A ton of Spanish literature - excellent for introductions
586013
This book is excellent for the classes that are introduction to Spanish literature. I wish I would have known about this book several years ago before I put myself through all that torture of learning on my own. With this book, I was able to learn reasons why certain pieces of literature were written, what was going on in Spain during certain time periods.
3735807
I am Anna Rivera editor of the Learning Spanish Products Reviews site and free Spanish lessons site. I am also the author of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Anna-Rivera-s-1000-Plus-Most-Powerful-Spanish-Words-Spanish-Edition/dp/0979829518/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Anna Rivera's 1000 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Words (Spanish Edition)</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Anna-Rivera-s-800-Plus-Most-Powerful-Spanish-Phrases-Spanish-Edition/dp/097982950X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Anna Rivera's 800 Plus Most Powerful Spanish Phrases (Spanish Edition)</a>. I am also a native Spanish speaker and a professional Spanish instructor. This is my review of Review of Barron's 1001 Pitfalls in Spanish Third Edition

This is a book that any self-learner of the Spanish language will find useful. The book is divided into 3 sections:

1. Parts of Speech
2. Sentence Structure
3. Special Topics

In the Parts of Speech section you will find many useful topics thoroughly covered including, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, interjections, nouns,  prepositions, verbs, and pronouns.
In the Sentence Structure section you will find that sentence structure, word order, punctuation and division into syllables.

The student will also benefit from thoroughly studying the Special Topics section which discusses:
1. Measurements ( including numbers, time expressions, distances and weight, and monetary systems)
2. Pronunciation, accentuation and dialects ( including pronunciation, accentuation, dialects and variations of Spanish and other Iberian languages)
3. Special Aids (including tips on ever day usage, Spanish abbreviations, letter writing, telephone conversations, tips on vocabulary building, cognate words, false cognates, prefixes, suffixes, and words frequently confused.
4. Specialized Vocabularies and Professional Terminology.

Although intended as a resource book for students learning Spanish in a classroom setting, I highly recommend this book to anyone learning Spanish on her own.
3967408
These three short stories are cleverly composed and introduce a variety of phrase and new vocabulary.  A good read for any serious student of Spanish.
1650342
This book has definitions, not just word-for-word translations, that broaden your understanding of the spanish culture and language.  There are words in this book that even most common spanish-speakers haven't heard of, so this book is great for beginners and advanced speakers.  I would recommend to anyone no matter the cost.
2137659
While I would never review a Spanish book out of personal leisure, I found this required Spanish textbook to be very intuitively set up, with excellent exercises within each chapter as well as the added online assignments.  While most students would cringe at the thought of having online homework assignments due on a regular basis, Wiley's "Wiley Plus" online textbook, expanded readings and assignments really allow the material to stay fresh in your mind.

  The best thing about utilizing this textbook is that the online assignments include "lab" activities, which students would typically be required to do on their own recorded time in a computer lab on campus.  While the Wiley code is non-transferable and expensive (and destructive of the book's value), it is certainly a worthy educational asset.

I have to say I actually enjoyed using this textbook, despite its resale value being utterly pitiful (which is my reasoning for deducting one star) and it allowed my experience in Spanish 101 and 102 to be much more pleasant than it would have been otherwise.
608783
If you want to learn the spanish language, to know more than just a few phrases AND you want something portable BUT you don't want an electronic translator, this appears to be one of your only options...

It's a good thing then that this product fills it's own niche perfectly. It has the verb tables with the all-important conjugations, it has sections explaining: verbs, nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, suffixes, sentance structure, translation problems, spelling, alphabet, punctuation, use of numbers....

The way it is laid out is as follows:

* There is a verb index spanning ~23 pages with over 2800 common verbs... rather than include all the conjugations of these, this index refers you to the common model (1 - ar, 2 - er, or 3 - ir). The irregular verbs, are included in the 78-page verb table.

* Apart from those pages devoted to verb table + index, the explanations of various other rules are always found on the left-hand side pages, while examples are on the right-hand side. It is easy to follow as the rules are numbered [numbers are in little boxes] and correspond with the examples on the following right-hand side pages.

