AP® U.S. History Crash Course, 4th Ed., Book + Online: Get a Higher Score in Less Time (Advanced Placement (AP) Crash Course)

We purchased three review books for our son, a high school junior, who was taking the AP U.S. History exam in May 2019. He has now taken the exam and he thinks that he did very well, though the results will not be released until July 2019. This Crash Course book was our son's favorite review text. It is smaller in overall size than the other review texts that we bought, with page sizes of 6" x 9" and 321 pages, compared to page sizes of 8 1/2" x 11" of the other two review texts, one of which has 349 pages (Sterling) and the other 558 pages (Princeton). Our son said that the main attractive feature of this Crash Course book was that it is very concise. When I had read some of the sample pages of Crash Course AP US History online prior to purchasing, the book seemed very intelligently written, and it had good tips for areas likely to be emphasized on the exam. Our son had a standard textbook for the AP U.S. History course at his high school, and that textbook plus this Crash Course AP U.S. History review book were more than sufficient. I had purchased earlier the Princeton Review text, which is very comprehensive, but in the event it turned out that our son did not have enough time to fully use that book. So as the exam drew near I purchased for him Crash Course and Sterling, the latter of which is also very intelligently written, though longer and therefore more comprehensive than Crash Course. The Crash Course book is very light and is easy to carry as an extra item in a book backpack or in a shoulder bag, and it is therefore more likely to be brought along for use during car rides or during down time prior to other activities. Its overall small size makes it very easy and comfortable to hold and read, more so than the review texts with large page sizes. All three review texts that we purchased have their strengths. Of the three, only the Princeton Review includes some practice exams. But for our son and his needs, the Crash Course book served him the best.

I teach 3 sections of APUSH. My goal is for all of my students to achieve scores of 3 or above. Many of my students have asked me to recommend an APUSH prep book. I am preparing evaluations of the leading books. Here are the pros and cons of REA's Crash Course: PROS: 1. The book is closely aligned with both the APUSH Framework and Exam. It provides strong coverage of expected topics such as the First and Second Red Scares and unexpected but often-tested topics such as the Hetch Hetchy controversy. 2. The book provides exceptional coverage of African American history, Women's history, and Native American history. A firm knowledge of these three topics all but assures earning a 3. 3. Synthesis is the hardest point to earn in the DBQ and LEQ rubrics. Crash Course contains about 50 Making Connection features designed to provide Synthesis examples. For example, one feature points out that the Stamp Act boycott can be compared with the Montgomery Bus Boycott while another feature points out how Edison's "inventions factory" at Menlo Park can be compared with the great research facilities in Silicon Valley. 4. Crash Course has a very strong evaluation program. The final four chapters provide excellent explanations and annotated examples of multiple-choice, short-answer, DBQ, and long-essay questions. In addition, the Online Practice Test is outstanding. 5. Long Essay exam questions have focused on Turning Points in American history. Crash Course has 12 Turning Point features on expected topics such as the Kansas-Nebraska Act and unexpected topics such as the Counterculture in the 1960s. CONS: 1. As noted above, the Making Connections and Turning Point features are excellent. A list following the Table of Contents would make these features easier to find. 2. An end-of-book index would enable users to quickly locate key topics. 3. The Online Test is excellent. The inside cover page does provide an Access Code. However, many students (and even teachers) may miss the page. I recommend that REA also provide the Access Code and information about the test before the four strategy chapters beginning on page 299. OVERALL EVALUATION: An outstanding and highly recommended book. The strengths far outweigh the weaknesses.

Larry Krieger's "AP US History Crash Course" prep book published by REA has always been my recommendation for last month prep for the APUSH exam. Unlike all the other prep books I am aware of on the market, this one is REALLY SHORT. That is a great advantage now that time is short. I'll give you an example: my son was a not-very-conscientious APUSH student. He used to say, "Why should I learn US History, Dad? If I need to know something, all I have to do is text you and I'll get an entire lecture, free of charge!" But, as his exam loomed, he figured out he was on his own. I gave him Krieger's book and said, "Read this four times and you'll do fine." There was a month to go and he did. Got a 5. Repetition is the key. ALL the info in Krieger is essential and very concise. He provides good test tips. Though a very vocal critic of the CB REDESIGN, Krieger reworked the book to conform to the new framework and the 4th edition (now only $8 on Amazon!) can be recommended with confidence. But reading it multiple times is the secret. If you have smart slackers in your class, they--like my slacker son--can still get ready for the test and do well.

The author has little editorial digs in this one that don't exist in the AP Gov't (which is now outdated; thanks collegeboard). I'm not sure why does it but it's annoying. Example: the Dec of Ind. he describes what students should know for the exam and then can't help himself and has to add a little note about how TJ didn't bother to discuss ending slavery. Yeah okay, except the purpose of the Declaration was separation, not emancipation. That's why it's so annoying. It's like he has a dual personality; the well-educated and reasonable guy that writes the book, and the 22 year old college girl who has a little comment about everything. Whatever...it's still a better guide than the others, which are really long winded.

This book was extremely helpful in preparing for the APUSH exam. I took it last May and recently received my score, which I was very pleased with. My success was largely in part to this book. While I did have a firm basis of US history prior to preparing for the test, I was not actually taking the APUSH course and thus, a significant portion of my studying fell into my hands. Being the procrastinator that I am, I left studying for the last few weeks before the test and purchased this book in a desperate attempt to do a quick review. I spent two weeks reading this book front and back, taking notes along the way to make an even more concise review guide. After doing so, I went into the test feeling more confident and was able to use much of what I learned to achieve success on the exam. But, why is this such an amazing book, even if you have left plenty of time to study for the APUSH exam? Because the trick to these tests is that you really don't have to know everything in excruciating detail to do well, and this book does a wonderful job at capturing the major points. But, in all honesty, you still probably only need 1/4 of the information in this book, so read it and understand it, but don't fret if you can't remember little details.

Needed this for a class and it got the job done.

This book was great for some quick review and really helped me fill in the gaps, especially since my class covered the Revolutionary War as summer work with no formal instruction. My teacher was also very behind in his teaching with our class, we got to the roaring twenties a week before the exam and were supposed to get to the Obama administration. Without this book, I would've had no content knowledge past the 1920s. I read this book twice, and I used this book in conjunction with Quizlet sets (my Quizlet username is gfedriji if you want to check out my APUSH folder) in areas we hadn't covered and this book yielded great results, helping me on the exam and also essays we had to write for class. This book is great for review followed up with repetition in flash cards.

Great test prep resource! The author has achieved condensing APUSH into a format that is approachable. I like the layout of the materials and that it is directly related to the test. With 6 APs, I appreciate getting to the heart of the materials quickly! I peruse the sections keeping up with class and will reexamine for the AP exam. Thanks for the bonus free online practice exam (code on inside cover)! I will come back after the AP exam, and give results feedback!

Very well written book and very helpful for exam preparation. Studying the entire book is important but for the exam, a guide like this is key.