzad, crams the entire alphabet into just a few short pages, leaving the learner to "sink or swim", and throws so much at the reader in each lesson that I feel anyone without a background in Persian already would likely find it very hard going.

In short, although old-fashioned (and with a few small errors as well), this book (the Mace book, that is) in my view provides the easiest way for a truly independent learner to make a good start in Persian. A good follow-up book, with a similar but more up-to-date, more sophisticated and considerably more challenging approach, would be "An Introduction to Persian", by Wheeler Thackston. (Note that John Mace has also recently published a reference grammar of Persian, which is a separate book entirely; it is very useful for an intermediate student, but contains no lessons or exercises, merely a systematic explication of the grammar.)

The Mace "Teach Yourself Modern Persian", having been in print for a long time, is still readily available through used book sources, and I highly recommend it to those working on Persian on their own.