Best AP US Government Textbooks and Prep Books

Overview of the AP Gov 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

Rating AP Gov Prep Books 📚

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

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

• 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 📅

• 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 💻

(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.

• 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.

• 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.

(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.

• 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.

• 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.

(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.

• 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 📝

• 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.

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

Rating AP Gov Textbooks 📕

AMSCO's AP US Government & Politics 📘

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

In Closing