Customer Reviews

United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book is incredible. It's disappointing that this book is hard to find and buy because it's so much better than the other review books. A lot of people say REA is the best, but that's just because they haven't seen this one.

First of all, this book is organized incredibly well. Everything flowed into the next section nicely, but you could also skip around easily if you had weaker areas that you needed to review before the test.

The content in this book also surpasses all the other review books. It covers everything you need to know, and it is a pretty easy read. The book is a little thick, so that may keep some people from using it, but it's really not that bad and is worth it. I think if you read this book twice, you pretty much can expect to get a 5 (that is, if you do some practice tests, too).

There are also good questions at the end of every section, and example essay and DBQ questions. I didn't actually do any of them, but if you went through and did ALL the exercises, that would, in my mind, be overkill for a 5.

Now if you want to guarantee a 5, I would say read the book two months ahead of the test. Then a month ahead do another read through, but also take some tests. I suggest the REA book's tests actually becuase there are 6 of them...I didn't use this book's test. Then two weeks before read it again. Then a week before read it again. I think i read it 1.5 times and got a 5, but each time you read it you can read it much more quickly, just so the facts can come to you more quickly. I think reading it this many times would also guarantee an 800 on the SATII, something I did not get but feel I could have achieved with a little more work. If the SATII is your thing, get a book for the tests on that test because it turned out to be a little different than the AP test. SATII had easier questions, but a less forgiving curve.

Anyway, I can't recommend this book enough. I honestly think it could substitute a textbook like the American Pageant, but that would be up to you. Good luck!

Read it, and get a 5-you will, take my word for it. Order from amsco publishing for 16.50, don't get ripped off here.

My US History course was NOT AP level, and was remedial even for a non-AP class. We moved incredibly slowly, the teacher was often side-tracked, and we did very little work. Needless to say, this book prepared me completely for the AP. Using it I got a 5 on the AP and an 800 on the US SATII...

I STRONGLY recommend this book. I read every page of it and did the sample multiple choice questions they gave, and that was all. In addition, take at least one practice AP test to get a feel for the pace of the writing.

I would recommend it to anyone! 5 Stars!

I got a B in my first semester APUSH class because I actually read through my pompous textbook and forgot everything right before the test. This semester I got this book and I always got easy As on my tests. This book summarizes the main ideas of each chapters without eliminating anything important ideas so you will always be very prepared if you read through this book. The only thing I don't like about this book is that I still can't find the answer key. I contacted the publisher but they wanted me to contact a local retailer for the answer key which was sort of like I needed to buy it.

Ok, not litterally, but heres my story...

In my AP class, we have the ungodly task of reading the Enduring Visions text book. That book was unclear in places and droned on and on, much like a boring lecture- scratch that, a VERY boring lecture. Chapters were 30+ pages and our typical weekly assignment was to write a complex sentence summarizing the main points of each subheading. You can imagine how tedious that is. The first week, it was 25 subheadings, trying to sort out which info we NEED and which info is pointless.

Our teacher, however, gave us an alternative- go out and buy or barrow a copy of this book. This book, she said, followed our text book exactly, only it cut out the useless information, making reading clearer and a lot shorter. To give you an idea of how short, chapter 5 in our text book was 30 pages, 25 subheadings. The same chapter in this book was a mere 10 or 11 pages with 8 subheadings.

This book has saved me from very tedious homework assignments and lessens my homework from 2 hours a night, each night, to maybe 30 minutes a night. I recommend this book to ANYONE. It is an awesome book, and I honestly have never been so happy to see a textbook (because thats what this is) in my life! It really gave me my time back.

This was the only thing I used to study for the AP exam and it helped me ace the exam. It also has additional material that is not supplied in the regular history book, which got me some right answers on the exam! THIS IS ALL YOU NEED FOR A 5!

This book makes preparing for the course a breeze. It analyzes the topics for you and helps you find the connection between topics. Much easier to understand and get through than a textbook. This book has become my best friend during my AP US History course! Anyone taking the AP US History class or exam needs this book. It is wonderful.

If you're taking the AP exam make sure you know this book by heart. You can't help but get a 5. Better than all (and I mean ALL) the other AP U.S. History Books out there.

I'm sorry but the textbook we were using in class just didn't cut it. It was overlong and, frankly, boring. It used a ton of figurative language and never got to the point. The readings in my textbook were difficult to understand because the book assumed you had already taken a class in US History. This book, saved me! It presented all of the information logically and simply. After each chapter it provided sample documants and quizzes. This book is fantastic to read as you go along in your textbook in class, or to just simply review for the AP exam. I felt well prepared for the exam and definitely recommend this book.

History doesn't come easy for me. Even the basic common sense parts about it confuse me. Our textbook has chapters that are maybe 30 pages long and probably only half of it is relevant. This book makes it a lot easier to understand and without it I wouldn't be making a B. I really reccomend it even if history comes naturally for you.