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10th grade AP US History summer reading list


Bang

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some of those books are really dated (no irony, I realize it's a History class) but if your boy can make it thru Uncle Tom's Cabin he deserves a medal. I would steer him clear of Angelou and Hurston as well.

Profiles In Courage should be nixed right off the bat because JFK actually didn't even write it in the first place (just my opinion)

The Autobiography of X is really a compelling read and, I found, incredibly inspirational. It also sheds some great light upon NYC in the early parts of the 20th century. Probably its best attribute is the way Haley shows how Malcom X acquired tolerance. Really a great book all the way thru.

I would also say Farewell To Arms, simply because Hemingway was a stud and it does a good job with his understated writing in describing the heart break of war ( and of love also for that matter).

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By the way' date=' I would teach AP history and require "A People's History of the United States" and "Lies My Teacher Told Me" and then I would be fired.[/quote']

Ehh, you would not have time to read either book and provide the necessary discussion for it to be worth it, including how Zinn's own outlook and agenda shaped his writings. Maybe there is merit to using individual excerpts to provide an opposing view point to some of what the Texas SBOE put into the new state standards (sorta like watching Ed Shultz to balance out Sean Hannity), but that's about it.

As far as the list, I would look up the state standards and see what he will be studying in class if he has a hard time deciding (personally I would go with the "as many of these as possible" answer). If it is primarily earlier US history, I would focus on books such as Uncle Tom's Cabin or The Mayflower Compact and read the others later, and vice-versa if post-Civil War. Either way, The Federalist Papers is a must read in my opinion, and I admit to being bias in favor of Sleepy Hollow since it is one of my favorites. I am not sure why they chose that particular Poe story, it feels out of place on the list.

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**** Malcolm X.

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Atlas Shrugged...that should come in handy for college if he does anything govt and politics or econ related

The New Deal or the Red Badge of Courage

you've lost a great deal of credibility with this statement

FWIW I say Their Eyes Were Watching God + US Const

but lots of other worthwhile reads on there... only things I'd avoid are Profiles in Courage, and anything by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Atlas Shrugged is like 800 pages long... have some mercy on the kid. Reading some Rand is important, but Anthem gets her points across at about 1/5 the length.

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The Federalist Papers are incredibly important to our history, but honestly I'm not sure how much a high school student would get from them, reading them cold as a summer project.

Looking at that list, are you sure that he isn't taking AP English too? I don't see how the Fall of the House of Usher fits in a history list.

I have read about half of that list. Above all, I would recommend the Autobiography of Malcolm X. Ignore BLTO's appalling ignorance - it is a brilliant book.

I also heartily recommend the Red Badge of Courage and A Farewell to Arms. I also recommend the Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, and anything by Stephen Ambrose.

Some of those books are important, but not well written. Uncle Tom's Cabin is almost unreadable, teh Jungle is a slog, Grapes of Wrath is meh, and Atlas Shrugged is great if you like to read long pedantic speeches disguised as dialogue.

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Uncle Tom's Cabin and the US constitution would be my picks. The US constitution should be atleast one of his picks for sure. Understanding of that and history class is much easier to understand.

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This is what I was thinking. The course likely will cover the American Revolution and Civil War extensively, so the later period reading can be focused on later. Early on in the AP class they'll focus on the same main topics as regular US history, which typically is the Revolution and Civil War, but go further in depth on the varying perspectives/motivations. So focusing on reading which helps explain or at least further clarify the historical eras which will likely receive the greatest focus in the 10th grade history class, will likely be the most useful.

However, Bang, if your son already has a pretty solid grasp of both those eras, which is possible given he's going into AP level history at 10th grade, then you may want to have him focus on the texts which will give him the best context of eras in which he is weakest and will most likely be covered in class. The Revolution and Civil War are hammered into you from grade school, but until high school most history courses, general ones anyways focused on US, are lucky to even get to WWII. I expect a 10th grade AP course to at least get past the Civil War and Reconstruction. So whatever the weakest areas of the early 20th century are, I'd recommend texts which focus in that area if Revolution and Civil War are strong enough already. Eisenhower by Ambrose is very good (as is most anything by Ambrose, when he gets to studying the World Wars eras of the 20th century I recommend Citizen Soldiers), but may be a bit ahead of class coverage, The New Deal would be a good read, and parallels to today can be drawn, and Grapes of Wrath may be good for a more social perspective of the struggles between the wars.

Again though I think you can narrow the selection by identifying which eras, among the ones most likely to receive great focus in class, you believe your soon needs to devote his attention to over the summer. Overall I think it's a solid list and from your posting history I doubt you'll make a poor decision.

---------- Post added June-9th-2011 at 01:02 AM ----------

What a poor list. Why are there so many novels?

Constitution, Letter from Birmingham, Eisenhower.

