Can OS X 10.6.8 play a DVD-ROM?

I have OS X 10.6.8 on my IMAC. I can play CDs and DVDs without any problem. I bought a German Text Book that has a DVD-ROM and I can't even get it to appear on the screen. When I put it in the drive, it proceeds to "try" to do something and makes a noise than seems to "hunt" for something, then makes the noise again. This goes on for 10 or 11 times. Then it spits the DVD-ROM out. (It NEVER shows the DVD-ROM symbol on the desktop!!!)

I took it to the public library and the Windows OS worked fine. Then I tried it it in another Mac, a laptop running 10.10.1. The DVD-ROM symbol appeared right away on the desktop and when I clicked it, it opened with my Text Book, Workbook, and Video materials.

The DVD-ROM says it should work on a Mac OS X 10.5.2 or higher. Why won't it run on my OS X 10.6.8 IMAC?

Thank you!