The book is small and well written overall. It has a section at the front for phoenetic writing but it needs an audible example, like maybe on a website or soemthing. I found it difficult to follow directions for the phoenetic writing used in the text like, "s (underlined) - emphatic "s", similar to the "s" in "sum", with the central part of the tongue depressed and the back part raised.". If anyone knows if this has been produced, please post a link to it.

That means Basic Issue Item for any of you wondering. If you're going over to Iraq this is a fantastic book to pick up. There is a ton of useful information in it. From ordering food to asking for a better room at your hotel you'll find plenty to get you by. And thankfully the locals in Iraq are very forgiving when you butcher the Arabic language. They understand that Arabic is a very hard language and they're just impressed that you're even trying. And possibly one of the best things is the size of this book. It's small enough to fit in any brief case and most pockets (in my case, my cargo pocket on my ACUs). Remember that each region has it's own form of Arabic (something I didn't know until arriving here) so if you're studying the "mother" Arabic dialect you might have some trouble because not everyone knows the "mother" dialect (as has happened to me already). So make sure your Arabic is region specific.

This is a useful phrasebook for the novice heading to Iraq for the first time. No Arabic script; a shame, but that seems to be the case with almost all such handbooks tailored to one dialect of Arabic. The almost pocket-sized booklet starts off with a description of the phonetic system and moves quickly to a few very basic elements of grammar, basic words, numbers, telling time, and common situations from greetings to arrival at the airport, checking in at a hotel, getting around town, food and drink, personal care, sight-seeing, visiting mosques, medical care, security situation, and timely police station and checkpoint dialogue. Nothing special in terms of military lingo, but handy sections on "searching a house" and handling "demonstrations". Prepared in 2004, but not with the occupation and post-occupation too much in mind, no mention of roadside bombs or beheadings, prisoners, or prisoner handling; almost as if Iraq were a normal country. Ends with a 1,000 word basic dictionary. At this price you can't go wrong by keeping a copy handy.