SAT II U.S. History For Dummies

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 432 pages
• Published by: For Dummies
• Edition: 1st Edition March 28, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 076457843X
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0764578434
• Book Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Reader Reviews
With a little over a week left until the AP U.S. History and the SAT II U.S. History exams, I was in dire need of a comprehensive review material that would adequately prepare me for both tests. Having tried and failed miserably studying from other publications, such as Princeton Review, I saw my friend and co-worker reading SAT II U.S. History for Dummies. She had already read a good chunk of the book, and so far, she said, the review offered had been a huge help. Convinced, I picked up a copy the same day and began to review. My first impression was that SAT II U.S. History for Dummies is written precisely with the student in mind. Though I found myself saying no to some of the rhetorical questions asked by the authors (I had actually bought the book on my own free will, whereas the authors assume a parent had bought the book for me), I generally could sympathize with the audience the book was geared toward: motivated students who wanted above all else to succeed on the SAT II U.S. History Test. Yet, as I began to review, I found that more and more of the material also addressed what needed to be covered on the AP U.S. History Test as well. The secret? Unlike most SAT II prep books, SAT II U.S. History for Dummies provides a comprehensive review for all the major elements of American History. While the book makes an extra effort to inform the reader what the SATII will test on, it includes EVERYTHING important about America's history, from the times of European colonization to the modern era. This is where the SAT II U.S. History for Dummies book truly shines; it not only turns you into an excellent SAT II U.S. History test taker, it also turns you into an excellent U.S. History student. The book teachers the basics, but it also teaches the broad trends so that you have a better understanding of just why things happened the way they did. This knowledge can help in other realms, including Advanced Placement Exams. Publications like the Princeton Review offer mostly strategies with very little content in them. Books like REA take the opposite approach, with overdetailed summaries of history but little methods to applying them to a standardized test. SAT II U.S. History for Dummies strikes a happy medium, it combines worthwhile test-taking advice with detailed, but certainly not excruciatingly detailed, information. The handful of practice questions and the two complete practice tests at the end of the book deliver a sufficient amount of hands-on practice so that you never feel like you're just reading an annotated version of The American Pageant, or whatever American History textbook you've become acquainted with. What's important, the authors for SAT II U.S. History for Dummies know the SAT II test perhaps even more than ETS does. After taking the actual exam, I can safely confirm that the practice tests are of similar difficulty. I was able to take the SAT II and the AP exams for U.S. History with relative ease thanks to the help of this book. By the end of the week, I had found that many of my peers had bought this book and were generally pleased. I can say with confidence that you will be pleased as well. Comment | | (Report this)