Best AP US Government Textbooks and Prep Books

Overview of the AP Gov Exam

If you're reading this, you're probably wondering what prep book is the best to study for the AP® Gov exam! Hopefully, we can help you make the right decisions!

Let's start with a refresher on the formatting of the AP exam:

• Multiple Choice (accounts for 50% of your score) 📃 - 55 questions- 80 minutes
• Free Response (accounts for 50% of your score) ✍- 4 questions- #1—Concept Application 📝- #2 —Quantitative Analysis 📈- #3 —Supreme Court Case Comparison Essay ⚖- #4—Argumentative Essay 🗳- 100 minutes

Let's get straight to it with the prep books!

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Rating AP Gov Prep Books 📚

Before we move on, just one tip: it is SUPER IMPORTANT that you make sure that the review book you buy follows the 2019 College Board redesign. Even though some books (or editions of those books) might say they follow the new curriculum, the contents may tell a different story.

If possible, try to look inside the book and see if the units match the unit names and order provided by the College Board. If they match up, you should be good 🙂

Also, note that these publishers are constantly writing new books. These reviews are from the 2020 editions.

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(1) Barron's AP US Government and Politics — $22.99 on Amazon 💵

Image of Barron's AP US Government Review Book, courtesy of Amazon.

Pros:

• The book has extensive practice, especially for multiple choice. It has 5 full-length practice tests—2 of them are in the book, and 3 are online 📝
• The book covers all content in the College Board curriculum with significant detail.
• All answers for practice questions have detailed explanations, allowing for clarification if necessary.
• There is a separate section for study strategies that is extensive and can help you form a study plan to get ready for the AP exam 📅

Cons:

• Barron's books are generally very wordy when compared to other books. If you are a very visual learner, this book may likely be "too much." 🔤
• Some content might have too much detail; however, some of this extra knowledge may help with your free-response questions.
• 3 of the 5 practice tests offered are online, which is not the general format of the AP exam 💻

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(2) Princeton Review's Cracking the AP U.S. Government & Politics Exam — $13.29 on Amazon 💵

Image of Princeton Review's AP US Government Review Book, courtesy of Amazon.

Pros:

• The content is more reader-friendly and digestible.
• The book does cover most of the necessary content for the AP exam and provides 2 full-length practice tests 📝
• This book would be helpful if you're waiting until May-ish to start studying. Because it is easy to read, it'll take you less time to move through the content 📅
• This book would also be helpful if you are struggling with the course content in class. This can help supplement your textbook.

Cons:

• The book does not follow the order of the College Board curriculum, which sometimes makes it difficult to navigate.
• There are not many practice questions with only a few full free-response questions. You would likely need to buy another book or seek other resources if you need FRQ practice ✍
• The questions (especially the multiple choice) are often easier than the real AP exam.

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(3) McGraw Hill's 5 Steps to a 5 for AP US Government & Politics — $12.39 on Amazon 💵

Image of the 5 Steps to a 5 AP US Government Review Book, courtesy of Amazon.

Pros:

• This book is very easy to read and presents the content in a very comprehensible way. It also allows you to create a personalized study plan 📅
• The book provides access to an online platform that is extensive. It's super helpful for studying on-the-go 💻
• The online platform has games, flashcards, and other methods of studying that can serve as an alternative to reading the physical book 🎮
• There are 5 full practice exams 📝
• For the most part, it does follow the unit structure provided by the College Board.

Cons:

• This book tends to have easier questions than the AP exam.
• The review of the content is good but lacks depth unlike some of the other books.

A note about this book: If you've used other 5 steps to a 5 books and thought they were helpful, go ahead and get this one too! This company has a unique style of writing, and if it works for you, go for it!

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(4) REA's Crash Course for AP US Government and Politics — $10.79 on Amazon 💵

Image of the Crash Course AP US Government Review Book, courtesy of Amazon.

Pros:

• This book is extremely easy to read and can be very helpful if you want a quick review of the course 📔
• If you're procrastinating, this is probably the best book to get! It should cover most of the content while also being concise 📅
• The book reflects the redesign, and they included thematic elements as well.
• It covers all the information on the exam and tries to convey it in different methods 📝

Cons:

• If you are looking for a complete deep-dive of the course, this book probably won't be enough.
• This book does not have as many practice tests as the other books, and therefore doesn't provide as much FRQ practice.

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Here are the awards! 🎉

• 👑 Best Overall Book: Crash Course (if you want more tests, supplement it with Barron's)
• 🧠 To Review + Expand your Knowledge: Barron's
• 📅 For Procrastinators: Crash Course (supplement with 5 steps to a 5 or Princeton Review)
• 👀 For Visual Learners: Crash Course
• 💻 Best Online Practice: 5 Steps to a 5

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Rating AP Gov Textbooks 📕

If you are a student looking for a full textbook, you're most likely self-studying the exam. Although there are a variety of solid textbooks out there, most (if not all) of them cost over 100 dollars 💵 to buy. You can view a list provided by the College Board here.

There is one book that's both affordable and easy to read while covering all the content:

AMSCO's AP US Government & Politics 📘

Image of the AMSCO AP US Government Book, courtesy of Perfection Learning

This book is AMAZING because not only is it affordable for a textbook, it also corresponds exactly with the Course and Exam Description provided by College Board.

For each unit and subtopics, there are practice questions, graphic organizers, or other stimuli that will help reinforce what you read. The book provides 180 MC and 66 FRQ questions, and 1 full-length test ✍

Additionally, on the website linked here, you can view most of the book for FREE! This is your best bet if you're wanting to get a textbook and not pay tons of money!

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In Closing

No matter what books you choose to buy, we wish you the best of luck in your studying and on the AP exam! We have your back with a huge bank of resources for AP Gov as well—check them out here. 🎉🎉

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