AP Art History W/CD-ROM (Rea)-The Best Test Prep for [With CDROM]

This is the BEST review book for ANY AP exam!! My teacher taught me squat, and I pulled off a five with ease!! This book covers key artworks from each period (but only a few, not enough to overwhelm), how periods and artworks influenced each other (which is an important part of the exam), and gives you a great feel for the style of each period - something invaluable that can usually only be gained through intense study. Not only did I receive a 5 on my exam, I was actually able to PREDICT the subjects of questions that had not yet been asked by looking at the multiple choice answers from my test booklet!! That's how familiar you get with the material by reading this book. The information in this book paralleled the exam so perfectly, it was unreal. (Specific questions about the Amarna style from Ancient Egypt, features of Lorenzetti's "Effects of good government in city and country", and how the centrally-planned structure was taken from San Vitale... All these were emphasized in the exam book and were on my exam! In addition, this book was a delight to read, and it was all written in easy-to-understand language that did not exhaust me quickly, and was actually enjoyable. It is not at all dry, and is in fact laden with "memory tricks" to help you remember things. A year later, I still remember my FFFG signs of a Byzantine artwork: Frontal, floating, flat, gold!! In addition, there is an immensely helpful section at the back of the book called "The ten artists you ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW" and "The ten artworks you ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW" which was great for last-minute cramming. It was also reassuring that, after reading the book, I definitely knew those things :) I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone taking the course!!!! It is amazing and I have no idea how anyone rated it below 5 stars.

I decided, in 11th grade, to take the AP Art History exam because I felt that the subject would be relevant to my future career as an architect. Our school does not offer a course in art history, so I had to study independently. This book provides more than sufficient material--due to an extremely tight schedule, I spent about 4-5 days reading through the book once and received a 5 on the exam with virtually no prior knowledge of art history apart from what I had memorized from the book. I would say that if you can memorize about 60% of the book, you'll do well. (Don't procrastinate as I did, though. I couldn't walk straight by the end of that AP week.) After the exam, I went back to the book and re-read it so the information would be retained longer. During summer, I went to an architecture program and my knowledge from reading this book helped me immensely. Since then, my interest in art history has expanded and I've explored the subject much more thoroughly. I took the exam at the school where the first author teaches (taught?) and met some of the (many) students. He is apparently very well-versed in both the exam and the subject. Obviously, if you love art history, there are better texts (Gardner, Stokstad, etc.) with colorful illustrations and interesting facts. If you are new to the subject and simply want to pass the test or to learn the basics of this awesome subject, this book is easier.

During my 11th grade highschool year I took the Art History AP test WITHOUT ever taking an Art History course. My only review materials were the "Annotated Mona Lisa" (also a great book) and REA's Art History. One of the best study guides I have EVER used for any AP test, REA covers the material rationally and in depth. I owe my preparedness for the Art History exam to REA (I got a 5!). If you had to choose between a 10 pound Art encyclopedia and REA's guide in order to prepare for your test, choose REA!

I took an Art History course that was not AP, and thus covered extra material outside of class in order to take the exam. I used this book to help review before the exam, and I received a 5. This book was great for review and really covered the essential topics, as opposed to my very detailed notes for class and massive textbook (I used Janson). It also helped a great deal to fill me in on areas we did not cover, but because art is such a broad subject and the exam can cover such a range of material, not everything was included (but that can't exactly be expected!). The timed practice tests were really useful for getting a hang of the test. I loved the lists in the back of important works, female artists, and American artists- they showed up on the exam as promised by my teacher and this book! I would absolutely recommend this book for review, in conjunction with other sources to cover as much material as possible.

I purchased this book for my 10 grade son. He definitely put in about three weeks of solid study and focus. After he took the AP Art History test, he said that every question he recalled reading in the book! I would consider this book for your student as well!