At last a beginning Spanish textbook written for English speakers who are serious about achieving near native fluency The author, Sonia Harrison Jones, is a Harvard PhD, a lifelong language professor and a best-selling writer and dramatist. Now she has produced a three-in-one volume that will prepare conscientious students to function successfully in a Spanish-speaking country as they perfect their communication skills. The textbook is suitable as a handy reference since it contains thorough and comprehensible Spanish grammar explanations in English, a Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary, and a vast list of helpful verb conjugations. The end material also includes answers to all the exercises, as well as translations of the dialogs and prose passages, enabling students to get instant feedback to assess their progress as they prepare for classroom activities or for upcoming tests and exams. The secret of the book's success is its incisive organization and clarity. Written by a talented individual writer rather than by the usual textbook's lengthy cast of co-authors, it proceeds from lesson to lesson in a cohesive, interesting style. The dialogs and prose passages in each lesson follow a lively, encouraging and sometimes humorous story line that uses as many cognates as possible to enhance the students' acquisition of the vocabulary. Color images and artwork in the book are not only beautiful but pertinent to the material at hand.