"...for Dummies" books any good?

[morgon]

HI,

I just stumbled upon a strange anomaly on Amazon where "Mandolin for Dummies" and "Mandolin Exercises for Dummies" cost EUR 24.90 each, but when you buy them as a set you only pay 16.67 (for the whole set!).

So I wonder: Are these books any good? Would they be suitable for a beginner? Would it make sense to work through such books in parallel to taking classes?

Many thanks!

[MikeEdgerton]

The author of both books is an excellent mandolin player and a highly regarded member of the cafe community. The forward of the first book was written by the owner of this site. We like them.

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[George R. Lane]

Yes, they are very good and what a great buy. I would order them as soon as possible. Don Julin is a great teacher and the audio uploads are a great help.

[Bill McCall]

I enjoy my copies.

[JeffD]

Mandolin for Dummies is real good. I haven't perused the exercises book (yet).

[bingoccc]

I have a few beginner's mandolin books. MFD is the best of the bunch by far. I don't have the exercises book yet.

[DavidKOS]

Add one more "Yes" vote, the MFD book covers a lot of territory very well. It's very well written and both comprehensive enough for long-term players to learn something and yet accessible to beginners.

The "for Dummies" series really belies the title, the books are usually great. I learned more from "Pro Tools for Dummies" than from the actual Avid course material.

[Ray(T)]

For those on this side of the pond, there are several independant sellers on Amazon UK offering these two books at a good discount. I just paid £15.31 inc. postage.

[JH Murray]

Also check out Don Julin's videos on Youtube. He is a great treasure.

[Emmett Marshall]

I found "Mandolin for Dummies" to be very informative and helpful. It is dense with great info and is a pleasant read. As another has said above, the sound clips are also really helpful. I would recommend the book to anyone, at any level.