Would this be a good beginner's radio for me to purchase?

DN,
If you do travel a lot, I don't see how, at the price point, you could really
go wrong, unless you end up getting sent a quality-control dud. Barring that, I
see nothing wrong with it. You get fairly wide SW coverage, SSB, and the entire
clock/alarm thing for your travels. FM should sound fine with headphones, as
most of the recent mini-receivers have been getting pretty good at sound from
phones.
But if you can get a few hams in SSB or decent int'l broadcasters while on the
road, how can you go wrong for $40?
I say go for it.
As for being a good beginner's radio, well, it's a little different than the
travel issue. I'd rather buy something I can grow into, and spend more at
first, than end up with a radio that doesn't do any one thing well enough to
keep me from being frustrated. You can drive a tractor down the highway, but
it'll take you longer to get where you're going, and you likely won't do it
again.
But if travel and portablility is the issue, God, for $40, do it!
Linus