I am registered to take AP US History next year and was wondering what the most recommended review books were and why? That is all. Thanks.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.amazon.com/United-States-History-Preparing-Examination/dp/1567656609[/url]”>http://www.amazon.com/United-States-History-Preparing-Examination/dp/1567656609</a></p>
<p>I think this is definitely the best prep book for AP USH. It is fairly comprehensive but also readable and not overly discursive. I took AP USH junior yr and never read the actual textbook. I read this prep book over a few times and got a 5 on the AP exam and an 800 on the SAT II</p>
<p>The Essential Content is the best book for APUSH. </p>
<p>AMSCO is too lengthy. The Essential Content pinpoints what you need to know.</p>
<p>I second the AMSCO recommendation! AMSCO isn’t too lengthy if you spread out your reading throughout the school year. You can find a copy of it for $18 on the publisher’s website. But if you’re the kind of person who starts cramming the week of the AP exam, use a different book because AMSCO is around 700 pages long.</p>
<p>I fail to see the merits of reading a pseudo-textbook with a real textbook throughout the year. </p>
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<p>Those who tout AMSCO have not seen The Essential Content yet. I’ve gone through the major APUSH review books. I’ve looked at PR, Barron’s, Kaplan, Crash Course, REA, and AMSCO. I can conclusively say that The Essential Content is the best book. </p>
<p>I can also say that neither glacialisx nor GoldOwl have looked at The Essential Content. How can AMSCO be the “best” book if they haven’t even considered the other options? How can you say I’m the fastest sprinter of all time if you haven’t seen the Olympic games before? It’s all a complete fallacy.</p>
<p>IceQube, that was uncalled for. Just because someone else’s opinions don’t match your own doesn’t mean they’re not valid as well.</p>
<p>Anyway, back on topic! I never read AMSCO, but virtually every other APUSH student at my school did. Actually, now that I think about it, I didn’t review at all for the AP exam. What I would actually recommend is that you take detailed, HANDWRITTEN outlines throughout the year. Up to a few weeks before the APUSH test, start reading back through your outlines and highlight key terms and ideas. And after you’re done, you should have a good grasp of the entire chapter. In the days/week leading up to the test, flip abck through your outlines, quickly locate highlighted key terms and ideas, and you’ve got your go-to study guide right there. Personally, I feel that students/teachers used the AMSCO book to cover up their own gaps in knowledge. My teacher was thorough and comprehensive, and even gave us review sessions leading up to the exam, so I am confident that my entire class will have passed the exam.</p>
<p>/end rambling. TL;DR - don’t use a study guide, actually learn the material comprehensively, write outlines.</p>
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<p>Their opinions are invalid on the ground because they haven’t actually researched review books, not because their opinions don’t match mine. It’s like a scientist who runs an experiment without a control group; with no baseline, how can you establish that AMSCO is the “best”? Again - I’ve looked at a solid selection of review books - so I can make relevant comparisons and actually determine which is best.</p>
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<p>Yeah, but you don’t have to sound like a pretentious jerk while doing so. So what if they think AMSCO is the best if they haven’t read it? It worked for them, and it didn’t work for you. OP is asking for opinions, and your opinion is different from theirs. You don’t need to put them down for it. Yes, they may be wrong. Yes, they might be fallacious. But it doesn’t mean you should so rudely point out their flaws. There’s a little something called tact that you sorely lack.</p>
<p>Going back to the topic at hand, I reread OP’s post and have this to say: If you truly have a good, solid teacher, you will not need a review book in the first place, which I discovered for ALL of my AP classes. Of course, if all you’re doing in class is loafing about or talking about unrelated things, then yes, it is time to consider a review book.</p>
<p>How do you conclusively determine whether your teacher is “good” and “solid” until after you have taken the AP? </p>
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<p>False dichotomy.</p>
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<p>Id say PR along with AMSCO will work</p>
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<p>Teachers who have a plan and stick to it. The kind of teacher who gives you a schedule of all assignments, projects and tests on the first day of school. From the very beginning of the year, you should know whether your teacher is serious about staying on schedule and is intent on covering all of the AP course outline topics. Also, whatever happened to upperclassmen advice? Don’t you have any friends who have taken the course before? Is your school not listed on ratemyteachers.com?</p>
<p>Fair enough. One may always rely on subjective definitions of “good” from upperclassmen and anonymous Internet users.</p>
<p>Insiders Guide got me a 800 without being in an actual AP class lol it’s legit.
I had amsco too but i read like 10 chapters and got tired</p>
<p>You can always try youtube or maybe Khan Academy has something on it lol</p>
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<p>I agree. Reading Insider’s Guide - also known as The Essential Content - will give you a powerful sense of d</p>
<p>amsco, rea and [-</a> AP US History Exam Review Course -](<a href=“http://www.apexamreview.com%5D-”>http://www.apexamreview.com) was pretty helpful too.</p>
<p>saving this post~ >:D</p>
<p>PR was okay, a little difficult to concentrate on. </p>
<p>AMSCO is the best books everr!! I loved it!! The content is very easy to understand! </p>
<p>Crash Course is golden a few hours before the test!</p>
<p>PR, AMSCO and Barron’s Flash Cards got me a 5</p>
<p>Crash Course and AMSCO are both very good. But if you get AMSCO, try to space out your reading. I only got it towards the end of the year and tried to cram all the reading, and it’s hard and not super helpful. Nevertheless, it’s a good book. I didn’t like the textbook we used, it was very badly organized and full of useless information. I never looked at Essential Content, so I can’t comment on that. Since it was written by the same person as Crash Course, it is probably very useful.</p>