Lonely Planet Latin American Spanish

I have traveled all over Mexico with this book in my back pocket. It has an execellent grammar/verb conjugation review section for those who know some Spanish but can't always remember. The phrases are logically grouped and reflect real situations. The phrases can easily be dissected and put back together to fit almost any situation. Lonely Planet did an excellent job of squeezing a lot into a pocket size book.

For someone who has just returned from South America after 3 months travelling, I have to say that this book was a "life-saver" on many occasions and made my time there much easier than perhaps it could have been.The phrasebook has a complete listing of words for any situation: from "Menu Decoders" to "Booking a Room at a hotel", and from "Market Barterring" to even "Political or Philosophical discussions". Perhaps, however, the most amusing chapter in the phrasebook has to be the "Dating and Romance" section where everything from "Can I buy you a drink" to "Can I take you home" and finally "Will you marry me" is translated! This book also, very importantly, takes into account dialectical variations of words and often includes different regional variations on certain translations. If you cannot be bothered with looking for a topic/chapter, then there is an really conveniant, concise two-way dictionary at the back - which has the translation of virtually every word you would need to know on your travels.On my travels I came into contact with many fellow travellers with a whole range of different phrase books, however this one was certainly the best that I have come across. And more importantly, it is a POCKET phrasebook which means that you can keep it in your pocket so that it is easily accessable. This book, along with a general travel guide of the area, is absolutely essential for anyone who is thinking of travelling to South/Central America, and who is not completely fluent in Spanish.An essential companion.

This book is great. It was a indispensible help throught my journeys in South America as it covers almost all situations you can find yourself in to. From finding your missing luggage at the airport, to clarifying a restaurants menu or how to ask for an aspirin, surely this book is not to miss!