This is an excellent book for beginning Swahili. As a fluent speaker, I can tell you that this book will teach you all the grammar you need to form a functioning Swahili sentence and will also provide you with enough vocabulary to communicate in most situations. It won't make you fluent on its own (you need to be immersed in the language before you can be totally fluent), but it will give you the vital tools you'll need to attain fluency one day. When I lived in Kenya, it was much easier for me to gain fluency in the language because I had read this book before hand. Be sure to get the CD's and I'd also recommend getting this book in conjunction with Teach Yourself Swahili by Joan Russell. Between those two books, you'll have a very strong foundation for your studies of the Swahili language.