Saturday, August 18, 2007

I found REA's History of the US till 1877 to contain a succinct 146 page review of American history. This is not all you need to know about American history, but it is certainly a nice and well written review to remind you of what you already know, plus give you some new facts and information.

At some points, this book presents almost an outline format with headings of important events such as supreme court cases or treaties followed by a one or two line description. More important topics like the compromise of 1850 take one or two pages.

The REA book also contains several tests with explanations for each question. Eminently useful.

A similarly useful review guide by EZ 101 with a more overt outline structure could do the job for those looking exclusively for a quick review. It is the equivalent to class notes one would have taken during the course. To be fair, this guide is probably a step up from class notes, unless you are an extremely organized person.

If you are looking for more of a college textbook, you can try the Enduring Vision volume I published by Houghton Mifflin. This is a traditional textbook covering early American history. Here you have a collection of web materials associated with the textbook and the course. These links also provide a nice, leisurely approach to review if you have plenty of time and genuine interest in the subject. Although some of their links need updating.