My biggest complaint was that the book wasn't laid out very clearly or indexed very much. You can't really find something you are looking for if you go to look something up. Still, many people like this series, and the books are full of colloquialisms and such, so maybe they will work for you. Incidently, most people say you should get the tapes for the book as well. I haven't had a chance to use most of these, but they look promising.
Computers offer a wonderful was to learn a language because of their interactive nature.
The program doesn't really have lessons, so you absolutely need a book or something as well, but the interactive environment of a program like this is so much more engaging than a book or tape, that they just can't be compared. And this program supports many languages, such as Finnish and Swahili, that aren't available on programs specializing in one language. If you are studying one of the more rare languages, this might be just the thing, but unless you really need to hear 20 or 30 or 51 different languages, you might be better off with one of the programs that have only one language. I tried a translator once, and it was fun, but I'm not sure how reliable the translations are. I think the best use of translator programs is to translate foreign material into English, as opposed to writing something, and then hoping it turns out correct.