This guide will help you figure out the best AP World History review books that are best for you as you prepare for the AP World History exam. We've compiled the top 3 best world history prep books for you today.
Skip to the best AP World History book on Amazon.
The AP World History Exam measures your knowledge of world history and your ability to think historically. Questions are based on the key and supporting concepts, course themes, and the disciplinary practices and reasoning skills outlined in the course.
Best AP World History Books
Ready to see which books you should use to study? Let's get started.
AP World History Textbooks 📖
The AP world history exam is a challenging exam, and subject, so it’s important to be prepared. In order to make the most of your studying, you are advised to use the most popular and thorough AP World History Textbook.
This one is ranked highly amongst students: Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, AP Edition. This textbook was specifically designed to help students teach you all the history vents that you need to understand and comprehend to pass the AP World History Exam. If you are determined to score a 5 on the AP World History Exam, we recommend this textbook.
VIEW PRICEAP World History Review Books 📘
With this fully revised and updated Barron’s World History AP guide, students will receive in-depth preparation for the NEW AP World History exam which was administered for the first time in May.
Reflects the new learning objectives and themes required by the College Board. The key concepts at the beginning of each chapter serve as a study guide.
This manual can be purchased alone or with an optional CD-ROM that presents five additional full-length practice tests with automatic scoring and fully explained answers.
VIEW PRICEAP World History Prep Books 📚
In addition to all the great material in the bestselling classic Cracking the AP World History Exam guide—which includes thorough content reviews, targeted test strategies, and access to AP Connect extras via our online portal—this edition includes extra exams, for a total of 5 full-length practice tests with complete answer explanations.
This book includes everything you need to know to help achieve a high score with techniques that actually work: tried-and-true strategies to help you avoid traps and beat the test, tips for pacing yourself and guessing logically and essential tactics to help you work smarter, not harder.
VIEW PRICEAP World History Exam Info And Course Content
The AP World History exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes long and has two sections — multiple choice/short answer and free-response. Each section is divided into two parts. You can see here for the AP World History Course Overview.
College Board provides free example test questions, so click here if you want to check them out.
Next Exam Date
See updated 📅 AP Exam Schedule 2022.
Last Time AP World History Exam Changed
The AP World exam changed for the 2016-2017 school year. There were some minor changes to the content, but major changes to the format of the test. Be sure to get the latest AP world history textbook below.
There are fewer essays to write, but there are now four short answer questions, 1 document-based question, and 1 long essay question.
AP World History Review Summary
- Best Textbook: Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, AP Edition
- Best Review AP Book: Barron's AP World History
- Best Prep Book: Cracking the AP World History Exam
AP World History Resources For You
Textbooks
The most important thing you can do, truthfully, is to get a good textbook for your AP exam. It's your tool for helping you learn the material that will be on the exam, help structure your preparation, and allow you to test your learning comprehension with review questions. It's critical that you choose the books that are recommended as those will help you best prepare.
Here are some ideas for finding good textbooks:
- Check the College Board’s list of textbook recommendations on the AP course audit page for your exam.
- If you’re self-studying for an AP course that your school is offering, you can see if they have a textbook used for the actual course.
- Be diligent in reading reviews of any textbook you are planning on buying, and see if it helped others prepare for the AP exam.
Review Books
A good AP review book is probably the second-most important resource you can have, after a good textbook. It's not the most comprehensive manner of studying, but, it will allow you to review the most important information for the AP exam.
For example, if you have gone through your textbook, then as your test day draws closer, you may want a review book to keep the information lucid in your short-term memory. The Princeton Review and Barron’s are two generally well-regarded AP review book sources, but make sure you’re getting the best book for the specific course you are studying.
AP Prep Books
A good AP prep book is probably the third-most important resource you can have, after a good textbook and review book. These prep book offer tips include everything you need to know to achieve a high score and it has comprehensive content review for all test topics, so if you know you’ll be fully covered to score a 5 on your next AP exam.
The best part about prep books? They include tried-and-true strategies to help you avoid traps and beat the test, and that’s all that matters right now.
Best AP World History Books Review
| AP Book Cover | Description of AP Book | Our Best Review | Best Price |
|---|---|---|---|
  | Traditions & Encounters: A Global Perspective on the Past, AP Edition Bently, McGraw-Hill ISBN-13: 978-0076681280 ISBN-10: 0076681289 (The Best AP World History Textbook) | 5/5 | |
  | Barron's AP World History Barron's ISBN-13: 978-1506253398 ISBN-10: 1506253393 (2nd Best AP World History Review Book) | 4.5/5 | |
  | Cracking the AP World History Exam The Princeton Review ISBN-13: 978-0525568407 ISBN-10: 0525568409 (The 3rd Best AP World History Prep Book) | 4.5/5 |