I began to sift through this textbook after my Chinese teacher donated it to me a few years ago and immediately began to wonder why she was not using this book and its accompanying resources. Unlike our other textbook, the vocabulary presented in each chapter was larger and much more relevant to today's students. Each chapter has a wide array of activities (beyond substitution drills that were emphasized in our other textbook), thorough and understandable explanations, a Culture Note that follows every chapter, and an excellent free resource on the Internet (google: Chinese Link) that has vocabulary review, tests, and listening exercises. It is one of the more visually appealing textbooks as well, filled with clear illustrations and black-and-white photographs of China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. I actually think that had our class used this book and its resources, we all would have learned Chinese a little better. The only problem? It stops after level 2. However, I highly recommend this book for beginning students. It is most appropriate for the high school and college levels--adult learners may also like the book.