One of the Best out there- By: , 17 Feb 2004 before I started to read this book I only though that Katakana was used for words borrow for other countries. so with thatin mind I was quite shock to find out how wrong I actually was. it is use for many more things then you would expect like names on animals & plantes. I would recomment though that you at least know Hiragana before you read this one, to get a more easy way to understand it, & it has all what you need to know like it's sisterbook "Let's learn Hiragana"More than just italics!- By: , 28 Aug 2003 This is a slimmish textbook which focusses on both how to draw katakana, including stroke order, & when to use them- they're not just for foreign loan words as I had believed. It also mentions how the katakana were derived & why. It does NOT, however, include mnemonics or pictures to help you commit them to memory, & will not assist youin learning the alphabet quickly except by repetition & exercises. It also refers fairly often to its sister book on hiragana, which it recommends you study before katakana. This author is obviously respected as it's a recommended text for my university course. Good for more in-depth study of katakana- I didn't realise they were so useful!
