Persian: Here and Now, Introduction to Persian (Persian Edition) Ist Print on Demand Paperback Edition

I like this text a lot. Have tried every Persian/Farsi text out there and this is the most user-friendly. Personally, I like textbooks that start with concepts like "I am Tom" or "This is a book" and let me build language with blocks. I also like the fact that the authors do not waste a lot of time to get the student reading. Many of the exercises require an instructor but there is a lot of listening and reading to do on your own.Word of note, audio files are available at the Mage Publishers site.

An overall great book to learn Farsi and a significantly better intro than some other books I have tried but I would recommend pairing this book with one having a more grammar-centric appproach (like Thackston) if you are self-learning. The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars is the audio recording which are quite unprofessional. I heard pages turning in the audio and the whole audio uses only one voice. The makes for very strange conversation dialogues when one man is playing the role of 2 women and a man. It makes the whole dialogue less realistic and a bit harder to follow.He also constantly gives alternate forms in the middle of the dialog which is a poor choice as it ruins any conversational flow to the dialogues. There are also occasional stumbles which should have been edited out or the audio redone. It is a shame that the best book out there for learning conversational Persian has poor quality audio. Given the price of the book this should really have been a more professional job and I implore the author to have it fixed.Onto the positives, I have yet to read a book that is more thorough in explaining Persian as it is actually spoken. I am halfway through this book and definitely plan on getting the second. The lessons progress naturally but at the same time there isn't too much hand holding.Overall it is not a perfect package but given the options for learning Persian I will easily recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn Persian.

bad book for a lot of money!!

Review of Reza Farokhfal's "Persian: Here and Now, Introduction to Persian"In almost three decades of teaching Persian language and culture in various universities throughout the United States, I have used, I dare say, every available Persian textbook appropriate to a university setting. These textbooks are the works of well-respected and erudite scholars with different approaches and individual particularities. While each benefitted my students enormously, none displayed the accessibility of "Persian: Here and Now, Introduction to Persian," recently compiled by Reza Farokhfal (Mage). It is prepared and written for our days and touches on the myriad changes that have taken place due to technology, and communicates directly with the student. Most compelling is the way in which grammar points are injected within lessons without feeling forced. In this manner, the student's learning process is similar to that of a native speaker who assimilates the grammar automatically. However the lessons contain parts titled as Grammar Notes through which new structures and uses have been mentioned in a very simple, short, applicable and innovative way. Additionally, in this book the use of color and images is visually stimulating and therefore helpful in pushing the student forward. Finally, the included audio link is an invaluable tool in correct pronunciation and the musicality of the Persian language. Very well structured, the book consists of twelve chapters plus an introductory part on Persian orthography titled "the magic of alphabet". The instructive notes for each lesson are very helpful for teachers in conducting the class. Another helpful aspect of the book is its supplements containing a list of vocabs and the stems of most common simple verbs in Persian.I highly recommend this refreshing textbook to all instructors of Persian language to use in their classes.Iraj Anvar, PhDBrown University

This book is the best I've encountered to introduce the Persian language to a native English speaker. I've used many other books as well, but they do not combine the relevant dialogues, grammar, useful vocabulary, and other cultural information into a single book like this one does.One of my favorite features is that it does not belabor the teaching of the alphabet like some books do. It certainly does a sufficient job teaching the alphabet, but it does not draw the process out unnecessarily. Each lesson is clear, concise, and enjoyable. They begin with a primary text, usually written in formal Persian about a relevant cultural, historical, or social topic. The second part of the lessons consist of dialogues that incorporates the all important colloquial Persian into the mix and creates easy to follow situations that really happen "here and now." There are various homework and classwork exercises interspersed throughout each lesson that encourage discussion about the topics in each chapter and reinforce important grammatical concepts. At the end of each lesson is a comprehensive list of new vocabulary and phrases that are found in the main texts. Because the vocabulary is used in context in the readings, the tedious "memorization" factor is not an issue for students, who can simply improve their vocabulary base by reading the text and understanding how their new words are being used in action.By using this book and by learning the vast array of vocabulary, phrases, and grammatical structures it offers, students will be prepared to enter into the a mid-intermediate level without a problem. I would highly recommend this book to any professor or student looking for a fresh and effective alternative to other introductory Persian books.