U.S. Government and Politics

This 356-page book was written in the traditional narrative style of CLIFF NOTES and READER'S DIGEST condensed books. If the large over-sized fonts were reduced to standard and if the empty white spaces were eliminated, the contents would have been condensed to 256 pages. This made the information very manageable for studying. The vocabulary and writing style were simple enough for a high school sophomore or junior to handle. Also, the information was very well organized and concise. As an example, let us exam the chapter on the U.S. Constitution. The ten pages summarized and condensed 37 pages of GOVERNMENT IN AMERICA, the standard text used in high school AP Government classes. Basic information with a sprinkling of details and updated examples was covered. Subtopics were sectioned off, and important terms and vocabulary were bold printed for the reader to focus. After the topic discussion, there was a 15 multiple-choice question test. The questions were constructed in the same style as the items in the actual AP test. Following these exercises were three sentence explanations on each of the answers. All in all, the format as described above was used for all other chapters that followed. After the subject reviews, there were two sample practice tests. Again, the multiple-choice answers were explained in detail. More impressive was the author's treatment of the Free-Response Section. On each of the essay questions, he provided scoring guidelines, sample essays, and analyzes of the written works. Appendixes were located at the end of the book. These contained a glossary of key terms, a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a listing of important U.S. Supreme Court cases, and an eight page listing of internet sources. My only criticisms of this book focused on the second and third items in the Appendixes. Instead of a copy of the U.S. Constitution, a better alternative was to provide an annotated and simplified version. This document was very hard to understand with its 18th Century prose and "high level" vocabulary. Fortunately such a simplification does exist. It is located in the latest Compton Encyclopedia under "Constitution." Secondly, the U.S. Supreme Court case listing needed to be better organized. The cases should to be individually grouped by Constitutional issue and sub-grouped by whether they expanded or limited the specific civil liberty. As a suggestion, buy Pamela K. Lamb's 5 STEPS TO A 5 AP U.S. GOVERNMENT & POLITICS to accompany Soifer's text. Instead of a narrative approach, the contents was arranged in outline format. In other words, the information presented in U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS was further condensed in outline form by Lamb. This arrangement made it easier for studying.

This is another great Cliffs AP book which will help you get your college credit. It really is a help for reviewing the branches of the government, how a bill becomes a law, the Constitution, the amendments, elections, and civil rights. Those are the main, "must know," topics you need to review to get a 5.

Paul Soifer strikes again with his gorgeous portrait of the US Government, and preparation for the AP exam. I think I met Paul one time, albeit not for long, and he sold me on the book. I then took the book and have studied with it. I am assuming I will get a 5 on the test. Doc, This buds for you!

This book is a great, concise prep for AP US Government. It has a clear well-organized layout and cuts out all the extraneous information so you know exactly what you need to know for the AP Test. I could not recommend it more highly.

This book is clear and concise and will help you get your 5, and besides, Doc Soifer wrote it, what else do you need to know.