Spanish for Dummies

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1582AROW90261 I am also listing what I would consider the 5 most important learning-Spanish resources availalbe for self-study which I think you will not only enjoy but also benefit from if you love learning Spanish as much as I do:

1. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Pronouns And Prepositions This book covers the proper usage of Pronouns and Prepositions and just like Spanish Verb Tenses, you will find plenty of exercises to improve your Spanish-language skills.

2. Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Verb Tenses This is a must have book for learning how to conjugate Spanish verbs for both beginners and advanced students. You will want to read it from cover to cover and then keep it as a learning-Spanish resource.

3. Learning Spanish Like Crazy: Spoken Spanish, Vol. 1 (2 volume set) This is the self-study course that I would recommend for someone that needs to immediately learn how to speak Spanish in order to communicate with Spanish-speakers that have recently arrived in the U.S or for someone that expects to be speaking to people in familiar situations in Latin America. This course comes closer to teaching the colluquial or familiar style of conversational Spanish that you will hear native speakers use among themselves. I like the fact that they only use native Spanish speakers in this course.

4. The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs with CD-ROM, Second Edition This is a must have book for learning how to conjugate hundreds of Spanish verbs in the various tenses. But if you already have 501 Spanish Verbs: with CD-ROM (Barron's Foreign Language Guides) then you can skip this book.

5. Mierda!: The Real Spanish You Were Never Taught in School (Plume) Actually, this one is not a must-have book. It is optional. But it is very entertaining so after studying Spanish hard I always find it helpful to use a learning-Spanish resource for pure fun. And this book is lots of fun. That's if you are not easily offened by vulgar language. Even if you are not the type who would use dirty words in a conversation you'll probably still find this book very entertaining to read. At the very least, you will pick up enough slang and vulgar Spanish words so that when you hear it you will at least recognize it.

I hope that my review has been helpful to other Amazon shoppers.

I orderd this for my daughter,so she could have extra help at home with her Spanish and she has done very well with it,thanks for a great item and price.

The book is average at best. It's cheap for a reason. I have learnt MUCH more thru the "Coffee Break spanish podcast on iTunes". bought this as a companion book. As a companion this book is OK. But if i had bought it as just the primary then i would have been very disappointed. So use it along with other audio material and you will be fine.. Have not listened to the included CD.

Here is the bottom line about Spanish for Dummies. The good news is that the author at least attempts to simplify the learning of Spanish. The bad news is that it did not work. The book and the approach is overly 'gimmicky' and this detracts from the instructional value.
A much better option would be either Behind the Wheel Spanish II / 8 Multi-Track CDs /Complete 250 Page Illustrated Text / English Translations / Answer Keys & Tapescrip if you already have some background in Spanish. If not, the best beginning Spanish CD course on the market isBehind the Wheel Spanish/Complete Illustrated Text/Answer Keys/8 One Hour.
I am not saying Spanish for Dummies does not have value, but the programs I list above are far more strightforward, have 8 CDs per course and come with a complete no-nonsense book. All for $69.00 bucks.

This book is excellent if you're a struggling gringo like me. My fiance is a Spanish translator so I got this to learn the fundamentals of Spanish. She gave it two thumbs up so I know it's good stuff. If you're looking for a good travel book as well, this is the way to go.