AP US HISTORY SUMMER ACTIVITIES
Welcome to APUSH at Wheaton North! In this packet, you will find some information about the AP
Exam, summer reading opportunities, and your first reading assignment.
You will pick up your APUSH textbook for 2016-2017 at WNHS when they become available. Should be
sometime before July.
*Ask for Mrs. Pigoni, Head Librarian
If you do not pick your book up at this time, you will have to wait until the normal textbook pick-up date
in early August.
Your Summer Packet can be found on the WN website under the “Summer Reading” tab on the
left. We are expecting that the first three chapters in The American Pageant, 16th edition have been
read, and you have completed the following:
1. Discussion questions for each chapter completed, prior to your first week of school.
2. Period 1 Curriculum Framework completed. You will write in relevant content examples in
the spaces next to the “key concepts.” Do your best with these and be complete.
The discussion questions should be typed or neatly handwritten on separate sheets of paper. Make sure
you take time to look through the text and note the format, and structure of the book. We will make
extensive use of this, as well as primary and other secondary sources
You will also find a list of historical literature. It is our hope that you will select one to read and react
to during the summer. There are dozens of other books you may know that are not included on the list.
Feel free to go your own route as well. Your report and write up will earn you extra credit points to
begin the school year.
More information about the AP US History exam and how it fits into the course will be given later, but if
interested you can explore more on your own at apcentral.collegeboard.com
The goals of these activities are to introduce you to the content and pace of the course prior to the
school year, as well as encourage you to broaden your historical interests. We look forward to working
with you in the coming school year!
Mr. Pribaz- michael.pribaz@cusd200.org
Mr. Roe- nathan.roe@cusd200.org
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SUMMER READING LISTS FOR AP US HISTORY
Select one of these books, and write a 2-3 page summary and analysis for extra credit. Reports
are due on the first day of class in August. This should be typed, and double-spaced.
Some analysis thoughts: How does this book portray the time period that is the focus of the
story? Accurate? Inaccurate? How did the book add to your knowledge of the time period?
What surprised you most about the story?
Classics
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, H. B. Stowe
Common Sense and the Crisis, Tom Paine
The Federalist Papers, J. Madison, A. Hamilton, J. Jay
Walden, Henry D. Thoreau
A Century of Dishonor, H. H. Jackson
Looking Backward, E. Bellamy
The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, A. T. Mahan
How the Other Half Lives, J. Riis
Life & Times of Frederick Douglass, F. Douglass
Maggie, Girl of the Streets, S. Crane
The Octopus, F. Norris
The Souls of Black Folk, W. E. B. Dubois
The Jungle, U. Sinclair
An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution, C. & M. Beard
The Grapes of Wrath, J. Steinbeck
An American Dilemma, G. Myrdal
The Affluent Society, J. K. Galbraith
The Other America, M. Harrington
Silent Spring, R. Carson
The Feminine Mystique, B. Friedan
Profiles in Courage, John F. Kennedy
The Organization Man, William H. Whyte
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Modern Non-Fiction
1776, D. McCullough
Since Yesterday, F. L. Allen
Only Yesterday, F. L. Allen
Citizen Soldiers, S. Ambrose
Nothing Like it in the World, S. Ambrose
Influenza, J. Barry
An Unfinished Life: JFK, R. Dallek
The Conquerors, M. Beschloss
Flyboys, J. Bradley
Roosevelt’s Secret War, J. Persico
Rising Tide, J. Barry
TR: The Last Romantic, H. W. Brands
After the Facts: The Art of Historical Detection, Davidson & Lytle
Flawed Giant, R. Dalleck
No Ordinary Time, D. Goodwin
First Great Triumph, W. Zimmerman
Freedom From Fear, D. Kennedy
Rainbow’s End, M. Klein
The Fifties, D. Halberstom
Lies My Teacher Told Me, J. Loewen
Truman, D. McCullough
The Path Between the Seas, D. McCullough
The Glory & the Dream (either or both volumes), W. Manchester
Standing at Armageddon, N. Painter
Exodusters, N. Painter
Robert Kennedy & His Times, A. Schlesinger
Cherished Myths Legends, & Lies of American History, R. Shenckman
From Tupelo to Woodstock, Sorrell & Francese
A Different Mirror, R. Takaki
Hard Times, S. Terkel
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Theodore Rex, E. Morris
Huey Long, T. Williams
Summer for the Gods, Larson
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, D. Brown
The American Political Tradition, R. Hofstadter
Grand Expectations, Patterson
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy, William Appleman Williams
Rendezvous with Destiny: A History of Modern American Reform, Eric F. Goldman
The Age of Reform, Richard Hofstadter
Patriots, C. Appy
11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour, J. Persico
Dark Tide, S. Puleo
102 Minutes, Dwyer & Flynn
The Great Deluge, D. Binkley
The Savage Wars of Peace, M. Boot
Ten Days that Unexpectedly Changed America, Steven M. Gillon
Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
The Great Bridge, David McCullough
Killing Lincoln, Bill O’Reilly
Founding Brothers, Joseph J. Ellis
John Adams, David McCullough
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin
**You may choose any other historical non-fiction text not listed here**
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