This book actually motivated me to learn French because I knew this: if I could just learn the words in this book and get through a basic French grammar, I would be able to read 90% of normal French (Le Monde, say), which is enough to make learning the rest of the language self-sustaining, easy and fun.
The big secret about learning languages is that they're usually taught badly. You get "units" about "everyday life" and learn those terms--this week it's shopping and you learn random junk like how Jean would buy a hair-dryer. The trouble is, "hair-dryer" really isn't that useful to know early-on, whereas other obscure-seeming words really are. Example: my textbook had me learn "gorge" (throat) almost right away, even though it's only the 4194th most common word, whereas it never did teach me "souhaiter" (wish), even though it's the 403rd most common. That's wrong by an order of magnitude. This makes learning to read hard and confusing. (On the other hand, I'm all set next time I'm buying a hairdryer for my sore throat in France.) So, this dictionary makes the whole experience more rational and easier.
Two more thoughts: 5000 words isn't as bad as it sounds: it counts cognates separately, so related nouns/verbs are double-counted, but you only need learn them once, and of course you'll know very many of these words from English. Also, this is most helpful for reading, probably. It's best of all for autodidacts--using this and a basic grammar, I was able to go from nothing to reading daily papers, Le Petit Prince, and now Moliere in less than a year, without classes while working. Yablas can help with aural learning these days, so with some initiative and a book like this you can learn on your own.
