Barron's AP World History [Paperback]

John McCannon Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764143670 | ISBN-13: 978-0764143670 | Publication Date: February 1, 2010 | Edition: 4

This newly updated manual presents two full-length model AP World History exams with answer keys, plus detailed advice on answering the comparative essay question, and helpful strategies for answering the test's multiple-choice and document-based questions. An extensive subject review covers the following general areas:

Foundations of World Civilization (8000 B.C.-1000 A.D.)

World Cultures Maturing (1000-1450)

World Cultures Interacting (1450-1750)

World Cultures in the Modern Era (1750-1914)

The 20th Century and Contemporary World Cultures (1914-2009)

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

(back cover )

Two full-length model AP exams that are similar to the actual exam in length, structure, and degree of difficulty

All questions answered and explained

A comprehensive review covering: Foundations of World Civilization (8000 B.C.-1000 A.D.); World Cultures Maturing (1000-1450); World Cultures Interacting (1450-1750); World Cultures in the Modern Era (1750-1914); The 20th Century and Contemporary World Cultures (1914-2009)

Study tips and test-taking strategies

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 4 edition (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764143670
• ISBN-13: 978-0764143670
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Okay review, but too long, December 27, 2010

By 

Michael C. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barron's AP World History (Paperback)

This is a poor review book for the AP World History Exam. It has one main problem: it's way too long. While the review material is good and informative, it is simply too dense to be helpful. More isn't always better. To put it into perspective, this book has a 400-page review of world history. The AP Edition of The Earth and Its Peoples, a popular AP textbook, is 1000 pages. Once you take out the excess pictures, maps, and charts in the actual text, both books are approximately the same length. So, if you want a second textbook, this Barron's book is fine. Otherwise, it's not worth it.

A good review book for the AP Exam should boil down world history to the larger themes and trends, while providing not much more than the important and essential details. This book loses itself in the details and under-covers the larger themes (which the AP exam covers in depth). By regurgitating all of world history in 400 pages of dense text, the authors have failed to do their job.

Unless you want a second textbook, I don't recommend this book. This book really just hides behind its promise of an "extensive" and "comprehensive" review in order to shirk its responsibility to turn several thousand years of history into a concise, but helpful review. The authors should have spent their time writing more practice exams instead of reporting the minutiae of world history that the AP exam has never and will never test.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Amazing, June 21, 2011

By 

Joan Grandon - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Barron's AP World History (Paperback)

This book was really helpful when I was studying for my AP test last month! Even though it was a bit long and I didn't actually read it cover to cover, it had a detailed table of contents that made it simple to find exactly the information I was looking for. It explains things in a way that is easily understandable, and one of my favorite parts was that it had rubrics showing how each part of the test was graded and what to do to get full points. I don't think I would have survived without it, and I would most definitely recommend it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, July 22, 2011

By 

Liana - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barron's AP World History (Paperback)

I took AP World History last year. The Barron's book may not suit everyone but it was the most helpful book that I came accross. While the summaries of units were very long, the book included VERY HELPFUL UNIT TESTS, as well as practice topics for all three types of essays. The practice exams at the end of the book were slightly harder then the actual AP test but I thought that it was better to take the harder practice tests and then be pleasantly suprised while taking the exam. Overall, the book was the perfect choice for me; I would recommend it to anyone who wants to score higly and doesn't mind the extra reading.