looking for best thai-english book to learn the language

If you really want to learn Thai, you probably should get CD/tapes instead.

Thai is a tonal language, like the Chinese dialects, so even a simple word like 'MA' can have several meanings depending on whether you pronounce it rising, falling or level.

Otherwise, most guide books have lots of common phrases for travelers.

This site: http://langhub.com has downloadable MP3s and MP4s to help you learn Thai using your portable music device.

Teach Yourself Thai by David Smyth is very good - ISBN 0-340-86857-0 it also comes with CDs as an option. I found it very good for the basics and it was used as a core text book for some evening classes I attended. Lonely Planet also produce a useful Thai phrasebook which covers most situations. By far the most difficult thing to master (for me at least!) was getting the tones correct, both in listening and speaking. As lucy rightly points out the CDs really will help. Also, I made the mistake of buying several different textbooks and the different transiteration in each was quite confusing. If you are want to progress to a reasonably high standard it is essential to learnt wriiten language as well as this helps with the tones. It is worth the effort though and will improve your visit to Thailand immensely.

thanks for your help. i have already experienced the tonal difficulties and know what you mean.