Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic start to learning spanish
Review: Magic Key to Spanish is one of those rare books that you come back to again again, it inspires progress and there's so much to learn from it- it's certainly not going to be a dust gatherer if learning Spanish is what you truly want. If I've convinced you already buy it- if not read on.The book starts with a very positive introduction and goes on to explain that an English speaker already knows hundreds if not thousands of words in Spanish and it gives you the rules that unlock this 'magic key' to Spanish. It then moves on to teach you grammar in a very novel way, none of the boring conjungations that had to be learnt by rote when doing languages at school. She starts with the past tense as this is how we speak to friends and then moves through much of the essential grammar required to Speak, Read and write Spanish. I would recommend this book to all beginners in Spanish. It has got two downsides which are the layout, which is now dated (it was written in the early 1950's with Andy Warhol as the illustrator) and also (for me living in England) the fact that the emphasis is on South American Spanish not peninsular Spanish. I wish the Magic Key to French and German were still in print as I have made substanital progress with my Spanish using this book, the method obviously works. If the publisher is reading this, please consider a reprint of the other two editions given the success of the Spanish version. The late Margarita Madrigal was ahead of her time as the method she used in this book is akin to what trainers would now call Accerlerated Learning. A word of warning, make sure that you do all of the exercises and tests or you will not be learning to your full potential. I recommend that you buy this book and use it in tandem with an audio course either the Pimsleur series (expensive) or Michel Thomas would be great- as these will give you the pronunciation which you will require to progress further. Both the audio courses are structured so that there is no repetition and so you have to consciously form the language and remain motivated not bored. If you would like more in-depth information on Spanish grammar I highly recommend 'Buscalo' Hope this helps you with your introduction to the beautiful and very useful Spanish language- buena suerte!
Rating: 
Summary: Good if you're more of a thinker than a memorizer.
Review: Most beginning Spanish texts start with phrases like "How are you?" that don't translate literally very well (Como se llama = How yourself are-called). Not only that, the grammar structures of these phrases have so little in common that you can't even see a pattern. This book starts with words and phrases that make sense right away and introduces phrases only as the background knowledge allows for these to be understood rather than just memorized. Even the most oddball constructions are presented with several other constructions that are oddball in exactly the same way, so that once you figure out one thing, you know a lot of other things, too. This book is especially good at teaching grammar. I see only three problems with this book: 1) The last three and a half chapters (out of 45) are light on the practice sessions, 2) There is less vocabulary than in other books, and 3) The organization is so different that this book would be a little difficult to use in conjunction with other books. For example, in this book you learn the past tense first (which you are more likely to see in books and on displays) rather than the present tense. It could be argued that the last three and a half chapters are of little importance and/or are thoroughly covered in intermediate texts. And you could easily supplement your vocabulary with any old book from a used bookstore. If other books don't make sense to you or if you have trouble learning grammar, get this book!
Rating:
Summary: The Best Conversational Spanish Book Out There
Review: Several friends of mine who moved to Equador without knowing the language recommended this book to me. This book is what SAVED them! It is the fastest way to learn Spanish and teaches you in an enjoyable way. I have never been able to memorize but I remember Spanish vocabulary and grammer using the Madrigal methd.
Rating:
Summary: A brief note about accents
Review: Since the original date of publication (1951), the Real Academia de la Lengua Española (guardian of the Spanish Language) officially removed the accents on some one-syllable words. The old spellings appear in the book. For example, in Chapter 31 (common irregular verbs), these words have changed: Old form: ví, vió, dí, dió, fuí, fué
New form: vi, vio, di, dio, fui, fue
(NOTE: this is not a complete list!) Old spellings also appear in exercises using these words. These changes don't change the pronunciation of the words! Accent marks are used to show how a word should be written in accordance with the way it is pronounced. The rules on pronouncing weak-weak, weak-strong, strong-weak and strong-strong vowel combinations apply: so, for example, vio (new form) sounds the same as vió (old form). This is a great book for learning Spanish. Don't let the age of it throw you. My plug for a top-notch dictionary: get the Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary Second Edition (2000).
Rating:
Summary: A brief note about accents
Review: Since the original date of publication (1951), the Real Academia de la Lengua Española (guardian of the Spanish Language) officially removed the accents on some one-syllable words. The old spellings appear in the book. For example, in Chapter 31 (common irregular verbs), these words have changed: Old form: ví, vió, dí, dió, fuí, fué
New form: vi, vio, di, dio, fui, fue
(NOTE: this is not a complete list!) Old spellings also appear in exercises using these words. These changes don't change the pronunciation of the words! Accent marks are used to show how a word should be written in accordance with the way it is pronounced. The rules on pronouncing weak-weak, weak-strong, strong-weak and strong-strong vowel combinations apply: so, for example, vio (new form) sounds the same as vió (old form). This is a great book for learning Spanish. Don't let the age of it throw you. My plug for a top-notch dictionary: get the Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary Second Edition (2000).
Rating:
Summary: Best Of The Best!
Review: The best beginning Spanish text ever!
Rating:
Summary: Best approach to Spanish I have seen
Review: There is something amazing about this book. It is uncompromising, and yet keeps the student motivated somehow. I found myself doing all of the review work - which is substantial in cases - because I began to believe I was making progress. For anybody who wants to learn the language this is the best book I have seen. It will not be your only book, but start here and you will keep coming back to it.
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Summary: Leverage the 'Spanish' you already know within English
Review: This book is loaded with great info on vocabulary-building, grammar, verb-conjugation, usage, etc. even though it was originally written in the 1950's. But what makes this book stand out for me is the "magic key" that Madrigal provides that allows one to derive or intelligently "guess" hundreds and hundreds of words, including verbs, based on words you already know in English which can be converted into Spanish with little to no modification following a few basic rules. It's actually AMAZING! In addition to the "magic key" and the other useful info it presents, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is written in a very informal, unpressured style that reassures the reader constantly that they will master the material in short order, with quizzes and periodic self-tests to reinforce the learning process. As I was already a beginning to intermediate Spanish speaker when I first encountered this book, I cannot say how well it would work for someone with little to no previous experience with the language. My sense is that it will be more helpful for people who are at least familiar with Spanish pronunciation and rudimentary grammar, although it is written as if the reader has no previous knowledge of the language. It's also cool that Andy Warhol did the illustrations for this book. I love this book! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to exponentially leap forward in their knowledge of the living Spanish language.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This book is one of the best I've read. The author uses crossover words called cognates which are the same or similar in English and Spanish to get you conversating fast! I love her tips on remembering congugations and I like the way she jumps right into the past tense. Great for intermediate students of Spanish and beginners. I also recommend her other book, See it and Say it in Spanish. I am reading them simultaneously and they compliment and reinforce each other well. Estupendo!
Rating:
Summary: BEYOND BELIEF
Review: This book is teaching me to speak, read and write Spanish at an amazing pace! I am on my second reading and I cannot believe what I have retained. The teaching methods employed by the author are excellent! She has presented the material in beautiful order that is designed to start you thinking and speaking in Spanish immediately. I would have liked more Test Your Progress sections, but I am really nitpicking to come up with that one. Awesome!
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