Customer Reviews

Cracking the AP European History, 2002-2003 Edition (College Test Prep)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
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For AP European History exam preparation, I used three review books: ARCO, PRINCETON and REA. Each of these books had something unique that made studying productive...and definetely got me higher than a three (I don't know for sure, I just got back from the test an hour ago). I'll give you the basic information about each one:

ARCO-this book has a short historical review, but the writing style and page format are IDEAL FOR HIGHLIGHTING and putting in sidenotes. The tests were relatively easy and the "how to take the test" parts are worthless, But this book is PERFECT FOR GETTING THE BIG PICTURE. The practice essay questions at the end of each chapter had an enormous impact on my success, but lacked explanations and sample essays; what I did was write the essays and then I had my teacher look at them.

PRINCETON-this review book has a COMPREHENSIVE SECTION ON HOW TO TAKE THE TEST. The historical review is more INTRICATE than the ARCO book, but sentences are wordy and is NOT IDEAL FOR HIGHLIGHTING OR NOTE TAKING. The tests were harder than in the ARCO, and contained detailed explanations. The book helps put together the pieces of the puzzle, but not as well as ARCO. In addition, a helpful index appears in the back of the book.

REA-This book goes into WAY TOO MUCH DETAIL. I would highly recommend it to those students with die hard teachers though. For the regular joe, THIS BOOK CONTAINS SIX PRACTICE TESTS. Some questions will make you scared, but for the most part, the questions are general and straightfoward, just like the real test. The essay questions are great too; sample essays appear with the answer keys after each test.

I recommend the ARCO book in order to get the BIG PICTURE.
I recommend the PRINCETON book for it's HOW TO SECTION and SEMI-DETAILED HISTORICAL REVIEW.
I recommend the REA book for it's TESTS.

Other than that, its your choice.

Oh yeah, if anyone tells you that the test is hard, tell them that they didn't work hard enough. As long as you put the time and effort in, you don't screw around in class, and you realize that YOUR GRADE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, you'll do fine. I had a lazy teacher, but I managed to pull it off. ;-)

The problem with writing reviews about AP review books is that, if you wait until after you've taken the AP exam to review the book's effectiveness, it's already too late and the publisher has put out an edition revised for the upcoming school year. So you may take this review with a grain of salt, since I'm reviewing this book in the midst of my European History course.

So far, the book has been great. The Princeton Review's AP United States History review helped me so much that I decided to stay with that company for my Euro class, and I haven't been disappointed. The book does a great job with reviewing major periods of time and has helped me study for tests. One particularly hard era to learn about is the "Rise of Monarchical States" (1500-1700) when we had to memorize the accomplishments of various monarchs (most with similar names!) from various countries. "Cracking the AP European History Exam" read like a story and really helped me remember each figure.

I recommend the Princeton Review's "Cracking the AP European History Exam."

(Note: The book's cover says the author is Kim Magloire, when in fact it is Kenneth Pearl.)

I had 4 Euro books. REA, Arco, Princeton, and Barron's.
All four had their strong points. I'll list those:

Arco

A great review book. Has a concise and quick review. The timelines at the end of each chapter are great to get the idea of when everything occurred. The test were real good too.

Princeton

If only getting one book, this would probably be the one. Longer reviews than Arco but shorter than REA. Bolds keywords which is really good. This book probably had the best questions matching the test.

REA

This book has a lot of information. Longest and most detailed by far. It is like a textbook. It has six tests. The tests are almost all fact based. It is a very good book. THis book and Arco are good counterparts.

Barron's

It only has one review. The reviews aren't very lengthy. Only good thing about this book is that it has questions about each section after the chapters. It helps with the class preparing for specific tests. Only advantage this book has over the others.

AP Euro is not a very commonly taken class, so a few people were suspicious when a new teacher took it up at our school. Surprise surprise! I realized I had signed up for a class that was helping me learn the history about as well as my chemistry class was.

To cut a long story short, I got this about three weeks before the exam. Reading it religiously, I finally felt like I understood all of the connections and things we were supposed to have learned from our tome of a textbook.

The most amazing thing was that I actually enjoyed it, the way I hoped to enjoy the class before I took it. You may not believe it, but preparing for the exam was as mentally enlightening as it was informative. Everything made sense, and I liked it that way.

One final note- when the princeton review books say "we know the exam" they aren't kidding. My unexpected success with European History last year made me want to buy the AP US review early this year. Our textbook had one sentence on "Salutary Neglect" and the princeton book, which recognizes the importance of such a concept, made a whole section out of it.

This book is more than just a review, it can help guide you if you're feeling lost in a sea of ideas in a difficult class.

This book is totally awesome. It covers just about everything that you need to know to get a decent grade on the AP Euro. I have used this book, Barron's and REA and the Princeton Review is by far the best resource. It is very well organized and easy to understand. I took the test a few weeks ago and I feel very good about it.

This book is by no means terrible; however, I found that it's very poorly organized and written. The CliffsAP version is much better, including timelines and bulleted lists to make studying easier.

However (and I'm writing this after having recieved my AP scores from 2003's administration), I read straight through the review section of the book and got a 5 on the exam. Take that as you will.

This book not only aided me in reviewing as the AP drew closer, but I was able to use it all year to review for tests in class. It is a little vague in some recounting of the history, and I found that its test questions are a little easier than what is found on the AP, but in general I LOVED this book, it's a great resource and tool. It helped me get a 5 on the test...hope it helps you too!

NOT TO WORRY! Princeton Rewiew is here to help you!!!! SERIOUSLY, this book is amazing! It did wonders for me! I was TOTALLY clueless about the entire history of the United States, and a week before the test I realized that I was in huge trouble. A long time ago, I bought the Cliff's Notes book, and it was HORRIBLE!!!! The questions were WAY to easy and it did not contain any review information! So a week before the test, I am sitting here, worried out of my mind, and I realize that I am totally screwed! My friend bought this book, and he told me that it is really good. So, not knowing what else to do, I also went and bought this book. For 1 week all I did was go over this book and I also took the two tests. Then came the big day, and to my surprise, some of the questions from the practice tests were on the real test! This book is very nicely organized, and spotted with a bit of humor here and there to get you out of the APUSH trance. Also, included are the pricless tips on how to eliminate wrong answers! This book is all you need to score well on the AP exam! TRUST ME! If I can get a 5, so can you! BUY THIS BOOK!