Customer Reviews

AP U.S. & Comparative Government & Politics (REA) - The Best Test Prep for the A: 8th Edition (Advanced Placement (AP) Test Preparation)

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This review is in reference to the Comparative Government half of the book. This book is extremely basic in its explaination of each of the six countries. There are important aspects left out which should at least be mentioned. The political systems and structures are an area which this review book is extremely weak with. If you are looking for a VERY basic and general refresher of the course, this book would be fine, but for more detailed study, I recomend a different book.

The book is written in a narrative style like a READER'S DIGEST article on a book. Because it covers U.S. and comparative government and politics, only 78 pages are devoted to the former.

The chapter reviews are very short. Take for example, the discussion on the Constitution. The Gorman book has 2.67 pages summarizing 29 pages of GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA, the standard AP text for high schoolers. Although the information is basic, it is really "cutting it to the bone." So much, that there is "little meat." The 2.67 pages on the Constitution can not possibly cover the details and contents required on the AP test. On some subjects like the media, the review has less than a page.

Certain sections covered on the AP test are not reviewed in this book. Economic policies is the best example.

The biggest problem with this book is on evaluating essay questions. It is completely wrong.

Needless to say, the text has a few good features. Explanations on the multiple choice answers and sample essay answers are detailed. In addition, the Appendices on the U.S. Constitution are priceless. Without a doubt, these are the only reasons for buying this book.

Because the book has this "redeeming value," I give it 1.5 stars. Unfortunately, this can not be done with this website's rating system. As a result, I reluctantly give it two stars. This may be grade inflation, but I have no choice.

The text advertises as "THE BEST TEXT PREPARATION FOR THE ADVANCED PLACEMENT EXAMINATION" and "THIS IS THE ONE BOOK YOU NEED TO MASTER THE AP GOVERNMENT & POLITICS EXAMS!" The self-serving hype is just hype. There are better books. So, why waste your money?

This review is based on the Comparative Government data as I used another book for my US government studies.
I'm extremely dissapointed with the summaries. Many times, the political institutions are left out, for example. Yet, questions are asked about these institutions in the review questions following the chapters. It appears you are given a lot of information on topics you need to know the least and less on what you need to know the most. The author seriously takes a "this is just a review" approach. I used The Princeton Review for my AP US studies last year and received a four. This year for AP US Government I used to Princeton Review and I'm pretty confident. I suggest you go with them or another book with good summaries. Sadly with Comparative, you may be limited.

A large percentage of the sophomore class at my school takes the AP Comparative Government and Politics exam. We were warned not to purchase this book, but some chose to ignore this warning, including one of my friends. I borrowed the book to look through it and found the questions useless and irrelevant. She received a 2, a non-passing mark on the exam, while I received a 5.