Books for/about - Spanish

Spanish Complete: The Complete Language Course : 3 Level Set (Learn in Your Car)

Publisher: Penton Overseas
Authors: Henry N. Raymond

ISBN: 1591252075
List Price: $49.95
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
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Summary: the best course for beginner to advanced student
i am somewhere between a beginner and an accomplished adult student. this course will challenge and teach you good quality spanish sentences and pronunciation. i have not tired of the repetition and continue to be challenged by the more advanced sentences in later cd's.the time given to respond is short but i like that as it makes you think fast, which is necessary in real life conversation.
i love this course.

Summary: Good Car Spanish Course Overall * Some Drawbacks
'Spanish Complete: The Complete Language Course' by Henry N. Raymond is an overall good solid Spanish course.
When compared to courses such as Berlitz, Living Language and especially Pimsleur I would say that 'Spanish Complete' is an excellent value for the money.
What I like about 'Spanish Complete' is the amount of vocabulary that they present in the course as well as the number of verb tenses that are taught. The voices on the CDs are extremely clear and the method used is effective, to a point.
This is where I feel some improvement may be needed.
There really is no effort on the behalf of the creators of this fine course to provide the learner with some means of expanding their ability to create their own authentic sentences.
The 'canned' sentence approach where the student simply repeats sentences with vocabulary, however useful and relevant, is much less effective in achieving the goal of fluency in a language than a course that would emphasize sentence 'creation' based on the individuals needs and goals. This emphasis on 'real' as opposed to 'rote' learning is the optimal way to learn to speak a foreign language. Few courses have it and 'Learn in Your Car' is no exception.
Still, it must be said that the sheer amount of material that is presented in this course in an effective, pleasant and clear manner makes this an outstanding value for the money.
Tip: Supplement this course with one or two other 'car courses' which feature different teaching approaches. I would stay away from Pimsleur courses because of the limited vocabulary and excessive price. There are many other good Spanish courses out there.
Buena Suerte (Good Luck)
Mark Frobose/Author
Driving Towards Fluency and Behind the Wheel in Spanish/French/Italian/Portuguese/German/Arabic/Mandarin Chinese/Japanese/English for Spanish Speakers

Summary: works grate!
I move to country this hoaving no knowlege at all of the langugae. I learn fast with such langague course! excellente.

Summary:

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Tapas : A Taste of Spain in America

Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Authors: Jose Andres Richard Wolffe

ISBN: 1400053595
List Price: $35.00
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Summary: Great, easily accessible recipes. Buy It!
`tapas, a taste of spain in america' by Washington restaurateur, jose andres with wordsmithing by richard wolffe, is a very creative look at tapas from a modern point of view by a disciple of the great Spanish chef Ferran Adria. While there are many excellent books on traditional tapas by Spanish food experts such as Penelope Casas, this book gives us a whole new look at this genre of cooking.

The first thing that appeals to me about the book is the organization of the chapters by principle ingredient. The highlighted ingredients are:

Olives and olive oil
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Legumes
Peppers
Vegetables and More
Citrus
Garlic and onions
Rice
Cheese and eggs
Fish
Shellfish
Chicken
Pork
Other Meats

The first entry is obvious as there is no cuisine on earth, even the Italian cucina that is more infused with olive oil, as Spain is the producer of the largest share of the world's olive oil by a significant margin. Things the French may do with pork fat, such as confits, the Spanish do with olive oil.

Of course, I could not resist jumping to the chapter on potatoes to see Andres' take on the Spanish tortilla or, as Andres puts it, `Tortilla de patatas' which is actually much less confusing than its more familiar name. Virtually every treatment I have seen of `Tortilla do patatas' uses the same basic four ingredients, potatoes, eggs, onions, and olive oil, plus salt, and Andres' recipe is no exception. The procedure is just a bit more fussy than traditional recipes, with the quartered and thinly sliced Idaho potatoes being fried to almost the consistency of a chip before combining with the other ingredients. The saut�ed onions are also given a special treatment in that they are strained to remove excess oil after cooking.