It's extra reading. Textbooks are required reading, novels give a human perspective and can help one contextualize the era through understanding different motivations of people in that time as well as social stigmas which bore great impact, some of which vary greatly from today, others of which are surprisingly similar. A textbook is great for an historical and purely factual perspective, but novels, among other literature, when done well are invaluable for context. And history is all about context.

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Interesting. I took APUS two years ago and we weren't expected to read any of that. A firm grasp on the first two were obviously handy for the class and the exam, but the rest we didn't really need to know. The other two novels I can recall ever being mentioned in the text were Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Jungle. Even then all we had to know was their basic significance in American History, rather than having to cite specific themes or whatever.

Another thing worth mentioning: why are there historical documents on there alongside novels and autobiographies? Seems like it would be notably easier to read through the Constitution than a Steinbeck novel. I guess reading through all of the Federalist Papers would be a pain in the ass though. :)

Just my :2cents:. It just mostly seems like unnecessary reading (for the exam at least). And I got a 4 without reading most of them. :beavisnbutthead:

Oh, and don't make your son read The Grapes, Bang. He'll hate you for it. :evilg:

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Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand (Required) and then 1 from this list.

The Jungle - UPton Sinclair

Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison John Jay

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I was in AP History classes my Junior and Senior years. Judging by what Elkabong and SonOfWashington said, my AP classes were quite different. I'm not too surprised though, because my teacher was very unique.

We started in chronological order starting with Columbus' expedition and ending with The Cold War. For the most part, we only read letters and documents by the historical figures. Discussion was about 75% of the class, as he would often make us argue for and against our beliefs to help us understand where the opposition was coming from. It was a very fun class and the only class where I had to write an essay from the point of view of a member of the SS.

From my experience The Federalist Papers and The U.S. Constitution would be the most important to read, as well as The Mayflower Compact. If I had to choose one of the novels, I'd choose Atlas Shrugged or Uncle Tom's Cabin (even if it does distort how the average slave was treated). Some extras that I would read, even though they aren't on the list, are The Adams-Jefferson Letters and Franklin Writings.

I've never read the Autobiography of Malcolm X, but I'd assume he isn't entirely truthful. He's the anti-Martin Luther King. King fought racism with love and peace, Malcolm X fought racism with more racism and extreme violence. Unless you trust that your son can differentiate the truth from what is written, I'd stay away from this book.

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Ground him for the summer and have him read all of them.

Seriously, the Federalist Papers and the Constitution. I teach and am familiar with the AP US History curriculum and test. At our school those two are required over the summer and they must choose one of the novels for a third.

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Federalist papers and US Constitution gets my vote.

I'm currently reading Paul Kennedy's Rise and Fall of Great Powers. It's a great read if he likes to learn about how the great powers came to be. The geopolitics, the alliances, what caused the Empires to collapse. All interesting stuff for me.

Personally, he should challenge himself to read as much of the list as he can. Some of those are short, quick reads. Flannery O'Connor's and Washington Irving's pieces are short stories. A letter from Birmingham is short too. Anything by Stephen Ambrose is a good read. He penned/compiled Band of Brothers.

I don't read much fiction anymore, because I get much more of a thrill from non-fiction.

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Thanks for the suggestions y'all. He's shown interest in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, so I'm thinking of grabbing that from the library next week. (Finals this week,, can't have his brain jumping tracks yet.).

He eats books up pretty fast,, odds are he'll read 5 or 6 of these,, and likely be bored to death by most of them.

In these sorts of assignments, he usually gravitates toward revolutionary figures, so it's no surprise he wants to read Malcolm X.

I'm going to let him choose, but he wants to see what others think. So far the Constitution seem to be a lock.

~Bang

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I'm going to let him choose, but he wants to see what others think. So far the Constitution seem to be a lock.

~Bang

To echo what Predicto said, I'm not entirely sure how beneficial a cold reading of the Constitution would be. At the end of the day, it's basically a long list of rules. Talk to the teacher and see if there is any kind of supplemental book that he/she recommends to go along with it. Same thing with the Federalist Papers. It's pointless to read them in order. I would start with #10 and then read Cato #3, because I think that's where the debate begins...but that's just me.

It's sort of like reading the Bible. If you just sat down and read from beginning to end on your own, it would be a very odd and not entirely beneficial experience.

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Thanks for the suggestions y'all. He's shown interest in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, so I'm thinking of grabbing that from the library next week. (Finals this week,, can't have his brain jumping tracks yet.).

He eats books up pretty fast,, odds are he'll read 5 or 6 of these,, and likely be bored to death by most of them.

In these sorts of assignments, he usually gravitates toward revolutionary figures, so it's no surprise he wants to read Malcolm X.

