In addition to our author, we would like to thank Larry B. Kling, Vice President, Editorial, for his overall guidance, which brought this publication to completion; Pam Weston, Vice President, Publishing, for setting the quality standards for production integrity and managing the publication to completion; Diane Goldschmidt, Senior Editor, for editorial project management; Alice Leonard, Senior Editor, for preflight editorial review; and Weymouth Design, for designing our cover.
We would also like to extend special thanks to Mary O'Briant for copyediting, Ellen Gong for proofreading, and Kathy Caratozzolo of Caragraphics for typesetting this edition.
Why write another AP United States History test preparation book? Bookstore shelves already contain a bewildering number of AP U.S. History (APUSH) books all claiming they will raise your scores. But will they really help you succeed? Do they provide you with the best information and the most useful strategies? I don't think they do. That is why I have written this book.
REA's AP U.S. History Crash Course is completely different from other test preps and study guides on the market today. Most APUSH test preps are often nothing more than slightly abridged versions of your textbook. The authors indiscriminately fill their books with facts, dates, Supreme Court cases, and endless acts of Congress for fear of leaving something out. In contrast, this Crash Course is deliberately selective. I don't include any extraneous information that is unlikely to appear on your exam. Instead, my targeted review chapters only focus on the important topics tested on the AP U.S. History exam.
The information presented in this book is based on a close study of all the released AP United States History exams. Contrary to popular belief, College Board test writers do not write questions on an unlimited number of topics. Their questions are designed to test key points on the Topic Outline contained in the College Board's United States History Course Description booklet. Because of this limitation, APUSH questions are actually focused on a limited number of key topics.
In short, this AP U.S. History Crash Course provides you with the information, tips, and strategies you need to succeed on the APUSH exam.
I have been teaching AP courses for more than 30 years, and all of my students have scored a 3 or above. If you take the time and study this book, you will also achieve a high score. So what are you waiting for? REA's AP U.S. History Crash Course will give you "A Higher Score in Less Time—Guaranteed!"