This would have saved me a headache or two. It gives the pronounciation from both sides of the language and gives extensive word usages throughout.

The New Velazquez Spanish and English Dictionary is the best bilingual dictionary I've ever used. It's richness, in depth presentation of nouns, adjectives and verbs, its selection of examples, local and common expresions, pronunciation, presentation and format, etc., they all make this dictionary to standout by itself among the rest. I strongly recommend it to anyone for business, college or home. This is a Mr. Bilingual Dictionary! The price at Amazon.com is fair. The value of the book its unlimited. Really a piece of jewelry! Lincoln Mejia Raleigh, NC. --------------------------------------

Este diccionario, renovado y puesto al dia por Mariano Velazquez de la Cadena, quien fuera Profesor de Español en la Universidad de Columbia, es, a mi juicio, la obra mas sobresaliente en su categoria. Este es un diccionario sin par, con una increible y acertada riqueza de vocabulario contenida en una encuadernacion esmerada y cuidadosa. La calidad de sus paginas es excelente, y el hecho de ser el mas exhaustivo y avanzado trabajo de referencia que hasta nuestros dias yo haya visto, todo esto en conjunto, hacen de esta obra de referencia bilingue una obra fundamental y un verdadero clasico. Por lo demas, su precio es bastante razonable. Le invito a que lo compre y lleve a su casa, a su oficina, a cualquier sitio en que se vea precisado a buscar una palabra o una frase que la ejemplifique. No se arrepentira. Se lo aseguro!

I love books where history comes alive using fictional and real life characters to move the story and envelop the reader. I remember this period of Cuban/American history from the rather bland , guarded news reports of the 70's. The reality was anything but bland.

The fictional framework engages the reader who with the main character finds his illusions bursting about him. The main character returns to Cuba to study all the great steps forward in this new kind of socialism. Of course he intends to write a book. In the midst of not finding what he expects, he is suspected by the CIA as well as by the Cuban Government, falls in love with a beautiful Cuban Lady who is a government official, placed under house arrest by Castro's people, and finds the woman he loves is on a hit list. It is a book using the truth of the times which are stranger than fiction.

This is a good yarn that entertains and informs at the same time. As someone who enjoys both history and spy novels, I found Ernesto's Ghost a sophisticated combination of the two genres. It is told from the perspective of a professor sympathetic to the revolution who finds,upon revisting Cuba, that the reality of the island, Fidel, the people he meets, and his role in U.S.-Cuban relations are not as straightforward as he has assumed. Perhaps most important and rewarding, as the story unfolds we, and the professor, learn that there are very few good guys or bad guys. Rather, we meet a cast of characters who, whatever their beliefs, confront political and personal ambiguities.

In the process, the book gives us a fascinating tour of Cuba, Cuban-US political relations, and the various perspectives that make the interaction among these perspectives so tangled. What makes Ernesto's Ghost fun is that all of this is done in the context of a full engaging story of Professor David Diamond's coming to grips with his academic ambitions, failed marriage, romantic view of Fidel and the revolution, manipulation by the CIA, and love affair with a beautiful Cuban official. This makes the story interesting, realistic and entertaining.

What a great read!!! I couldn't put the book down. Along with learning so much about Cuba,the country and the people who live there, I was also treated to a great love story. What more can a reader want from a book? Read this book. It's great!