Modern European History,   ISBN:9780070674530

Customer Rating: 

I got this for my daughters AP Euro class and she says its very helpful (so far she has an A in the class so that tells you, it is!)

Customer Rating: 

I absolutely loved this little book (and yes, it is small, considering the amount of history it covers). I used it to cram for the AP European History Exam and have actually picked it up a few times since then to read up on events that I have forgotten about. It is really a pretty fun and quick read. The author has done a very good job in condensing information without losing facts or important information. Cause and effect can be easily picked up on, as well as significance.
Truly a marvelous source. Highly recommended.

Customer Rating: 

I bought this book just before taking an AP Euro History test.
If I had actually read the whole book I would have done good on the test.
Unfortunately I am lazy so I probably did bad on the test.
The book itself is well organized but lacked the practice tests the Barrow's book has. Overall I was satisfied with the book but not blown away.

Customer Rating: 

Other than McKay's A History of Western Thought textbook, this book was my best friend in my AP Euro class. This book provides a detailed review of all the important events in all the eras of Modern European History, which allowed me to pass all my teacher's in-class tests. I only wished it summarized the big picture concepts of each era; it just provides a bunch of details. Although it was not the most helpful tool for the actual AP multiple choice, which tended to be more big-picture questions,I credit this book, along with my textbook, for helping me tremendously on the AP free-response questions. I would also recommend Cliff Notes AP European History and Princeton Review AP European History if you want more of the big picture concepts and good multiple choice practice. Along with the help of a great AP teacher, the McKay textbook,this book, and the other review books, I got a 5!

Customer Rating: 

The student above who felt this review book was too LONG completely misses the point. One does not read through a book like this as a substitute for the textbook -- which is what I imagine this poor young student though he could do. One relies on it to clarify areas of confusion. As a good reference and review book to read either before a chapter or as review afterward, this is a genuinely excellent book.

First, it's a nice size. It's smaller (height and width) than most of the enormously giant-sized review books available so it's like a real book. And it's printed on real paper, not cheap newsprint like most of the AP review books are. Small enough that you can easily grab it off the shelf or carry it around with you. And, the page layout makes it easy to find things. Everything is treated in brief paragraphs with clear topic headings. Pages are brief so you move through it page-after-page very quickly. It really couldn't be easier to use.

As a history teacher, I look into this book from time to time to double-check an historical issue or event or to check up on correct chronology of events I can't quite recall. It saves a lot of time compared to paging through much longer, denser books.

As a review book, I imagine this would be very good to refresh a student's memory of lots of important (and, frankly, many less important!) events, people, and ideas. However, students who are looking for a book to replace their textbook will be disappointed as this book assumes you have some idea what is going on historically. You could read it alone and understand the history pretty well, but I doubt you'd be very confident without the analysis of the textbook which this does not have.

The one thing most lacking from books like this is overall themes and ideas. Most review books lack this so this is not so much a criticism as something to be aware of. History has patterns, themes, and MAJOR themes to be aware of (The rise of democracy, the clash of civilizations, the struggle for equality, impact of the Enlightenment, the impact of economic changes . . . and so on). If all you know are facts, events, and dates, you will be lost--but you already knew that!

This book assumes you are aware of these themes (See your textbook or your teacher if you aren't -- believe me, they are very important) and is designed simply to remind you of all that pesky information you might not have understood so well the first time. In that respect, this is a very fine book and clearly worth the money as one of the better European History review books.

Another caveat: It is NOT designed specifically to prepare you to "ace" the AP exam. It doesn't have the usual tips and tricks stuff that most review books have. It is designed for students who want to understand and remember the history, not for students that want quick shortcuts to faking out the exam. Of course, it goes without saying that students who understand the history tend to "ace" the exam -- without shortcuts and so-called "insider" information that isn't really very useful.

4 stars only because of lack of larger themes, but I'm a very tough grader!