I use this book in the classes I teach in Connecticut, USA and I think it's currently one of the best, if not the best books, for new adult learners. The one criticism nearly all students have is that they speak the conversations too fast for new learners. I've started to put a slower version of them on YouTube, but haven't made much progress on that, but hope to complete this summer (2017). Another criticism I saw in a review here and which has also been made by some of my students, is that the grammar does not initially appear front-and-center. First, that is by design the book is based on the communicative style of teaching a language, and grammar is introduced gently in context as the conversations evolve. Second, students differ in their preferences for learning a language, some prefer a more grammar based approach, and others do not. So make your choice accordingly. It is my feeling however, that a lot more grammar is taught in this book them students generally realize, as they tend to call it other things e.g. Points of Information, and if one pays attention one will learn enough grammar for a first course. I had one class who came to realize this after taking grammar classes independently of my teaching during the summer break, and on returning were happy to forego those formal independent grammar classes and pay more attention to the grammar in the book. (I generally wait until a future level to get much more formal about grammar for the majority of the class.)