SAT II U.S. History for Dummies

by Scott A. Hatch

Book Overview

Tips on preparing for test traps The pain-free way to review U.S. history and maximize your score You have 60 minutes to answer (gulp) 90 questions on U.S. history, potentially covering everything... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076457843X
• ISBN13: 9780764578434
• Release Date: April 2005
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 8.3" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

My 16 year old son is actually reading this!!!

My 11th grader was failing 'American History' and I was beside myself trying to figure a way to get him to read and understand the subject. I had to explain to him that the title was not a personal affront to his intelligence but a style of writing that might make it easier to understand. He seemed to understand and got right to work with a highlighter. I was and am still amazed. This is a young man who lives to play video games and would do anything not to have to read. I'd recommend this title to others, young and old.

great book, but few slight drawbacks.

i would definitely recommend this book for anyone taking the u.s. history subject test. the review is great, and there are helpful test questions at the end of each section to test how well you soaked in the information. the information is concise, so for crammers all the information is laid out. there are lame jokes in it, but that i guess in a way makes the text less dull. it will be hard to score well if you haven't ever covered the information presented, though i think this book does well to teach it, you'll just need invest the time and effort. like many said, the practice test are very similar to the tests. the only complaint is that there are only 2 practice tests. i would recommend this for those who are taking AP U.S. History as well since they both cover the same information.

short on time?

This book is pretty good when your short on time. I had a barrons I think or some other history test prep book the "big name" ones ( barrons kaplan princeton etc) and when you have a lot of time I mean its good to read that because they go in depth etc. However history is like a generalizations game mostly so this book gives you the major ideas and some in depth and the trends during that time so you can guess your way through the test. However I also did read like 3/4ths of the AMerican Pageant so that might've helped nonetheless i pulled a 750 and recommend this book.

A good test preparation and a great read

I have always loved history, but I never took a history course in college. The texts of the time seemed to squeeze the life and essence out of the mainstream of American life. Thus, I approached this book with a similar attitude to that of many high school students faced with the daunting U.S. history exam for the SAT. And, reading this test preparation book, I was pleasantly surprised. The authors have combined an odds-wary approach to casting out wrong answers with a lively presentation of American life beyond the list of names and accomplishments of long dead politicians. First, to the task at hand,. The Hatches, for years proprietors of a venerable test-preparation company, start by telling the student what to expect and what, exactly, what the test hopes to measure. From there, they begin the story of the United States, warts and all. And it starts where it should, with a chapter entitled, " We Were Here First: Before The Europeans Set Sail". Then the Norse, the Spanish, and the "latecomers" English and French. This sets the scene for the tale of the British colonists, their accomplishments and grievances. The fight for independence starts with the end of the French and Indian war and goes on to the two most important documents: the Declaration and the Constitution, including the Bill of Rights. The divisions leading to the Civil war are covered in considerable detail. The more recent chapters deal with Reconstruction and its end, the Progressive ERA, the emergence of America as a world power after the twp World Wars, the postwar struggle against Communism, and, finally, the uneasy wars and peace of the 21st century. So far, so good. What makes this book different is that after each topic is sufficiently discussed, the authors guess what type of questions would be generated for this particular section. In doing so, the authors start by explaining that there are always one or two completely irrelevant answers. Already you have boosted your odds by 50 percent. In other words, half the test skill is knowing what to eliminate. But history is not only princes, presidents and potentates. A look at chapter 16 gives a good example. It ends with "The Lost Generation and American Literature". And "Jazz: A Sign of the Times", the latter mentioning that "It made unlikely stars out of African American musicians like Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong at a time when racism was still deeply rooted in American society". That leads to "Crash and Burn" where the authors take you from the Great Depression to the New Deal. Of course, it begins with "Dude, What a Bummer: The Great Depression". There is a long and detailed discussion of our entry into the world wars, and a relatively clear explanation of the much more complicated world scene after Nazism and Fascism were chased from the scene. Domestic policy and foreign policy are exhibited in parallel topics. For example, while dealing with the Cold War the authors also give a brief sketch of Communism in

An excellent and comprehensive guide for both AP and SATII

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 bo