I'm going to let him choose, but he wants to see what others think. So far the Constitution seem to be a lock.

~Bang

I would suggest A Farewell to Arms just because Hemingway is one of the greatest writers, but I don't know if a 10th grader boy would be all that into it. If he is going to read Malcolm X, maybe get him to read something about Martin Lurther King Jr. to have a comparison of the same view with different approaches.

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The Federalist Papers- the definitive work on the US Constitution and the US theory of government. A must read for any US Citizen, imo.

The other book I would choose from that list would be A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway is tough to beat.

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Being an AP student, I have to assume he is smart enough to handle the Federalist Papers. And that's where he (actually, where everyone) should start. I dont see the need to read the Constitution in that format. The Federalists will show him how we got to it.

I'd also have him read the Mayflower Compact. Good insight into the start of our nation.

Other than that, here are the ones I liked or think would be best.

The Red Badge of Courage - Stephen Crane

Autobiography of Malcolm X - Alex Haley- Fascinating.

The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck

Up From Slavery - Booker t Washington

The New deal - Arthur Schlesinger

The Mayflower Compact

Little Women- Louis May Alcott

A Farewell to Arms - Ernest Hemingway

Tender is the Night - F Scott Fitzgerald

Walden - Heanry David Thoreau

A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennesee Williams

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Does anyone else think 2 books is way to few for an AP History class? It is supposed to be advanced placement after all.

Yeah, but it is summer reading. The AP program could have multiple classes and multiple reading lists, so one kid for the summer could have 8 books to read. Plus, I bet if they made it 5 books required some parents would lose their **** and say the kid has other activities for the summer. Also, these are 10th graders and like someone said one of the books on this list is 800 pages. I remember my reading list from high school and I always waited until the last week in August to get it done.

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Does anyone else think 2 books is way to few for an AP History class? It is supposed to be advanced placement after all.

I had to read 3 or 4 and then write reports to go along with them...which is why I asked earlier if there was any additional work that went along with the reading assignment.

I also just remembered that I had to read some of the Federalist Papers, and would definitely recommend them. I learned a lot more from those than from a dry reading of the Constitution, which a lot of other people have already suggested.

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I suspect I'm with most, that his assignment ought to be "read the Constitution and two others".

I'm surprised nobody's recommending The New Deal. I'll grant that I've never read that book. (Or any other on that subject.) But I would think that the topic of the New Deal probably has more impact on the way our society looks, today, than any topic other than maybe the Civil War.

And, as to reading novels, I know it's not on the list, but I always like to recommend Heinlein's Starship Troopers to folks that age. It's an easy, fun, read. Lots of gosh-wow shoot-em-up. And he's the guy who "invented" powered combat armor. (Think "Iron Man".) but there's a lot of really meaty political philosophy in there, too, mixed in. Concepts like the obligations between the citizen and the state.

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I read the New Deal, and it's terrible. It's a propoganda book about how great the NEw Deal is for the US. It would be worthwhile if it was a book about the hows and whys the New Deal programs came about.

AP History is no place for Rah Rah books.

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I would suggest A Farewell to Arms just because Hemingway is one of the greatest writers, but I don't know if a 10th grader boy would be all that into it. If he is going to read Malcolm X, maybe get him to read something about Martin Lurther King Jr. to have a comparison of the same view with different approaches.

I actually think that schools over-emphasize Martin Luther King at this point. I can't imagine that any bright school high schooler doesn't have a pretty full understanding of MLK by now. He's like George Washington and Abe Lincoln. (Letter From a Birmingham Jail is beautiful though. I would say that you need to read On the Duty of Civil Disobedience before you read it, however).

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I would suggest A Farewell to Arms just because Hemingway is one of the greatest writers, but I don't know if a 10th grader boy would be all that into it. If he is going to read Malcolm X, maybe get him to read something about Martin Lurther King Jr. to have a comparison of the same view with different approaches.

Good suggestion.

He's due home around 3 today,, I'll let him read over what y'all have said, and then I'll let him respond.. it'll be my screen name, but it'll be him.

I appreciate it y'all! I knew with the diversity of opinions and the overall intelligence of the members here that we'd get some good ideas.

Just for some background on what he likes .. his hero is Jackie Robinson. Has a huge poster of him in his room (stealing home). He tends to gravitate towards revolutionary figures, people who buck the system and succeed thru strength and resolve.. like Robinson.

He is to that age where he's starting to surprise me with insight that he'd never shown before,, and he absolutely loves to read. He's read the usual sports biographies, but he's also shown an interest in the Civil rights movement. He's loved his US history class this year.

For pleasure he reads those Alex Ryder novels.. not sure how many of us grown ups know them, but they're a series of spy novels,, James Bond, Matt Cable, etc. They're pretty age specific for teenagers.

~Bang

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