Sunday, November 8, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
US History for Dummies
Now I understand why the "Dummies" series of books is so popular. Sure, the books insult you with their titles, but if you have to learn something fast and don't want to read something complicated, this series can be your best friend.
The reason why I'm reading World History and US History for Dummies is because I'm taking a test next week that covers these two topics...and more. I am currently 250 pages into US History for Dummies by Steve Weigand, approximately 150 pages more to go. I purchased another book (CliffsTestPrep Praxis II Social Studies 0081) to help me study for this test, but it doesn't go into detail about history like these Dummies books. It's just bullet after bullet of date, name, battle, fact. And that's great if you can really absorb that. Some people like making flashcards. Not me. So, I went to the great library around the corner and picked up the Dummies books on history.
What's interesting about the series is that it holds the same light tone about the subject even though the authors are different for each book. Everything I liked about World History for Dummies rings true for US History for Dummies. It's THOROUGH, INTERESTING, and easy reading. And I mean, EASY. Unlike World History for Dummies, there are no interjections in every paragraph telling me to check out another chapter on such-and-such for more information. That was a major drawback in World History for Dummies. US History for Dummies doesn't have that problem because of its organization. World History jumped around. US History is in a sequential timeline. No jumping. GOOD.
So, what have I learned? It was a good refresher from high school history (that I took a good 10-15 years ago). I'm able to keep straight all the wars and why they happened. I'm shocked that people like Andrew Carnegie had $800 million in their pockets and the US government purchased the Phillipines for $20 million...which goes to show just how much Andrew Carnegie could have bought with all the money he had.
Any drawbacks? Yeah...I'll complain slightly about the "Extras" boxes. These are gray boxes on almost every page...or every 2 pages...with either a quote or clip about someone famous at the time being discussed in the "heart of the book." They're numerous and it's hard to tell WHEN you're supposed to read them. They're at the top of the pages AND the bottom. Do I finish reading the page and then read the boxes? Or is it too late and we've moved past that time?" It's hard to say sometimes. Also, there are some typos, easily ignorable. And some fact issues...which I KNOW are an issue only because of reading Lies My Teacher Told Me. Sometimes I am too smart for my own good.
I'll rate this book - 9/10. If you want to learn the ins and out of US History in a week or less, pick up this book. It's great!
The reason why I'm reading World History and US History for Dummies is because I'm taking a test next week that covers these two topics...and more. I am currently 250 pages into US History for Dummies by Steve Weigand, approximately 150 pages more to go. I purchased another book (CliffsTestPrep Praxis II Social Studies 0081) to help me study for this test, but it doesn't go into detail about history like these Dummies books. It's just bullet after bullet of date, name, battle, fact. And that's great if you can really absorb that. Some people like making flashcards. Not me. So, I went to the great library around the corner and picked up the Dummies books on history.
What's interesting about the series is that it holds the same light tone about the subject even though the authors are different for each book. Everything I liked about World History for Dummies rings true for US History for Dummies. It's THOROUGH, INTERESTING, and easy reading. And I mean, EASY. Unlike World History for Dummies, there are no interjections in every paragraph telling me to check out another chapter on such-and-such for more information. That was a major drawback in World History for Dummies. US History for Dummies doesn't have that problem because of its organization. World History jumped around. US History is in a sequential timeline. No jumping. GOOD.
So, what have I learned? It was a good refresher from high school history (that I took a good 10-15 years ago). I'm able to keep straight all the wars and why they happened. I'm shocked that people like Andrew Carnegie had $800 million in their pockets and the US government purchased the Phillipines for $20 million...which goes to show just how much Andrew Carnegie could have bought with all the money he had.
Any drawbacks? Yeah...I'll complain slightly about the "Extras" boxes. These are gray boxes on almost every page...or every 2 pages...with either a quote or clip about someone famous at the time being discussed in the "heart of the book." They're numerous and it's hard to tell WHEN you're supposed to read them. They're at the top of the pages AND the bottom. Do I finish reading the page and then read the boxes? Or is it too late and we've moved past that time?" It's hard to say sometimes. Also, there are some typos, easily ignorable. And some fact issues...which I KNOW are an issue only because of reading Lies My Teacher Told Me. Sometimes I am too smart for my own good.
I'll rate this book - 9/10. If you want to learn the ins and out of US History in a week or less, pick up this book. It's great!
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