The American Pageant: Guidebook with Answers, Volume 1 (A Manual for Students)

Bailey's American Pagaent is engaging and informative, and is an absolute must-have for any AP US student. In addition to earning me a 5 on the exam, this book frankly helped shape my opinion on American society past and present. It enabled me to understand the key themes of our past: compromise, expasion, free enterprise vs. government regulation, social movements, and much more. The book is, generally speaking, organized around the chronological presidencies. There are a few exceptions in which several chapters are dedicated wholly to the industrial revolution or antebellum reform disregarding the presidencies during the time. Each chapter is around 20 pages in length. When read thoroughly, these chapters do warrant some time, but however much time I invested into it, I got as much out of it by being able to understand and apply the material. The only exception to this concerns the fact that some of the book is not on the test: the first and last sections. This isn't really a bad thing since these sections are fascinating to read anyway, but they may take more time to read than what's really necessary to succeed on the exam. The first few chapters detail the history of American geography- glacial movements, etc. This is not relevant to the AP US test, but is interesting nonetheless. Also, the chapters detailing history post-World War II and all the presidencies (from roughly Nixon to now George W. Bush) may take too long to read given that the test consists of only several questions about history in this era. Nevertheless, this is an excellent book. If I hadn't read it in a classroom context, it would have been valuable to read anyway.

The field of history has the dubious distinction of being interesting yet oppressively dull. A teacher not worth his salt can turn an American history class into nap time. Conversely, an engaging teacher can make students interested but part of accomplaishing this objective is complementing the classroom with an equally engaging textbook. The American Pageant is that book. The aesthetic qualities make it appropriate for high school or introductory university level American history courses. The content equally qualifies. There is no doubt that it took 12 editions to make this book even better than it was; progress simply has that deliberate quality. There are aesthetic considerations that can engage those with short attention spans, such as vibrant pictures, humorous cartoons, two column page setting, and explanatory chronologies among others. However, the crowning achievement is that the average reader cannot distinguish where one author stopped writing and another picked up. David Kennedy and Lizabeth Cohen both have their oen distinctive writing styles but they blend magnificently with Bailey's writing in this work. This work is a testament to the love of teaching felt by all three authors.

While taking AP American History at my high school I was worried about how much reading I would have to sacrifice myself to. While reading did take a good 45 minutes to an hour for each chapter in The American Pageant, it was exciting venture. Unlike most texts which are filled with flat sentences, the words used to teach history in the American Pageant bounce of the page and are filled with life. The vigor that Bailey and Kennedy bring to describing history is unlike anything I have ever seen before. History is told through metaphors and figurative language, the antithesis of almost all other text books which simply state the facts with no emotion. The enthusiasm in which the book was written rubbed of on me. I was actually excited about coming home and reading about World War I, or The Great Depression, or The Spanish-American War, or The Stormy Sixties. It was a vastly entertaining book, and, while I never thought I would say this, I am considering buying myself a copy for the years to come. The American Pageant taught me more history than anything I ever read. This fact is due to one key difference between this book and all other text books I have read: The American Pageant kept me interested. I will always remember the clever writing style and substanative information that was included in every chapter. I am forever grateful to The American Pageant for showing me the intresting and exciting side of the United State's past, and, of course, for helping me recieve outstanding grades in American History.

I read this book first in high school several years ago as part of an advanced placement U.S. History course. I hated it then - but love it now. Bailey captures the depth of the issues the nation faced in each step of its development. His accuracy and profound insight keep the subject matter from becoming too dry. What I loved most about the text is that it never over-simplifies the significant historical events such as the political struggles of the 1st and 2nd continental congresses, secession issues and America's position in both World Wars. He digs deep beneath the surface to paint a thorough understanding of what the root causes were of historic events. The 10th addition adds interesting subsections that profile the various immigrant cultures that influenced American history. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the nation's history and the people who made it.