Make no mistake though, it ain't a dictionary, so you can't really look up an english verb directly - you have to know the spanish root word first. And it's not a phrase book either. Although it uses PLENTY of example phrases/sentances, there is no way to look those up. But it is not meant to be either of these things.

It is essentially a DIY pocket guide on the rules of the spanish language. Perfect! This is JUST what I needed. I am going to learn A LOT from this tiny little book! I intend to take it with me on my travels, along with a zen micro packed with about 40 hours of audio spanish, so that I can study it for an extra 7 weeks before I actually get to the spanish speaking countries.

NOT SO GOOD:

The ONLY fault I can find with it, is that the page numbers are located at the top on the side closest to the spine... this makes harder than it should be to use the table of contents. Only a minor gripe though and WELL worth the money.

I'd still give it six stars though... all the little rules are spelled out so clearly... for example, having listened to a few hours of audio CDs, it took me ages to figure out that "uno" drops the "o" before masculine nouns. Luckily, I found this book when I did, the only copy on the shelf, well and truly hidden behind some other spanish software.

It's exactly the same size as my collins gem spanish phrase book. I can recommend either the "collins gem phrase book and dictionary" or the "collins phrase book and dictionary" in addition to this...

Bottom line:

I'm going to get tremendous amount of useful information out of this little gem! :-)
2532748
My knowledge of the history of Spanish Literature, basically starts & ends with Don Quixote, jump forward a few hundred years and I'm on safer ground. Like most people I'm aware that  Miguel de Cervantes(1547 - 1616) is one of the names behind the invention of the modern novel, in around the 16th century, but there is a massive gap in my knowledge of  nearly half a millennia, luckily this is where this book comes in.
A Very Short Introduction - Spanish Literature (Oxford University Press), provides a handy guide to what turns out to be a rich literary history & in the process defines what it is that makes a national literature. From conquerors to exiles, from the highbrow to the downtrodden, this book sheds light on the multifaceted character of a culture & the literary treasures it has produced. Although this is a small book - at about a 144 pages - it manages to cover a lot of ground through it's chapter headings;

Multilingualism and porous borders

  This chapter attempts to define what is Spanish about "Spanish literature". By taking into consideration a nations changing political and linguistic map, and then adding in the question of how far back in time one can go and still use the term "Spain" meaning -  a cohesive whole nation state, as opposed to "a multiplicity of Christian And Muslim Kingdoms, both of which had Jewish populations". It also discusses the subject of non-state nationalism (Basque, Catalan etc.), and the rise of the exile and expatriates from 1492 through to the Franco regime.

Spanish Literature And Modernity

Here, discussed is the authors definition of modernity & how it came about, covering "nation-formation, Capitalist Modernization, and state centralization as the goal of the restoration period through  the Avant garde of the early 20th century up until writers such as Loriga,and Molina."

Gender and sexuality

This chapters argues that since the 1980's the Spanish Literary canon has changed decisively, due to the introduction of Gender studies. The result of this has been the recovery of a whole host of "forgotten" Women Writers and the analysis of literary representations of Femininity, Masculinity and Same-Sex desire, often in canonical text, whose gender dimensions had been ignored.

Cultural patrimony

In this final section the author considers two aspects of cultural Patrimony; who has access to it, and how it is transmitted to future generations. Both raise issues about Cultural ownership.

For all it's erudition, and professorial learning, I didn't find this a dry read, it made me realise that although works such Don Quixote are a major literary signpost, that's all they are and not the be all & end all of Spanish Literature. Jo Labanyi like all good cartographers places enough information before you, to help you find your way, but because of the V.S.I. format you are not overwhelmed, allowing - in fact stimulating - the urge for future exploration.

Loved this little book it provided an introduction to the history of Spanish Literature. In the process giving me a key with which to go explore the subject further. It did exactly what it said on the label, what more could you want from it.
4222771
I am a second year Spanish student.  I love this book! I highly recommend this book for anyone learning Spanish or even if you already know Spanish and want to learn more about other countries.  A great way to learn new vocabulary too.  All languages need more books like this that are interesting (you actually want to read them) instead of the same old stuff that is in textbooks. They have done a remarkable job with this book. I think it is appropriate for beginners, second year, and third year students.
2948767
I agree with most all that's already been written about this card. It's a wonderful resource.

