AP United States History

When I showed up with this book in APUSH one day, everybody was laughing at me. Everyone else bought the Princeton Review book. (Literally) However, this book got the best reviews on this site, and I was DETERMINED to use it. It's handy-sized, so I carried it around with me during school, doing some extra studying whenever I had a spare moment. This is not a flashy, funny book. I didn't WANT a flashy, funny book. This review book tells it like it is. It basically is a 215 page review of United States history from 1500 to 2001. It captures the major events and details from every time period from the discovery of America to 9/11. I just read it like a book. I was amazed by what I remembered. It writes in a simple, understandable fashion that allows students to grasp what it's trying to say without a lot of flowery detail. At the end are SIX practice tests. I took them all over a period of two months. At first, I was discouraged, because I wasn't doing as well as I wanted to. However, by the sixth test, I had done a lot better. There are literally, questions on the actual AP Exam that are nearly word-for-word from this book. I faced the test nervously, but knowing I'd done my best to prepare. It was harrowing, I must admit, but well worth it. Last month I got back my scores, and I got a 5. This book really did help me. It probably isn't the best for anyone. If you don't have a good memory, don't like reading much, or like to have a lot of extra junk in your book, this isn't the book for you. However, I have to say thanks to "The Best Test Preparation for the AP United States History Test" because it got me a 5. See if it'll work for you too.

As a teacher of AP U.S. History myself, I can tell you that this is THE best review book on the market today. A few years ago, I purchased a set to give to every one of my students at the beginning of the year to use as a supplement to our textbook. The introduction of the book is very informative, explaining how the exam is administered and the exact formulas the evaluators themselves use to grade the essays and how that factors in with the multiple choice to calculate the final grade. The actual review content is thorough enough to provide an excellent "brain refresher," but isn't too dense. The six practice tests are excellent ways to review and see which areas a student needs to focus more on during their studying. I also highly recommend purchasing this same book but with the CD-ROM software to accompany it; the software creates a realistic testing environment, timing the student for both the multiple choice and writing sections as if they were taking the real test. The detailed explanations for each multiple choice question are also a great way to review, especially if you get a specific question wrong. I tell my students every year: don't go out and waste your money on buying more review books and practice tests, because everything you'll need to succeed on the exam is right in the book I gave you earlier this year!

as another reviewer commented. I bought this book mid-year to help me study for my AP USH unit reviews, and I have to say it was fantastic. The review is very concise, yet it offers all the facts you'll need to know on the exam. Also, the multiple choice practice tests were EXTREMELY helpful. Many of the questions in the book showed up on the actual exam, and I breezed through the MC portion of the test in half the allotted time, only omitting two questions. The part I actually found the most helpful was the selection of sample essays in the back of the book. Though some of them took strange stances, they were great for tying specific facts together thematically. I mentally referenced them to make educated guesses when necessary, and heavily borrowed from one on the Great Depression to provide background information for the DBQ. There are so many sample essays that you're almost sure to have *one* of the topics (or one closely related) turn up on the exam.I absolutely recommend this book -- I'll be looking for REA for my AP exams this year, too! My advice is: keep up with reading your textbook (I used American Pageant), start taking the practice tests about a month before the AP exam, take notes on the questions you miss (the detailed explanations to the MC questions are fantastic), and don't study the night before the test. Have a party. Best of luck in May.

I purchased this book early in the year so I could have an alternative to reading the long chapters in my history book. This book gives a great concise summary of all the material you need to know for the AP test in May. The information was great in picking out the important stuff from each section in history. Even on regular class tests, with just review out of this book and various sights on the Internet I was able to score A's on basically every single test I took. After taking the practice tests (6 is more than any of the other books) I was so well prepared for the test and several questions from this book appeared on the test in a different format. All my friends purchased various other books and I read those also, but it came no where in matching the information in this book. For every question on the practice test, a complete reason for the answer is given and is so helpful when learning from errors. You can't go wrong choosing this book.