Otherwise, the recipe is pure tradition. That cannot be said of the next recipe, where the raw potatoes are replaced with commercially available potato chips. Instead of sauteeing the potatoes, the chips are `marinated' in the raw egg. The tortilla is then cooked de rigeur, but without onions.

There are a lot of little things about this book that endear it to me. In addition to the organization, I like the table of contents at the beginning of each chapter which gives the Spanish and English names of each dish plus the wine tip for the dish. This small consideration means, for example, that you can look down the list of mushroom dishes to find one which best matches a wine you may wish to serve.

Be clear that chef Andres goes far beyond the original meaning of tapas from Andalusia where it meant something to cover your glass of wine, generally sherry. This means that not all the dishes herein are `finger food' AND many, such as the lobster paella and the roasted beef tenderloin will serve well as a full course of a sit-down meal. On the other hand, almost all recipes are imbued with the tapas spirit in that they are relatively easy to prepare, although some, such as the `slow-roasted' beef tenderloin may take a fair amount of hands off cooking time. On the other hand, I did find some instructions that begged more details. One dish instructs us to add vinegar to an olive oil confit, with no instructions on how we are to get the oil and vinegar to work together. So, the price for the simple instructions is that you will do much better with these recipes if you already know your way around the kitchen.

In addition to the `Tortilla do patatas', I found several other takes on very familiar recipes such as the apple, cheese, and walnut salad which is customized by the use of Murcia al vino goat cheese instead of a blue cheese and the absence of a green such as Belgian endive.

Overall, we get about 120 relatively simple recipes at the standard price on a popular theme but all with enough of a twist to raise the eyebrows of the culinary cognizanti.

Summary: My review
I just recently purchased the book, Love it! The recipes are very well written, very easy to follow, not too many ingredients. I have tried quite a few of the recipes and have received very pleasing comments! The book is well worth the purchase price, great holiday gift for the cook at heart.

Darlene

Summary: The Perfect Holiday Gift
"A Taste of Spain in America" makes the perfect holiday gift for anyone who enjoys cooking, glorious photos of food, or Spanish culinary delights. The book is gorgeous and easy to use. Designed for the home cook, the recipes are inventive and interesting, but not intimidating. Directions are clear and concise, and ensure that the novice chef -- or an experienced cook just learning about tapas -- can create attractive and tasty dishes. Chapters are designed around ingredients, so if you don't like olives, or fish, or mushrooms, you can just skip those sections. At the same time, this arrangement allows you to fully explore the possibilities of an ingredient through multiple, varied recipes. A sure winner!

