It's not the most complete Spanish - English Dictionary there is, but it is small, cheap, readily available and almost always has the word you are looking for. Spanish Made Simple . All right I'll admit Trigonometry Made Simple didn't do me any good, but that says more about me than the Made Simple books. If you learn everything that Spanish Made Simple has to teach you you're doing pretty well. It gives you a decent handle on the language and a solid foundation on which to learn more.
Spanish textbooks are great for learning Spanish in college.
They won't find you a bathroom in a hurry. With the above books and, more importantly, the willingness to stick your neck out and go for it you will be amazed at how much Spanish you can learn on the road. That is basically how I learned to speak the language. N o doubt there are a lot of other good books on learning Spanish. Please email any suggestions.