Customer Reviews: Read 25 more reviews...
  All You Need for AP and SAT Subject Test August 24, 2008
This books is practically amazing. My school scheduled the AP US History course first semester (one semester only) and the class was a disappointment. Massive curving on tests and incompetent students abounded. I read AMSCO for the January SAT subject test and scored a 760. Then I read it again for the May AP test and scored a 5. Simply amazing.
Probably the best book out there July 24, 2008
This book was recommended to my class by my APUSH teacher who was a former college professor. She was right in her assertion that this book is better than any other review book out there for AP US History. This book will give you a concise explanation of events and their significance, give you sample questions, and practice DBQ's and FRQ's for each individual section. Me being the procrastinator I am, I crammed with this book the day before the exam. Lo and behold, I got a 5. Now, I'm not saying this book will get you a 5, but using this book properly with all it has to offer will increase your chances infinitely. I'd recommend this book over any other out there on the market.
a GREAT resource for AP US History!! June 30, 2008
My AP US History class was way behind schedule - only reaching WWI in the week before the test.
Luckily, I had AMSCO to prepare me for the AP test.
This book summarizes everything you will need to know for the test, and keeps it interesting. There are many maps and charts to visually display the information talked about, and historical documents from each time period that help you to understand historical context. Every chapter has 10 multiple-choice review questions that force you to remember what you just read, sample essay questions, and vocabulary words. Some of the multiple-choice questions were almost exactly the same as questions I saw while taking the AP test. At the end of the book is a practice test that closely models the real thing.
It has sections on Writing the DBQ and FRQ essays. The sections on the DBQ were invaluable to me, because they explained how to write a good essay much better than my teacher did. It goes over structure, how to know what the question is specifically asking you, and shows you how to get a high score using analysis.
This book is also almost indestructible. I took it to many track meets where it was stepped on, thrown across the team tent, and got rained on. It is still in great condition!!
The only downside to this book is that the answers to the questions aren't in the back of it. However, just use Google, and you can find the answers in seconds.
AMSCO is best used over a period of at least two weeks - a month is best. If you are looking for a quick cram book, this one isn't for you.
 This is basically another textbook May 26, 2008
This book is too long to be a useful review book.
I had this same book (previous edition) as an accompanyment to our American Pageant main text. I think the pageant had like 2220 pages which I real all of in 1 semester.
It's interesting that someone mentioned that they did the course in 2 years (4 semesters). If you follow the rule of 2 high school semesters = 1 college semester, this is correct since you get 2 college semesters credit of history for this course, and we had to do it all in 1 high school semester (so we learned it in quadruple speed, no wonder I was up till 1AM everyday!!!)
Anyway, since we took this 1st semester, and took other courses the 2nd, I forgotten ALOT of the material. The teacher had weekly review sessions for 1 hour every week at library at school at like 8 pm, but my dad wasn't going to take me after a long shift at work.
Though I vaguely remember we were allowed to keep the AMSCO until the test in May the following semester, I remember trying to review with this, but it was just too much information.
It is basically another textbook, and the information is not "summarized" in a useful way for review (as opposed to the Barron's AP European history text I have commented about previously). You basically have to reread the entire thing, which, if you are doing by yourself with no assignments to help reinforce the info (not to mention the fact you already read this), you won't retain anything, at least i didn't
I couldn't afford to pick and choose books at the time and went with what was free, but if you can find some review book that is only about 300-400 pages (i think this one was like 900), that would be the one to get.
However, if the pageant is too long for you, and you can get by in the class without the pageant, i would recommend reading this as a textbook.
The best AP US review book, hands down. May 13, 2008
I took the AP US exam in 2004, after a 2-year long AP US History class offered by my high school. I was terrified that I'd fail, but this book saved my butt! It's comprehensive, easy to understand, and the review questions and quizzes in the back are fantastic - I even saw a question from the book on the exam! This tome is intimidatingly thick, but don't let that daunt you. I studied 3 chapters per week in the 2 months leading up to the test, and there wasn't a single thing I didn't know. It could use a bit more post-1970 foreign policy information, but you can probably cover that with your teacher/textbook/class. Oh, and a whole chapter devoted to important Supreme Court cases & their significance would be great, but all that information is scattered throughout the book as well.
My AP teacher recommended _not_ writing the practice essays & DBQ, but I don't see why. Any practice writing in the style of the AP exam is critical to scoring well.
In all, if you are taking the AP US History exam (or just want a concise US history reference book!), I highly recommend this one. I still consult my AMSCO from time to time.
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