Indispensable joy for any logophile!
Written: Nov 19 '06 (Updated Dec 10 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Strategically selected and sequenced words are exhaustively, eruditely and entertainingly explained. Intermittent, brief, helpful reviews.
Cons: I wish the CD edition's track numbering corresponded exactly to the printed word-list numbering.
The Bottom Line: Among available vocabulary-improvement (audio) programs, Verbal Advantage provides the most useful and entertaining coverage of vocabulary and related linguistic lore. As explained below, CD format is eminently preferable to cassette.
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| henry_thoreau's Full Review: Charles H Elster - Verbal Advantage: Advanced Edit... |
Preliminary note #1: My review equally pertains to the entire unabridged audio edition (i.e., Levels 1 through 10) of Verbal Advantage by Charles Harrington Elster--not just Levels 6-10.
Preliminary note #2: The complete unabridged (audio) edition is specifically titled the Verbal Advantage "Success Edition". This product includes 24 CDs (or cassettes) plus two vocabulary booklets ("guidebooks") comprising 500 "keywords" plus 3000 synonyms and antonyms (i.e., "Levels 1 through 10"). All of these items are protectively housed in two large "library-quality binders".
Preliminary note #3: Confusingly, Verbal Advantage has also been published (by Audio Renaissance) in an "abridged" audio edition comprising eight separately sold, two-cassette "volumes". That inferior edition doesn't merely provide significantly less vocabulary; it additionally inflicts upon the listener some intermittent (and mercifully "exclusive") supplementary discussions that seem somewhat superfluous upon first exposure and downright redundant thereafter. Worse still, the identical discussions are inexplicably repeated on more than one tape in that series. Thus, there's relatively little space left on any given tape for the (abridged) vocabulary itself. I advise you to eschew those Audio Renaissance "abridged" volumes. Settle for nothing less than the original, complete, unabridged audio edition (i.e., the "Success Edition"), whose own (different) "supplementary discussions" comprise more pertinent linguistic information.
Preliminary note #4: You can purchase the complete, unabridged audio edition (i.e., the "Success Edition") via the informative Verbal Advantage web site: Verbaladvantage.com. But a significantly cheaper alternative might be eBay.com, where authentic, brand-new, unabridged audio editions are continually listed for auction.
Preliminary note #5: According to the Verbal Advantage web site, "when you master the words in the complete Verbal Advantage Success Edition, your vocabulary will surpass that of most executives and professionals, including those with advanced degrees. You will then be speaking with the vocabulary power of the top 5% of all adults...."
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Charles Harrington Elster's delightful Verbal Advantage audio program existed at least as early as 1995 in audiocassette format; somewhat more recently, it became available in compact disc format; and still more recently (2000) Random House published a purely textual (paperback) edition (ISBN: 0375709320). [See my separate review of the latter book, which I deem a distant "second-best" to the original audio version.] The present review will pertain primarily to the audio edition (on 24 cassettes or 24 CDs).
If you want to broaden your vocabulary--not to mention augment your grasp of many terms you think you already know--you owe it to yourself to relish Verbal Advantage from beginning to end. Unlike some other "vocabulary-improvement" authors out there, Elster took great pains to provide the listener with far more than a mere "talking dictionary".
Each of the 500 strategically selected and sequenced "keywords" (composing all ten "levels" of the program) is eruditely pronounced, defined, and briefly discussed by the author himself. (Such discussion generally involves a given word's etymology, recommended pronunciation, and/or usage issues; but Elster is not loath to digress a bit further than that, now and again.) Along with the "keywords" themselves, many essential synonyms and antonyms are contextually discussed, making for an overall coverage of 3,500 words.
After the presentation of each "group of ten" keywords, the author's own narration is punctuated by that of a pleasing female voice for a "review" section (e.g., a "true or false" quiz over the prior ten keywords).
There are likewise intermittent "supplementary-discussion" segments involving sundry pertinent vocabulary-usage issues. Those reasonably "in-depth" segments (tracks) provide just the right degree of variety to Elster's overall format. However, some listeners may opt to skip them, and owning the CD (rather than the audiocassette) edition greatly helps in that regard.
Elster's linguistic stance is somewhat "traditionalist". For example, with such terms as "exquisite", "cornucopia" and "accolade", he staunchly insists on featuring the "erudite" pronunciation rather than more recently popularized pronunciations. But, to his credit, in such instances Elster generally does briefly mention the alternative pronunciation(s), allowing the listener to determine his own preferences. For my part, even when I (occasionally) differ with Elster's arguably "stuffy" linguistic leanings, I nonetheless respect and amusedly applaud his decidedly "academic" inclinations.
The content of the 24-cassette and 24-compact disc editions of Verbal Advantage is identical. However, unless you have an absolute need for the tape version (e.g., you need to use a pocket-friendly, cassette Walkman), I strongly urge you to opt for the CDs--instead of the tapes--for the following reasons.
First, the CDs allow you to skip directly to those tracks comprising the particular words (or discussions or reviews) that you're primarily interested in reprising (after having initially listened to the entire program from beginning to end). Unfortunately, the CD-track numbering does not correspond to the numbering of the "keywords" of the Verbal Advantage program; nor do the (included) printed booklets include any "CD track list". Thus, you'll have to use a pencil to mark such details yourself, assuming you have the need--or the patience--to do so.
[By the way, the aforementioned book edition of Verbal Advantage (published by Random House) does perfectly correspond to the audio edition's word-list content and sequence; thus you could substitute that single, 459-page paperback for the (two) floppy booklets included with the audio edition. On the other hand, you needn't necessarily use any text to benefit from the superbly narrated, easy-to-follow audio edition.]
Also, (as if you didn't already realize this!), assuming you handle the CDs with reasonable care, they should remain fully playable for the rest of your life, whereas cassettes would likely begin to deteriorate within a decade or so (assuming they didn't get irreparably "eaten" by an aging tape player far sooner than that). The "Verbal Advantage" audio edition is just too darned expensive--not to mention linguistically invaluable--to be considered a "disposable" commodity.
Moreover, if you're lucky enough (as I am) to own two "linkable" Sony CD changers, you can load selected discs from the Verbal Advantage program into separate, "linked" changers; and then you can set the changers' respective "shuffle" and "no-delay" modes such that you can review just those portions of the vocabulary that you're currently interested in, but the presentation of each word (CD track) can be randomized, such that you won't inadvertently start to memorize the entire program sequence rather than the information specific to each "keyword".
The tone of Elster's recorded voice is agreeably "cultivated yet zestful": not excessively "scholarly", yet not gallingly "trendy". It's easy to see--er, hear--why he has, over the years, enjoyed success as a radio commentator. Indeed, his aural persona is largely responsible for making Verbal Advantage such a pleasingly effective program. Here's hoping he sees fit to issue a "second series" of this splendid, powerful, vocabulary-improvement program--the sooner the better!
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P.S.: Regarding other "vocabulary-improvement" products:
(1) See my new review of the Word Master (ISBN: 1596590289) 9-CD audio tutor, which--unlike Verbal Advantage--can be had for less than $20 and includes soft, "suggestopedic" (classical) background music.
(2) I also very much like the Word Smart series of CD-ROMs (compatible with both Windows and Macintosh computers). The various volumes (CD-ROMs) comprising that versatile, multimedia product amount to a treasure-trove of vocabulary/linguistic edification and amusement, so do yourself a favor and check it out--perhaps via the publisher's web site: Wordsmart.com.
Recommended:
Yes
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