AP U.S. History Crash Course (REA: The Test Prep AP Teachers Recommend)

YES! This book can mostly definitely give you a 5. Notice how I said CAN and not WILL. If you have consistently kept up with the course work, and have retained at least a fundamental basis of American's historical events, you should be able to pull a 5 with this book. This book does not give you everything on US history, but rather outlines it in a simplistic format. A tip I have for anybody purchasing this book is to read it thoroughly and carefully. You must keep a strong sense of a timeline in your mind while reading it as well (which is quite easy as most everything is in chronological order). The reason this guide is very concise relies on the fact that most everything (people, places, events) is summed up in one to two sentences. If you want to definitely secure a 5, I would suggest reading into some of the key terms to take in a better understanding, as that topic may have a lot more depth to it. So keep your AP textbook right next to you while reading this, for it is the most descriptive and should contain pretty much everything on the test. Onto how well you can use it to cram: It is perfect for us procrastinators who get most of our work done the last second. It definitely can be read in less than a day. It should take anywhere from 2-8 hours depending on how thorough, focused, and fast you are. I must say that if you are not bad test taker, do not feel confident about your basis in American history, or just didn't apply yourself during the course that this book may not be for you. You probably want to get the other REA book (it's VERY large, contains everything just like a textbooks!). It has full practice tests, vivid descriptions, etc. This book will also not meaningfully help you in regards to the essays. If that's your biggest problem area, consult your teacher or read the other REA book + reading sample high-scoring essays. This book is perfect for anyone taking multiple APs! I took four, and it was a relief to know that I didn't need a full week of studying. I did get a 5, and I wouldn't say that I applied myself to the fullest throughout the course. That said, I did feel confident enough in my own knowledge (read most of the textbook), and I know that I am a strong test taker. I wouldn't say I'm extremely smart either.

I'm absolutely ecstatic about this book. I swear that this book was what got me a 4. My teacher wasn't very good and she basically told us to read/outline this textbook that was very long and hard to gather important facts. I bought this book a few weeks before the exam and the weekend before and each day before the exam I read a part of each section and then reviewed the things I was fuzzy on. The author analyzes each test that collegeboard releases and compiles the information that they will most likely test you on your exam. I took my practice exam a week before I got this book and I realized that there were answers almost word for word in this book within each outline. The great thing is that it is easy to read and one can quickly review sections in history that they aren't too familiar with. The book even went so far as to make section separate sections on Women's History, African American History, and Native American History which all make up a large portion of multiple choice questions and usually a few free-response questions. My school provided my class with Barrons books to use. I found the book at times too wordy and the practice questions were too specific. The crash course book only puts in information that has been on previous tests and information that will probably come up on your test. This book even noted in the margins that there are questions that will trick you and it is vital to know a certain fact and to not mix it up. I breezed through the multiple choice because I had just read the facts in the book that previous week. The book also had a section to help with planning for the DBQ. I highly recommend this book to anyone who may need a quick refresher on certain parts of history. It is a great study aid to revive those facts from U.S History 1 and to brush up on Women's, Native American, and African American history.

Last year in my junior year I really wanted to get a 5 on my AP US test after receiving a humble score of 3 on my AP Euro test as a sophomore. During sophomore year I bought a Princeton Review prep book, but in reality I totally crammed the night before the test and did badly. Not much of a surprise. In junior year, I began to study about a month before the test date, using two prep books as study material. However, they were WAY too thick and had too many stupid details and irrelevant questions. In a month's time, I was pushing myself to read over 30 pages a day while maintaining my grades at school and preparing for finals. Though I only signed up for one AP test (meaning I was not as stressed out as my friends who signed up for 5 or 6 AP tests), I still felt that I had too much to juggle. So I bought REA APUSH. I was a little skeptical because it was so thin and looked like it only provided very basic outlines. In the end, I was proven wrong. I read the entire book from cover to cover TWICE. Just twice. After taking a practice AP test in my history class, I only missed about 13 questions, whereas my peers missed over HALF of the questions. 13 may seem like a lot, but that puts any student in good standing in receiving a 5. So again, I read REA and took the SAT II US History test and scored a 710. The SAT II test was pretty hard and I thought I failed it... but the REA saved my life. I'm sure if I had read it more than twice, I would have scored way higher. A month later I took the AP US test. Honestly, it was even easier than the SAT II since the APUSH test provides a generous curve. I came out of the testing site with great confidence, having felt like most of the questions were EXACTLY THE SAME as the material in the REA. No joke. Today I just found out I got a 5 on the AP test. :) If you are an APUSH student (with mediocre test scores in class) but are willing to dedicate about a week of reading and re-reading, YOU WILL DEFINITELY GET THAT 5. I swear. There is no other book out there that works... and history's not even my best subject! Trust me. Just pay attention in class and read this a couple times before the AP test. You'll do great.

