Plazas: Lugar de Encuentros (with Audio CD S) [With CD (Audio)]

It is odd that this book has been reviewed so negatively. It seems many people are unhappy that the book comes without the key for online material. If you know this and need the key for your class, you will need to get the book elsewhere with the key or buy the key separately. However, I am not reviewing the availability of the key here. I am reviewing the book itself. I have studied Spanish off and on for years and have taken classes at various times. I have seen some bad Spanish books - this is not one of them. The book is well organized and covers the all required material for a Spanish class. It has a nice mix of grammatical and cultural elements. It is not full of silly, cartoonish fluff with no substance like ''Dimelotú', for example. I prefer books that are more straightforward and don't like the childish elements that are pervasive in foreign language texts. This one has some cartoon illustrations, but then they all do. At least it has a high density of informative material, too. This book is perfectly fine for teaching or learning Spanish.

I ordered my book for class, and received it quickly. Just what I needed, on time, and cheaper than the campus bookstore.

Received item in reasonable amount of time. Item packaged and in the condition as it was stated.

I have been using this text book for my Spanish 101 and 102 at the Seattle language academy and I find it very useful. The explanations in the book are clear and are based on English grammar. The exercises are helpful in testing out your Spanish skills. I like the summary at the end which is a useful reference tool. I recommend this textbook for a beginners course.

I am about to enter my second semester of Spanish in college and I think this book is simply amazing!! I love the way that it explains Spanish words, vocabulary, and grammar in a way that is easy for people who never had Spanish before to understand the language and a refresher for people who had Spanish in high school, but had forgot some basic words, vocabulary, or concepts. Anyway, each chapter does focus on a small portion of a Spanish-speaking country, but that what makes the book interesting!! It allows each student to grasp information about each particular country, enabling each person to be exposed to each country's culture. The book cannot talk about every single little detail within a particular country. If the student is interested in learning more about the country, he/she can go on the Internet and find more information about it. Personally, I love this book and think it is an excellent source for anyone taking Spanish in college.