Spanish for Gringos with Compact Discs

Rating:
Summary: A fun, practical way to learn conversational Spanish
Review: I used this book to learn Spanish before it came with cassettes or CD's, so I can't comment on that aspect of this package. However, I highly recommend this book for anyone who speaks no Spanish and wants to be able to communicate with Spanish speakers, but does not need to speak textbook Spanish. As someone who spoke absolutely no Spanish (besides taco and margarita), this book is the only one that worked, plus it was fun at the same time. Instead of spending time learning how to conjugate every single verb, you learn simple phrases and then simple forms for constructing sentences that will enable you to carry on a conversation in no time. If you can conjugate "to be" and "go", then all you need to know is the verb's root and you have the past, present and future tenses covered. Instead of learning both the formal and informal form for verbs, pronouns, etc., the author wisely advises you that you'll never go wrong using the polite form, and then you can pick up the familiar form later as you converse with your Spanish speaking friends. Plus, the author is a great cheerleader and confidence builder. This book is the best, and it really works!

Rating:
Summary: An excellent starter for the casual or serious learner
Review: The author starts this book out by saying that it is for people who don't want to "study" Spanish, but who want to learn to speak the language in a casual, non-threatening manner. I would say it's for either and both. I am in the beginning stages of learning Spanish, and this has been a great follow-up to the 6 week intro Spanish course I recently completed. I definitely intend to go on with serious studying of Spanish that will allow me to be fluent.
The CD's are a great addition to the book because they allow for independent reinforcement of what the book teaches. I have found that it's best to look over a section in the book before I listen to that section on the CD, but the opposite may be true for a more auditory learner. The best aspect of the CD's is that you can quickly rewind or fast forward to the lesson that you want to review as many times as you want to. My minor complaint about the CD's is that they don't give alot of experience with listening comprehension, but that's probably not what's important at this stage of learning the language.
I am definitely learning the basics of the language, including how to put together survival sentences and responses. I'm looking forward to moving on to more advanced level material after I complete this one.