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	Behind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour Publisher: Language Dynamics Authors: Mark Frobose
ISBN: 1893564428 List Price: $69.00 Amazon Price: $43.47 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: Recommended I stumbled upon Behind the Wheel courses quite by accident. I was in a Barnes and Noble store and overheard someone talking about Behind the Wheel courses in Spanish and French and inquiring about availability. Fortunately, the title was mentioned and I remembered it. This piqued my curiosity and I went home, checked it out on Amazon, bought it and have used it every day for the past six weeks. I report my results: 1. I now speak Spanish. I spoke none before, never studied the language in school and have no real formal experience learning foreign languages (just a taped course here and there). In fact, they used to scare me. How well I now speak is a matter of interpetation. How well I am now able to communicate is easily documentable. When I deal with Spanish speakers in a Mexican store or at work, they understand me, I usually understand them pretty well if they speak slowly. We talk. That's the bottom line. 2. I have friends who have studied Spanish for years in school and/or have tried different Spanish courses that can't speak Spanish half as well as I can. Sure. They know a lot of grammar and things I know nothing about, but when it comes to speaking the language, I win. 3. These same friends have listened to my Behind the Wheel CDs and they always say the same thing. 'Great voices' and 'I wish I had started with this course first'. I guess this is because the course sounds so easy. Like I said, I'm not a language expert so I can't tell you that this is best course on the market or not. I'm probably not even qualified to tell you its defects. What I can tell you is that thanks to this course and method I can now speak Spanish. Based on that one fact I would recommend it to you. I did the same thing with their French courses and got similar results. What I like more about Behind the Wheel Spanish is that it comes with a great book which has helped me considerably in learning the language. Summary: By Far the Best Spanish Course I Have Used AFTER trying and returning Pimsleur, Berlitz, Barron's Mastering Spanish, National Textbook's Teach Yourself Spanish, Living Language Spanish, and Great American Audio/Fast Track Spanish, I finally got smart and purchased Behind the Wheel Spanish. None of these other courses had the exceptional METHOD that I experienced with Behind the Wheel Spanish. I found Behind the Wheel Spanish to be versatile, relevant, had a very appealing and useful content, appropriate course speed, and was very relevant to my learning needs (which was to speak Spanish as quickly as possible). Several of the other courses I listed were either horribly fast paced, used esoteric Castilian instead of the more common Latin American Spanish used in Behind the Wheel Spanish, and were all just a rehash of the old 'mope and grope' stale language learning techniques your old high school teacher used to use. I found these courses to be sterile and difficult to impossible to learn from. I found Behind the Wheel Spanish to be excellent and unique in the following ways: 1. It is easy to go away from the CDs after each session speaking and understanding a great deal more Spanish than before the session. The structure and method used in the course are so simple that the learning speed dramatically increased for me. 2. Sentence building, practical vocabulary, and even grammar are taught as natural part of the lessons so I hardly noticed as I learned it. 3. The book is GREAT. Complete translations on the same page with all the answers. Plus the tapescript. Nice. 4. Most importantly, I am really ENJOYING learning from this course. The interview teaching style found on these CDs is quite pleasant, low key, and very effective! It is therefore my recommendation to you that you try Behind the Wheel Spanish if you are interested in a one stop, multi-purpose, versatile, relevant, easy, very fast, and extremely 'user friendly Spanish course. If you are a linguist, enjoy guessing, want to learn only Castilian Spanish and aren't interested in immediate results then you might try another course and still be satisfied. It is my humble opinion that there is no Spanish course on the market that can even approach the results Behind the Wheel Spanish has gotten for me in just a few weeks. Summary: Dont be fooled!!! This course will not teach you to understand, or speak Spanish. It will however teach you phrases and some basic sentences. I bought the course ready to jump in and the beginning is Mark Fabrose telling his native Spanish speaking partner to translate sentences that jump all over the place. Not structured and you have no time the repeat the "phrases". If one learned the CD's by heart you would be a walking phrasebook. You would not be spontaneously speaking your own meaningful thoughts and sentences. It did not take me long to realize I wasted my money. Pimsleur, FSI, Platiquemos, Learning Spanish like crazy, Assimil would do you much better. I have no interest in any of the products mentioned above which is the reason I named a variety of products. The FSI based product will take you the closest to fluency in my opinion. Don't waste your time or money on a good marketing scheme. I gave the product one star because a star is required. It takes some work to learn a language, it does not happen magically. [...] Summary:

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Spanish I : 2nd Rev. Ed. (Comprehensive)

Publisher: Pimsleur
Authors: Pimsleur

ISBN: 0743523571
List Price: $345.00
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Summary: Pimsleur Spanish I
Wonderful learning tool!! I studied Spanish in High School over 20 years ago and forgot most of what I learned. With the Pimsleur tapes I have been able to speak phrases with one of my friends from Spain after only a few lessons. The lessons are fun and practical and I look forward to each day starting a new lesson. I am a technical trainer by profession and I know from experience that learning has to be fun and engaging in order to keep the student coming back for more. The Pimsleur tapes accomplish this goal completely.

More importantly, I am finding that the Pimsleur tapes have such practical lessons, (teaching everyday conversation), that I am actually thinking in Spanish as well.

I ordered some audio tapes from another company and was very disappointed at the poor documentation (spelling errors) and pronunciation in the other tapes. The other company promoted that they used real spanish (Latino) speakers in their audio tapes but those Latino speakers have poor English pronunciation so I found myself getting lost trying to understand what they are saying in English before I can begin to learn the Spanish words.

The Pimsleur tapes have speakers that speak with excellent English AND Spanish pronunciation. The way the audio lessons should be created!

These tapes are definitely some of the best educational tools I have ever encountered. I am looking forward to the delivery of my Spanish II tapes and many more tapes after that from Pimsluer!

