As its title indicates, this textbook is aimed at students meeting Latin for the first time in a college setting. With this audience in mind, it is written in a lighthearted style. In regard to the word anus, for example, the author notes that it means “old woman” with a short a, but with a long a, “something else” (viii). This sort of humor permeates the work with a welcoming and gentle character. In fact, welcoming and gentle is perhaps the most accurate overall characterisation of the work. In this regard, the work should be commended.
The book contains no introduction setting out its philosophy or guidelines for its use. However, there is a page-long aviso to teachers (vi) with some pedagogical notes. Future editions would benefit from a more systematic introduction for both students and teachers. The actual introduction provides a very brief history of Latin before moving to discuss pronunciation, stress, and some basic grammatical features. In this introduction, we are told that, “This book is based on Latin as it was spoken and written from about 200 BC to 100 AD” (vii). Returning to the aviso, the author states, “I begin with basics and gradually move to higher-level grammar” and that “Each chapter usually covers one topic.” He also notes, “I often present topics without going into all the details.” This statement was clearly a major pedagogical decision in the composition of the book. Depending on perspective, this will be either the book’s greatest strength or its greatest weakness. I will discuss these themes below.
Notwithstanding the lack of commentary, the book evidently takes a grammar-translation approach. As is typical of this approach, the book focuses exclusively on language; it contains no coverage of Roman history, culture, or religion. In my view, this is the proper approach, especially in a higher education setting. Adult learners struggling with the mysteries of the ablative or subjunctive are not supported by discussing the Romans’ favorite food. Moreover, that content often carries the implication that language must be hidden behind “more interesting” material. Some may disagree with that perspective, but I consider it a strength of this book.
The book is divided into sixty-six chapters, each consisting of around five to ten pages. The chapters are structured consistently. The grammatical point under review is explained across a few pages. This is followed by a short vocabulary varying in length from one or two words to around fifteen. After this come exercises and readings. Pages 315 to 337 contain tables of grammatical forms. This material is useful for students as they encounter more morphology. Its inclusion in the book is welcome, though it is not clearly annotated. For example, the participles for habeō are listed as “habens, ntis; habitus, a, um; habitūrus, a, um; habendus, a, um” (326). Clearer indication of what these forms are would benefit students. The index is only a page long (392) but is effectively supplemented by a highly detailed contents section (iii–v). The sequence of material is generally appropriate and not especially notable. Verbal and nominal morphology open the book. The middle chapters consist of pronouns, more indicative morphology, and participles. The subjunctive, irregular verbs, subordinate clauses, and gerunds and gerundives are retained till the end. Visually, the work is very much a classic textbook.
The most notable point about the book is the brevity with which grammatical phenomena are treated. As stated, most topics are covered in a few pages. This means that students will encounter material in highly digestible form and will presumably be encouraged to move swiftly on to the exercises. This will be a key factor for teachers contemplating using this textbook, as its structure will require a teaching environment that makes extensive use of exercises as opposed to detailed grammatical explanation. Nevertheless, cognitive load was clearly a significant factor in the design of the book and the incorporation of active learning through exercises is commendable. However, I am concerned that the book’s summary coverage of many topics means that much of Latin’s depth and complexity is omitted. For example, the book makes no mention of the complexity of the perfect tense as an introductory verb to purpose clauses, which are explained in a page and a half. On this point, it is notable that the phrase “sequence of tense” is used only once in the entire book (293). Similarly, when discussing result clauses, we are told that the negative is “nōn, not nē” (212). Without more explicit instruction, students may not understand that ut nōn is meant. Moreover, there is no mention of the use of the perfect subjunctive in result clauses. Likewise, chapter 50 notes that the range of subjunctive tenses is found in indirect questions, but no rules for their use are set out. Further observations of this sort could be made. Comprehensive linguistic coverage was not the driving philosophy of the work. This is the point where the quality of the book becomes subjective. For those seeking a gentle introduction to Latin that delivers material in bite size chunks and avoids the more complicated elements of the language while also swiftly guiding students into exercises, this brevity will be welcome. Those who want their students to develop deep linguistic competence and an appreciation for the diversity, nuance, and history of Latin will perhaps be advised to select a different textbook.
The next major component of the work is its exercises and readings. In terms of the latter, these often take the form of an elegiac couplet (Martial is very well represented) or something of comparable length, though an occasional longer chunk of prose around twenty to fifty words in length appears. Most chapters contain one to five of these readings. Expansion of this material should be considered for future editions as in its current form, teachers will have to supplement the work with longer readings. The readings occur at the end of each chapter after the exercises, which are generally divided into “Latin to English sentences,” “glossed Latin to English sentences,” and “English to Latin sentences.” Many chapters also contain “practice sentences” which consist of around five Latin to English sentences and five English to Latin sentences. Only the “practice sentences” are given answers at the back of the book. All exercises are short sentences of between two to ten words taken from literary, mostly classical, authors. In this way, they double as readings but are still very short. All exercises are of two kinds, translation from Latin to English and vice versa. Greater variety in the exercises is recommended in future editions. The quantity of exercises is reasonable; each chapter contains roughly thirty. While there is no answer key for most exercises, given that almost all are taken from commonly available literary sources, students will be able to look them up with some training. As a result, these cannot be set as homework for assessment, but will no doubt be useful in a classroom setting. Students using this text for private study, though, will struggle without a teacher to supply the answers for most exercises.
A criticism I would point out (and this applies to the vast majority of Latin textbooks) is the exclusive focus on literary material, and mostly of the classical period. A single inscription appears in chapter 9, notably attributed to a woman. While literature is no doubt the main draw for Latin students, we must introduce them to a greater diversity of material. This is critical not only for producing well rounded Latinists, but also for providing access to and familiarity with a range of material composed by women, soldiers, sailors, farmers, and slaves in the form of inscriptions and papyri. Given the current concern for representation in ancient world studies, inclusion of this material is essential for all future textbooks.
The greatest strengths of this book are its attention to cognitive load and its pleasant style. Overall, I see it as a good summary introduction to the Latin of Classical literature; however, its often cursory treatment of grammatical material could be problematic for students seeking to develop detailed and subtle control of the complexities of the language. Noting its limitations, this is a good textbook for those seeking a grammar-translation based approach that simultaneously has a welcoming feel, a rare combination.