This is an excellent book for those who wish to travel to Laos, or even those who wish to begin learning lao in small steps. I purchased this book in order to learn the language at a quicker and more simplified pace. It contains not only basic phrases that one might need to know in order to conduct ones self in the main parts of Laos but also be able to learn some of the country's culture as well. Even though studying an entirely new language can be laborious, Mr. Cummings has made it easy for anyone to be bilingual, even multi-lingual.