Summary: Pimsleur Spanish I
I have completed Pimsleur's french course and have just completed four lessons in the Spanish I course. I am delighted with my progress. I have a total one hour daily commute and find this use of my time to be very rewarding. Beats listening to commercials or inane radio DJ chit chat. My only criticism would be too much repetition; somewhat boring, but maybe that is why it is so succesful. I would like to see a written guide to accompany the audio course. I learn better with both. I spend a lot of time in the dictionary or other writen course books to augment this course. It would be nice to have a guide that follows the audio so that you have certainty about what you hearing. Automobile and road noise can trick the ears.

Summary: An Excellent Program if You Have Backup
A couple of years ago I bought Madrigal's Magic Key to learn Spanish, and I posted a review of it that I thought it was fine. But recently I decided that I needed something more, something that would give me correct pronounciation as well as grammar rules and conjugating verbs. After reading many reviews here on amazon.com, I went with Pimsleur, and I'm quite happy that I did. The lessons make sense and the conversations are cheeky and entertaining.

[...]and bought the Quick and Simple program first; I loved it and it worked for me, so I went ahead and invested in the Comprehensive I program (I bought it from amazon.com's New and Used marketplace because otherwise it's far too expensive for me). I've just finished it and I have to say, it's a quality program. As I posted in my Madrigal review, I'm a foreign-language-dummy, and find it exceedingly difficult to learn languages, even one as relatively simple as Spanish. But with Pimsleur I feel I learned a lot in just 30 half-hour lessons, and will definitely buy Levels II and III.

However, it's not a perfect system. I fully admit that if my live-in fianc� was not Cuban-American and fluent in Spanish, I might not have stuck with this program. Because he listened to most of my lessons, he knew what I was learning and could ask me questions from my lessons at random, and this helped me immensely. I could also ask him questions if something didn't quite make sense to me; and I admit that once, towards the end of the lessons, I had to reference a certain grammar rule in Madrigal to figure out what the lesson was all about.

Although the program advises doing a lesson a day straight through, I did have to take a day off now and then, and I recently had to take the entire week off. Life is just like that. It didn't seem to have any large, adverse affects on my learning. I did find that when I did do my lessons I had to devote all my attention to them; trying to engage in mindless activity, even just getting up to get a glass of water, while doing the lessons threw me off and made me make silly mistakes.

If you're serious about learning a foreign language, I can think of no better at-home system than Pimsleur; even university classes and private tutoring I've invested in aren't as good as this. But I'd definitely get some backup, such as a grammar book (Madrigal is great). If there is someone close to you who speaks fluent Spanish, then definitely use them as a resource. If Pimselur is all you have, then I really don't think you'll learn as much as you should, but if you're serious about learning and you invest a little extra time (and possibly money) outside the Pimsleur program, you'll be speaking Spanish in no time.

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Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat (8 One Hour CDs/200 Page Illustated Text/Answer Keys & Tapescript) (Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat)

Publisher: Language Dynamics
Authors: Mark Frobose

ISBN: 1893564568
List Price: $69.00
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: Exceeds All Expectations
I'd like to make a comment about the 'non-grammatical' method used in 'Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat'. The person who wrote the review below states that it is an
'unbelievable assertion' to state that verb conjugation is not necessary when learning a foreign language.
What a dumb comment.
Do you mean to tell me that every six year old on the planet that already speaks his or her native language fluently did so by learning how to conjugate verbs?
Give me a break..
They learned how to speak a foreign language naturally without grammar. Just like you learned English as a child.
The only effective way to teach anyone how to really speak Spanish or any language is by using a method like Language Dynamics has. They really teach you how to 'speak' the language. Not just learn a lot of meaningless grammar that leaves you tongue-tied in the end.
Overall, Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat is the best Spanish course I have ever used precisely because there is no formal grammar. It taught me how to really 'speak' Spanish when all else failed.

Summary: falls short of claims
i was disappointed by this course.i am slightly beyond a beginner, that is, i am trying to learn conversational spanish, tenses, pronouns, verb conjugation etc.
this course will teach you very little of this. just very basic sentences. it makes the unbelievable assertion that verb conjugation is not necessary. i find that verb conjugation is essential for any meaningful conversation. also necessary are tenses, which are not covered in any detail.
the accompanying booklet is better than the tapes, but i did not buy the course to get a book.
someone who is completely new to spanish may find this course useful.for others it may be too basic.

