Others say...

"Little more than a reference book. "
I bought this book hoping that it would provide me with a means of learning kanji. I was quite disappointed when it arrived. This book is nothing more than a reference. It shows you a kanji, gives you a short and concise English meaning for it, gives you the readings (in romaji, rather than hiragana and katakana), gives you 2 compounds that use the kanji, and it gives you the stroke order. That's basically it. There's no commentary on the kanji telling you how to remember them, the history of it, or ANYTHING. The compounds that it gives you for each kanji don't even give you context for how the word should be used. All of the information in this book is freely available at numerous web sites across the internet, or in most kanji dictionaries. This book has basically just sat on my shelf collecting dust since I purchased it.

If you are truly interested in learning Kanji, I would recommend that you start with the excellent book "Remembering the Kanji volume 1" by James Heisig. It's an amazing book that teaches you how to remember the kanji quite effortlessly. I learned how to write all of the joyo kanji from memory in just 3 months using that book.

This book on the other hand, just seems rather... pointless.

"Teh Winz"
I have found in the course of the last few weeks that dedication is a fickle beast, and that mastery of the kanji requires more dedication than I currently wish to possess. I have also realized that airline peanuts sometimes have bug parts in them, Michael Stipe has a funny head, and that a blender is not a flotation device.

That aside, this is a great referential work for kanji. For absolute nubs learning the various kanji, this book is a wonderful supplement for reference, practice, and additional learning. I would not recommend it for learning the kanji unless it is used as a supplement.

"Contains good characters for beginners but lacks something"
This book contains good Kanji for beginner level learners. But it does not have much examples of how to use the character. Definitions next to characters are very confusing and not clear. One of my biggest concerns is that definitions, pronunciation, and kun(meaning of the character written in Japanese) are all written in English instead of Kana. I would suggest that you choose another book. If you still want to buy this book, then consider once more and read other customers' reviews carefully.

"Excellent for moderate level learns"
Before I purchased this book I was pretty well into the Japanese language. That being said, I think that people at the beginning level should make sure that they're, at the very least, up to par on their vocabulary before purchasing this book (let alone delving into any type of kanji based text). Also, make sure that you're able to use and understand hiragana and katakana. Once you're comfortable with your skills and knowledge of the Japanese language (perhaps on a moderate level), then you should most definitely try to get your hands on this. It's very easy to follow, gives you a break down on both the Japanese and Chinese pronunciation for each character, and also gives you several examples on how each character is used in conjunction with others. I loved this book and I am very glad that I purchased it.

"So far, so good!"
I have many Kanji & Kana books. Some of them have type so small that I cannot really see the stroke order. Sometimes, the books do not even display stroke orders; and it is frustrating. This book gives a big picture of the characters, with stroke order, tells the meaning of the character, and so on. It is a pretty complete guide. I trust it, so far; and it has really helped me. However, it is not a beginner-friendly guide. I started my Kanji & Kana with "Making out in Japanese" and Rosetta Stone. Those conduits were much more beginner-friendly. This book pretty well assumes that you have the basics down. Overall, if you are really trying to delve into your Kanji, it is an invaluable reference.