spanish-language reference

I originally picked up the 3rd edition some time ago, and found it to be a wonderful reference. The layout was easy to follow, and the dictionary had most of the words that I would use in brief conversations. The grammar section also helped me pick up the lttle differences that seperated Spanish form Portuguese. Because it was so pratical and user friendly I decided to pick up a set of these books for a brief Spanish course I was going to teach. Unfortunately the 4th edition almost entirely left out any talk on grammar. While not much of an issue if the book is used exclusively as a phrasebook, it is extremely limiting in what this book can teach you. Lists of common verbs are absent. List of conjugations are also absent. Unbelievable! While the layout has improved, and the food dictionary is nice, I can't beleive they would voluntarily leave out any discussion of verb conjugation! For this reason I really can't recommend buying this book. Look for the 3rd edition. The breif information on grammar there makes the two books worlds apart in how far they will take you in picking up the language.