I already have a few of these cards (purchased locally) and was wondering if this one would be in Spanish. The Amazon description refers to "(English and Spanish Edition)"... but there's no Spanish on this card. So if you're looking for something in Spanish: this isn't it. On the other hand, if you want English but are worried this will be in Spanish (or in both English and Spanish): fear not.

The print is small, yes. That's how it can be such a concise and handy compendium of all the verses that a Catholic apologist might need at the ready. If you're over 40, you might want to have your reading glasses at the ready as well :-)
3813924
Excelente introduccin a la ficcin, de fcil lectura pero enormemente esclarecedora para aquellos interesados en ahondar en la comprensin de la literatura.
4710945
Once you've gotten the basics of Spanish down pat, you're going to need to increase your vocabulary.  This book has so many topics with so many words listed in each, you will not be dissapointed!
2040941
This is an excellent book of Spanish grammar exercises, with a complete answer key.  Although designed to be used with de Bruyne's A Comprehensive Spanish Grammar, it stands on its own and could be used independently.

The description of the workbook as having 500 exercises is perhaps a bit misleading, as each "exercise" has at least 10 parts, so that it would also be fair to say that the book contains around 5,000 exercises.  It is a big book and a lot of ground is covered.

I would not recommend this book for someone just beginning their study of Spanish, as most of the exercises are targeted at intermediate learners or above.  However, for a low intermediate to low advanced learner, it is one of the best workbooks I have seen.

This workbook paired with A Comprehensive Spanish Grammar is probably all that anyone would need before transitioning to grammars for native speakers.  I would just add that de Bruyne is perhaps the most accessible of the modern "comprehensive" Spanish grammars, as it manages to be reasonably complete without containing all the minutiae of Butts' A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish (which is very good but very detailed) or  Batchelor's A Reference Grammar of Spanish (I have some reservations about the formatting of this book, but it is very detailed and contains a huge amount of information).  Although similar in page length to the other two, de Bruyne's pages are much less dense and I would estimate it contains only roughly half as much material.  This makes de Bruyne much easier on the eyes, and more suitable for non-academicians who want to learn Spanish grammar to a high level.

The above is a bit longwinded, but is meant to support my conclusion that for a non-beginner looking to master Spanish grammar at a high level, this workbook combined with de Bruyne would be sufficient, and there may not be a better grammar-workbook combination out there.
3614748
I've used many resources for studying Spanish but this is head and shoulders clearly the best. It gives you very colorful dialogue so that you can paint the setting in your mind. This helps with not translating from English to Spanish but rather from your thoughts to Spanish. If that makes sense :). Detailed grammar explanation as well and lots interesting tidbits about the Spanish culture.
225960
This book is exactly right for my level of Spanish. I'm enjoying getting to grips with the story telling and vocabilary. I love the fact that the material is drawn from classic Spanish literature, but is made simple enough for me to understand. I'm delighted with it.
1139781
This is an excellent dictionary for someone setting out to study Spanish on his/her own. Small enough to carry in one hand, but with very readable type, it is both comprehensive and user-friendly.

Each entry is highlighted in blue, with relevant grammatical information, such as gender, or how to conjugate, or the meaning of the reflexive form. The definitions are succinct and to the point. What I have found most helpful is the inclusion, under many of the main headings, of idiomatic phrases in which the word is commonly used, and which would not have been obvious to a novice like myself.

The dictionary is not perfect. I haven't found every word I wanted to look up, but hey--for most situations, it's more than adequate. I would have liked to see some of the word origins, but then, it would no longer have been a little dictionary. All in all, I can recommend this highly to any student of Spanish. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
3134095
I own a copy of "El gaucho vegetariano" and have acted in several of the plays included in this volume. The historical connections are great, the exercises allows you to practice writing and speaking in context, and the plays are very well written - and are great fun! A professor at the University of Delaware wrote an excellent review. I believe her name is McInnis.
I understand that there is a second edition coming out soon. I look forward to it. Don't miss it if you're learning Spanish, know Spanish, love theater, and want to keep up your history and cultural skills!
420835
Very useful for the beginning Spanish student. I am very happy with the readers and interactive aspects of this cd. I highly recommend it for the beginning student.