Hey guys! I would like to self study APUSH during the upcoming school year. I am looking for the best review book to use. I have searched the forums, and the general consensus seems to be that AMSCO and REA (especially AMSCO) are the best review books. History is not my favorite subject, so I am skeptical of using AMSCO since it is 700+ pages. It would be difficult for me to digest so much material. However, I have read that the text in AMSCO is somewhat large (~size 12 font) and entertaining. I have also read that REA is very dry, and that some of the information in it does not seem relevant to the exam. I do not know how long the REA book is. I would appreciate it if you could give me an overview or some details about the books. Thanks in advance!</p>
Direct Hits.</p>
I have read great things about Direct Hits. Do you think it is thorough enough to use for self studying?!</p>
Okay, so I just got my copy of the REA Crash Course in the mail and it seems incredibly thin. It has a girl in the cover and it is the 8th edition. Is this the Crash Course everyone talks about?</p>
Yes that’s it. It’s called Crash Course for a reason.</p>
The REA Crash Course book has a cute blonde girl on the cover. The words 2nd Edition can be found in the upper right hand corner.</p>
You have the Crash Course book confused with the regular REA APUSH book. The regular REA book in its 8th edition. It has a brunette girl on the cover, not a blonde, for easy identification :). </p>
APUSH Crash Course - blonde girl</p>
Regular REA APUSH book - brunette girl </p>
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@IceQube do you know what the regular REA APUSH book is like?! I saw a lot of great reviews for Crash Course. Would you recommend either of them?</p>
The latest edition of the regular REA APUSH book has a pale and pretty brunette girl on the cover. The cover also screams ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT GETTING A 5? at you. </p>
I have the “second printing” of the REA APUSH book. The copyright date is 1992. While my copy is quite old, not much has happened between 1992 and 2011 except that 1) Clinton got impeached 2) 9-11 and 3) Obama got elected :). </p>
As far as the content goes … the regular REA APUSH book is great! There are subheadings - e.g. “New Spain,” and then text in paragraph form. It tells you what you need to know for the AP exam, and then some … read on :). </p>
If your into overpreparing, then you’ll love the 6 tests at the end of the REA APUSH book. Each question is fully explained. And I mean explained. There’s literally a paragraph explaining each and every one of the 600 M/C questions. Each answer explanation takes up like 1/3rd of the page too. </p>
So what’s my recommendation? Just get Direct Hits. </p>
Sparknotes version of my reply:</p>
Ultimately, any of the review books mentioned in this thread (AMSCO, REA, Crash Course, and Direct Hits) can get you a 5, provided that you study each book thoroughly. The books take different approaches to the APUSH exam though:</p>
AMSCO and REA try to cover everything that might be on the exam. </p>
Crash Course and Direct Hits only cover material that have repeatedly appeared on the APUSH exam. This has proven to be an extremely effective approach. Direct Hits is the better of the two though. </p>
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Actually I messed up, my book says 2nd edition on the top right corner and has a blonde girl. It’s by Larry Krieger and says “Get a higher score in less time.” So, is this the right book that I should be using in addition to Direct Hits?</p>
Crash Course and Direct Hits shouldn’t be combined IMHO. They overlap too much. CC + paying attention in class + reading your textbook = 4 or 5. </p>
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Does </p>
Direct Hits + AMSCO + self studying (im doing it) = 4/5?</p>
Does REA (not Crash Course) + Direct Hits + self studying= 4/5?</p>
^yes to both :).</p>
Use whatever you want. What counts is actually reading the book, not just getting the “best” one there is.</p>
^</p>
Agreed :P</p>
Thanks guys! I will probably start with Direct Hits and use REA afterwards.</p>