Larry Krieger

This is a wonderful study guide. Instead of trying to teach you everything about every period covered by these tests, it only focuses on the highlights, which it presents in easy-to-read bullet points. The book also breaks down how the tests will be laid out, explains how this book is different from other books and gives you a study plan to work off of. The thing that I found most interesting was that the book also provides things that didn't happen during particular period, such as the pre-Columbian Native Americans did not develop wheeled vehicles. Such knowledge will probably be useful for trick questions on the tests.… (more)

AP/SAT II US History in a Flash by Larry Krieger
Release Date: February 7th, 2011
Publisher: Direct Hits
Page Count: 348
Source: Received from Member Giveaways at LibraryThing for review

US History in a Flash is the definitive prep book for both the AP US History exam and the SAT II US History subject test. The book is based upon a bold new approach.

Instead of trying to be a mini-textbook that covers everything, US History in a Flash uses the Direct Hits’s selective approach of only focusing on topics that have generated clusters of questions.

What Stephanie Thinks: As someone who takes standardized tests for school, an AP "crash course" is helpful. I obviously am not preparing for SAT subject tests, but I am taking an American History course right now which goes well with this book. We don't have a standardized test for it, but we do have in-class tests that need the material found in a review like this.

More recently, I had to write a history synthesis paper, and a book that had a little bit of all sorts of information was fantastic for it because I didn't have to lug my entire textbook around.

What's great, is that each of the topics are organized into chapters throughout the book. From there, subtopics are branched off, thoroughly explaining all the possible details, in a format that's convenient to search through.

My only disappointment is that it does not coordinate with the course textbook. Most history textbooks (and I know, from high school social studies classes, as well) aren't ordered chronologically because in history, that sometimes mixes things up. AP/SAT II US History in a Flash is set up that way, so it makes it harder to read and use when attempting to study.

In the long run, this guide is a concise, ever-so-facile book to review an entire double-semester course from, and I recommend it for anyone studying for finals or writing up final essays.

Radical Rating: 8 hearts-Would recommend to lots of really good friends.… (more)