I've gone through numerous Prep books, whether it be skimming through them or reading them. This is by far the BEST prep book I've come across. the AP test followed by a few important key terms for the test. The next two thirds of the book consists of key facts of each era divided into chapters. Test tips are scattered around in the book in a shaded box that are EXTREMELY helpful. For example: "APUSH test writers rarely ask questions about battles, but the Battle of Saratoga is an exception. Although you are not expected to know the military tactics or commanders, you are expected to know the consequences of this pivotal battle." The chapters are organized like an outline. The latter one third of the book is devoted to the Milestones and Key Figures in African American, Women's, Native American's History, Key Words of Literature, Art, and Music, Key Facts about Labor, Immigration, and U.S. Foreign Policy: Latin America and Vietnam -- key components of the AP test. Then in the last few pages, they advise you on how to go about the essays. All of this is packed into one little book. It's so much smaller than the other books like the Princeton Review. It's about 9x6 inches and light to carry. You can get through the entire book in a few days, not even a week, so it's literally a crash course. I took the AP test today, and the tips were extremely helpful. A lot of them were true, and a lot of the questions were literally facts in the book. I'm definitely getting the AP Bio, Psych, and Government for next year!

When it comes cramming I am the definition of it. I am an expert in the art of procrastination, and during AP season, this is usually a death sentence. Luckily this book saved me. When May rolled around, I hadn't even opened an AP US review book, and those huge Barron books were just too daunting (and after an hour of reviewing in one, you are only done one or two chapters). The Crash Course book was perfect for my needs and helped me SO MUCH when the test came around. I probably read it three times in the week before the test. It provides a great outline of information that only includes the information you need to know and nothing you don't. Then towards the end of the books, it provides four thematic outlines. These are a life saver for the DBQ and essay. By having the information already presented in themes, the knowledge is presented in a connected way that makes it easy to remember and throw into an essay. The book also has highlighted certain things that the APUSH test always tests on so you are 100% prepared. Because of this book, I got a 5 on the exam and ended up learning much more about US history than I would from any massive Barrons AP test book.

Useful as a study guide to help with outlining. I have used it as a tutor. It is concise and has a lot of content, including some useful charts and summaries. Although there is not enough content to meet the guidelines for the new AP history curriculum, once the reality of the new test gets standardized, I would hope for a revision of this book. Definitely a worthwhile supplement; I expect it will probably be very helpful as a review text before the final AP exam.

I received a 5 on the May 2011 test. Now onto the review: When you've studied so much information throughout the year, you forget what is most important. By the time, AP testing started rolling around I had memorized so many acts, corollaries, and court decisions (Brown Vs Board anyone?) that it began to get hazy and unclear of what was important. This book helped me so much, acting as one giant outline of what is truly important in APUSH and what the AP test makers are looking for that I could never find time to make. Let's face it- we need to STUDY, STUDY, and STUDY. I read this as soon as my class finished studying US history and began reviewing which was around one month or 3 weeks before the actual test. It is amazing; it literally stops and tells you "hey memorize this!!" and although sure, it doesn't go too in depth, it tells you why you, yourself, should go study more on it later, so mark a post-it and study it later!! The best part is that it is CLEAR and straight to the point; thank god for the bullet points! (After all who has time to read full sentences?) I read this during all my classes, walking to school, et cetera- it is that COMPACT. I was at first taken aback that it was so tiny but realized when you're on the go and you don't want to feel like you're wasting time, this is so light weight and can go anywhere with you. I literally brought this book on the day of testing and skimmed through it for 5 minutes before leaving my car. Along with the AMSCO which I read over once 2 weeks prior to the test but highlighted like a maniac and the Barrons flashcards (not so much of a help, there are way too many), I was able to receive a 5. GET THIS BOOK! If you're already an A student, this will make the test so easy. Truly "smooth sailing"!!

I haven't taken the test yet (in 15 days...!) But I can honestly say that I'm more prepared than I was almost a month ago at Spring Break. I ordered this book and "5 steps to getting a 5" along with 450 flashcards. I'm glad I got a second book with this because this is a CRASH COURSE so things are outlined minimally. I don't know everything by heart when I just skim the name because I wasn't the best student in class. I would read the long textbook facts and then skimmed into the crash coarse textbook for what I really needed to know for the test. My favorite thing about this review book is that there are a few test tips in each chapter telling you what you need to study and what you can skip. It took a lot of pressure off on studying because studying everything from the 1600s to present day is already stressful, having a few freebies on what you can skip is SUPER nice. I showed my friends this book and they later all got the same one because they thought it was a very helpful review book aside from a more in-depth book