This is pretty much THE classic book for grad students learning to read French in a hurry to pass their exams and get themselves up to speed. It's been around for a long time, and it's still pretty good. I recommend the Rosetta Stone program followed by this. The key here is that this does not waste any time teaching you how to make polite conversation or ask directions to the train station. This is just to teach you how to learn to read technical academic French as a graduate student. ( )