Summer Reading Assignment

AP United States History
Summer Reading Assignment

You must read one book over the summer and write a book critique.

The book critique must be 4-5 pages in length and adhere to the following guidelines:

1) What is the overall argument of the book?
2) What are some of the sub-arguments?
3) What evidence does the author use in support of his/her thesis?
4) Is the evidence strong? Does the author successfully convey his/her argument? In other words, do you buy into it?
5) Does the book offer a new perspective on events that you have already studied?
6) Although you must summarize some of the key events, the majority of your paper must be an analysis of the work under review. This is not a book report!

Book options:

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
* A long but easy read. By depicting the horrendous nature of the slave system, this novel changed history.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
* By focusing on the dangerous effects of poisons like insecticides on the food supply, this 1962 book fueled the environmental movement.

The Frontier in American Culture by Richard White and Patricia Nelson Limerick
* A short but challenging read. The authors provide an in-depth analysis of some of the most pervasive images of the American West that have greatly shaped our national consciousness.

1968: The Year that Rocked the World by Mark Kurlansky
* A long but interesting read that chronicles one of the most remarkable years in history. Some highlights from this year: Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated, the Tet Offensive and My Lai Massacre in Vietnam, the Chicago Democratic national convention and Prague Spring.

Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
* A critique of United States history textbooks. Provides a different spin on how we should study the history of our nation.

People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present by Howard Zinn
* A fresh look at American history with the stories of the “other” Americans left out of the traditional United States story: blacks, women, poor laborers, American Indians, war protestors, etc. A must read for anyone interested in history.


Feel free to email me at msrosenberg@mac.com this summer if you have any questions.