'Read Greek by Friday' is a lean, mean introduction to the basics of New Testament Greek. The philosophy of the book is simple: "People learn to read Greek by reading Greek, not by reading books about Greek." Because each brief lesson concludes with a summary of key information, students are able to focus their energy on reading a Greek text such as the Gospel of John. In addition to essentialgrammatical information, the book offers vocabulary lists, exploratory exercises which examine ancient Greek in its own context, and "Summary Reference Sheets" for use as students read Greek. Although the book is intended to cover the work of beginning Greek class offered at a seminary or college, it would meet the needs of an individual curious about the original language of the New Testament, working independently of any class. This book could also serve clergy who are looking to refresh their memory of the Greek they learned at seminary.

Robert H. Smith (1932-2006) served as Christ Seminary-Seminex Professor of New Testament at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Among his books are 'Apocalypse: A Commentary on Revelation in Words and Images' and 'Easter Gospels: The Resurrection of Jesus according to the Four Evangelists' as well as commentaries on Acts, Hebrews, and Matthew. Paul M. Fullmer serves as chaplain at Lebanon Valley College. In 1998 he received the Pritchett Greek prize for excellence in Greek and in 2000 he was awarded the American Bible Society Scholarly Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in biblical studies. He is the author of 'Resurrection in Mark's Literary-Historical Context' ( 2006).