I’m thrilled to be reviewing this book.  I was excited to receive it and begin to dig in to it.  I have no previous instruction in the Greek language.  I have a few Greek study resources that I use regularly, but I cannot read, write or understand Greek without help.  As a singer, I have taken a few courses on diction in other languages (Italian, French, German, Latin) – that showed me the basic rules of how to pronounce other languages.  I think I was expecting something similar with this book – although I’m not sure why I expected that.  Greek for Everyone by A. Chadwick Thornhill, is a very in-depth introductory textbook on the Greek language – it’s so much more than learning how to read or pronounce Greek.  It’s more about learning the basics of the language, grammar and words.  It says introductory on the cover, but I felt like it was more intense than just an introduction.  It has the feel of a textbook, which I wasn’t so excited about.  The information is solid and easy to understand, but it’s a very dry read.  I had to make myself pick it up and continue to read by telling myself again and again that I really want the information in my brain.

The book is broken into 18 chapters, most of which deal with grammar (verbs, nominals, pronouns, infinitives, participles, etc).  Chapter two is titled “The Big Picture of Language” and gives a good overview of how the Greek language is put together and how it differs from the English language.  Chapter 14 goes back to the big picture (after twelve chapters of grammar) and sort of puts it all together.  The back of the book includes two appendices (Answers to the “Your Turn” questions that are found throughout the book and an Appendix filled with Greek Paradigms).  There is also a Glossary of Greek Terms and indexes by words, scripture and subjects.

If you’re looking for a crash course in Biblical Greek – this is a great resource.  If you’re looking for something to simply help you understand a few Greek words or phrases, this book might be a little much to take on.  Overall, it is well-written, easy to follow and quite thorough.