Summary: Great Method
I am enjoying both the book and the 8 CDs found in this course. Very effective method! Really gets you speaking Spanish quickly and without the hassle.
Book is great too. Easy to read, follows the CDs and has a word for word tapescript at the back.
Biggest Plus: Easy and Fast

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	Good Night, Dora!: A Lift-the-Flap Story Publisher: Simon Spotlight/Nickelodeon Authors: Christine Ricci Susan Hall
ISBN: 0689847742 List Price: $5.99 Amazon Price: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours Buy this book from amazon.com or from amazon.co.uk	Avg Cusomer Rating: 5 Reviews: Summary: A Delightful Lift-the-Flap Bedtime Story for Dora Fans Good Night Dora is a delightful lift-the-flap story about Dora and Boots heading home for bedtime and encountering various animals along the way to say good night to. It is an excellent bilingual book. As the child lifts the flap to see what animal is hiding under it, he or she encounters both the English and Spanish good night greetings for each animal. The noises each animal makes are written on the page too, so that a child can guess what might be hiding under the flap. My three-year-old daughter loves this book. The vivid illustrations really hold her interest, and she loves saying "Buenos Noches" to all of the animals. This is a great book that any Dora fan would definitely appreciate! Summary: good book entertaining for my daughter. love the flaps. love that we are both learning a small amount of spanish. highly recomend if you have a Dora fan. Summary: Good Nite... Great little book for young ones who do not want to go to bed ever!! My only suggestion would be to make the book in a cardboard version,that would help preserve the life of the book especially for rough and tumble little boys like my son! Good graphics and a very simple story with all the Dora characters. Summary:

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Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use

Publisher: Dover Publications
Authors: Dover Publications Inc

ISBN: 0486280861
List Price: $1.50
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 5
Reviews:
Summary: A True Bargain for the Price
'Easy Spanish Phrase Book: Over 770 Basic Phrases for Everyday Use' accomplishes the following:
1. It is more than `reasonably priced'. For less than the cost of a hamburger you can purchase and benefit from a handy and useful Spanish phrase book.
2. It is easy to use. There are English equivalents (a must for any vehicle you use to learn any language on your own) and even a handy pronunciation guide that accompanies the phrases.
3. It contains relevant and useful topics. The subjects covered are far from esoteric. They include the basics for many common everyday language situations that you are likely to encounter such as shopping, going to the bank and drugstore, doing laundry, dealing with illness, describing and inquiring about the weather, ordering and buying food, calling on the phone, useful time expressions and the like.
As with all books and methods, there are a few shortcomings.
Because of its inherent brevity, the book is by its very nature an incomplete guide. For $1.50 no one could expect it to be otherwise.
I did note however that a little updating of vocabulary and some mention of the information age innovations such as computers, printers, faxes, emails, and even the internet were rather conspicuously absent.
Overall, I happily give this fine little guide a five star rating. It is a true bargain for the price.
Mark Frobose/Author of 'Complete Behind the Wheel Spanish' / Driving Towards Fluency in Spanish & Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat

Summary: Easy Spanish Phrase Book
I find this book to be very useful, especially for anyone who is traveling to a country where Spanish is spoken. Many excellent references to phrases a traveler would use in such a setting. It is easy to use as well.

Summary: Nice little book.
Nice little book. Easy to take with you. Definatly worth the price.

