Everything You Need to Ace American History in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide by Lily Rothman

Everything You Need to Ace American History in One Big Fat Notebook: The Complete Middle School Study Guide Reviews

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  Timothy McNeil

  Though there are a few glaring errors (such as the assertion that Napoleon was out of power by 1814, something that would have rendered Waterloo unnecessary) and some soft-peddling of facts (especially in the last chapter), this book does a better than expected job of presenting a balanced view of US history. While no substitute to a well-written text book (or for books on the individual subjects), it does serve as a good overview and review.
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  Cas H.

  I love history and I especially love easy to read reference books. I really appreciate the details and the information found in this book. American History is taught slightly different no matter where you live. Some states teach some things while other states teach others. This might be the middle school study guide and it may have a great many things for American History however, based on the State that you are in, they may pay attention to some details more than others.
  Overall it is a great book.
  I received a free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.
• 
  Allie

  Great refresher!
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  Bran Ornido

  If you want to know more about America, this is the right book for you.
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  Amanda Brogan

  Get classroom resource to use as both a preview and review of material. Using it in 7th and 8th grade.
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  French-B

  Great book to learn about U.S. history and understand it with simple words.
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  Naomi Ruth

  I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand: I liked the formatting, I thought the author did their best to stay as unbiased as possible. But. I don't know. At the end I felt like there were important facts missing and maybe a slightly skewed focus, but I don't know how to explain it in words. I do feel like I should have liked it more than I did and it frustrates me that I can't figure out what's bothering me about it. It was useful though. I'm teaching America History to some highschoolers and it was good to have a broad overview to review and such.
• 
  SerialReader

  Captivating graphic and essential concepts make studying easy and enjoyable.
  Perfect for middle schoolers.
  
  *This book was kindly sent to me via NetGalley by Workman Publishing Company*
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  Brittany

  Yes, I’m an adult who read this American history study guide made for middle schoolers. The kid in me was drawn to the colors and design and the adult in me doesn’t mind a history refresher. I thought this was an okay read. There were lots of tidbits that I didn’t know or forgot about. There are good trivia questions like which President is the only one to have won all electoral votes, what does the S in Harry S. Truman stand for, and when was the only time in US history that a sitting president personally commanded an army. However, the organization of material confused me sometimes as it wasn’t completely chronological and sometimes they needed to expand more on topics. I don’t think an actual middle schooler would read this front to cover as it’s pretty lengthy and dull, but I can see them referencing it.
• 
  Katie

  Glad to see I’m not the only adult age reader picking this one up! I thought this was a great cliff notes book for a US History refresher. There is a big focus on the politics of each event that guided the history of America, but written for middle grade readers so obviously the writers didn’t deep dive into the gray areas of each event or tragedy or war etc. I marked the things that interested me that I want to research further.
  
  Definitely recommend this for anyone who wants a refresh of the stuff they learned in grade school!
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  Aprilleigh

  I was really happy to see the first two chapters cover the arrival of nomadic people and the various Native American groups in the Americas. Too many U.S. History books start with Christopher Columbus or the English. There’s pretty decent coverage of all the major conflicts and developments. The section on current events is necessarily light, but it does briefly mention many landmark events. It won’t replace a decent textbook, but given the nature of the subject, it’s a great way to corral the major points, or as an aid to review before a test.
• 
  Oguzhan

  it is a good detailed book. I took a point off because the book is a bit biased. for example; it is written the numbers of USA casualties, but it isn't written for Vietnam casualties which are around 3 million but it is acceptable cause of the book directed young Americans who want to learn the history of USA.
  
  I recommend this for beginners. I'll read after this 1776 and Howard Zinn's book about USA history.
• 
  Dan Castrigano

  Really wonderfully done. I was shocked at how good it was. Concise, straightforward, with just a touch of historical analysis. Excellent definitions, color-coding (especially historical figures) was spot-on, mnemonics were few and far between. It reminded me of teaching 5th grade at LCA...especially the colonization of America by the Europeans. And all the Johns - White, Rolfe, Smith, Winthrop, Adams, Jay, Hancock, Quincy Adams, Hay, F. Kennedy, and a million others.
• 
  Aakarsh

  Goes more in dept on American history, looks like it talks about a lot but it's pretty simple stuff. 10/10 for anyone wanting more detail about the US stuff or anyone failing US history class because they didn't put enough detail in their essays since they relied on the world history book and their teacher's study guide. Probably not the latter this time but maybe. :)
• 
  Chia-Yueh

  Interesting, enlightening and great-for-beginner read for an immigrant. I knew little about western expansion, Mexican-American war, Spanish-American war, etc. before reading this book. It covers almost every president's major achievements and controversial policies. Those who have particular interest in some presidents can dive deeper to read their biographies.
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  Lia P

  The smart kid gives you their notebook, I love it
  This book is advertised for middle schoolers, I would suggest to not listen to that advertisement. I been able to use this book for college and work as well if needed be. It’s helpful that you can work out different assignments. You just got to make sure to know the name of the topics you are doing.
• 
  Rubi

  Quite an educational book. Love the format and learned a bit, but it was a bit boring. I read their Everything You Need to Ace World History and I loved it! Wish I could say the same for this but it had more dates and names than history telling and I just wish it had told history more interestingly, like the World History Big Fat Notebook 🤷‍♀️
• 
  S

  I'm using this book with a group of ESL students from China, and it definitely works for that.
  On the whole, it's a good reference book, and useful for teens and adults who need a light, sometimes too light, refresher.
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  Billybobjoe

  I read this book 3 days before my AP Exam for US History and this book helped me a lot on remembering all the little details that I need to know for the exam itself and for the essay. I would really recommend this book to anyone who needs a quick review of the US History subject.
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  Lindsay

  This was going to get a 4 star from me, until the last 50 pages. For a book published in 2016, it doesn't talk a lot about anything after 1990's, which is a huge part of recent history. I do appreciate the overview of history, and it's attempt to be non-partisan.
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  Serena

  I really enjoyed this book and how it was laid out. It was chock full of information that was very concise and in manageable, bite-sized pieces. Would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to do a quick brush up on their US history.
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  Georgia Renne

  ALL of our American History needs an overhaul, and this book is at least a good start. One thing I HATE about this series of books is the FONT! Though they are trying to be cute and kid friendly, sometimes it is hard for my kid to read!!