Summary:

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501 Spanish Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses in A New Easy-To-Learn Format Alphabetically Arranged

Publisher: Barrons Educational Series
Authors: Christopher, Ph.D Kendris Theodore N., Ph.D Kendris

ISBN: 0764124285
List Price: $14.95
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Reviews:
Summary: A Superb Guide and Reference of Spanish Verbs. The Best in its Category!
My first encounter with 501 Spanish Verbs was as a graduate student in foreign languages at the University of Illinois. I found then and I confirm now that this amazing verb reference is by far the best of its kind on the market and will simplify your understanding of Spanish verbs, how they are conjugated in all tenses and how they are used correctly in sentences.
Just a word about my qualifications, I am the founder of Language Dynamics and the author of the `Behind the Wheel' and `Driving Towards Fluency' CD series in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Arabic. I hold degrees from and have taught foreign languages at major universities including the University of Illinois (where I was rated as an excellent instructor by my students), Illinois State University and the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
'501 Spanish Verbs' accomplishes the following:
1. It simplifies verb conjugation for both regular and irregular verbs.
2. It provides the best 'verb chart' or 'template' of different verb conjugations that I have ever seen. This 'snapshot' of all the conjugations of a given Spanish verb in all possible tenses on a single page is a magnificent way to understand their structure at a glance.
3. It is very easy to understand and easy to use. The verb infinitive appears in large print at the right or left corner of the page along with the English translation.
4. The correct use of the target verb is then made crystal clear by sentences at the bottom of each verb page where the verb is used in a natural context.
5. There is a convenient and easy-to-use English-Spanish and Spanish -English Glossary found at the back of the book.
6. Verbs also appear idiomatically and are included in a section covering specific high frequency topics such as shopping, hotel and so forth.
7. All verbs are listed alphabetically for easy reference.
BOTTOM LINE: A superb guide and reference of Spanish verbs. The best in its category. A must buy.
TIP: Use this reference with a good dictionary and one or two solid CD courses which will teach you how to pronounce authentically spoken Spanish in a native context. In these courses you will actually hear and learn to speak the verbs found in 501 Spanish Verbs.
Buena Suerte (Good Luck)
Mark Frobose/Author
'Behind the Wheel Spanish III'/ 'Driving Towards Fluency in Spanish III'
'Behind the Wheel Simple Spanish Verb Tenses'

Summary: Great but Even Better With 'Simple Spanish Verb Tenses' on CD
Christopher Kendris and his '501 Spanish Verbs' is a 'must buy' for anyone wishing to really learn the Spanish language in depth. The simple yet effective way in which a complex verb system is simplified to the point where even I can understand the system is a true accomplishment.
I am slowly becoming fluent in Spanish after many 'hit and miss' efforts with many different courses. Many of them CD courses that I listen to while in my car.
501 Spanish Verbs sits next to my chair on my lamp table right next to the fireplace for when I get home after a commute and a 'car Spanish' session. The verb conjugations found in this book, along with even common idiomatic expressions make it a real bargain for the price and a reference that you will use daily if you're serious about really learning to use Spanish correctly.
I have also found a car CD course that I would recommend to accompany this wonderful verb reference. It is 'Behind the Wheel Simple Spanish Verb Tenses' on CD. It uses many of the complex verb forms like the subjunctive and you get to practice speaking these forms while in the car. Then when you get home you can whip out your trusty Kendris '501 Spanish Verbs' and see how they're all spelled and learn even more Spanish. Fabulous for reinforcement.

Summary: Beware of this cute book
Sure, the outside cover looks well enough, but as you begin to learn the spanish language, you should soon realize 3 MAJOR things that are wrong with this book.

First, this book is a desk reference. It is NOT designed to help you learn how to conjugate (especially irregular) verbs in spanish. I am shocked that other spanish teachers actually recommend this to others, especially to students! Perhaps these educators are among the antiquated who still think rote memorization is the key to our survival. I would never recommend this to any of my students because of its counter-intuitive, confusing layout for beginner and intermediate learners (I left out advanced because advanced learners should spot this as sub par immediately) and, to emphasize again, because it does not lead to any real autonomy of being able to conjugate verbs.

Second, the conjugations are grouped in what appear to be a nice, simple, systematic format but they are NOT categorized in the logical way that the verbs should be learned, i.e., indicativo should be grouped together not thrown into the soup of 14 subgroups of simples y compuestos!

Third, the selection of verbs is, in many cases, unrealistic. Somewhere by the intermediate level (if not before), you will find that MANY commonly used verbs are not included anywhere in this book.

If you are interested in a superb spanish verb book, check out my review of Alfredo Gonzalez Hermoso's book, The Spanish Verb Manual.

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