Rating: 
Summary: Plenty of Information... maybe a little too much
Review: Af first glance, this book seems to have everything that is needed to acheive a high score on the SAT II: World History test. However, after reading the first few chapters, you realize this book is too detailed. This book seems great for a person that has 3+ months to study. However, if your under three months and you've already purchased this book, really focus on units V-VIII, since most of practice test in the back focus on those four units.
Rating: 
Summary: Readers should watch out
Review: As a teacher of World and European History I am concerned that many students purchase Marilynn Hitchens' SAT II World History (I refer to the 1996 edition) simply because the abbreviation SAT II features in capital letters on the cover and it is part of a widely used series of SAT II preparation books. Let us take a look at Model test 2 : Q 1 offers two wrong choices where there is supposed to be only one - D is the intended wrong answer, but B is wrong two. Adolf Hitler's NSDAP became the strongest party in the 1933 elections, but in order to govern it had to form a coalition with other parties; only that coalition then had a majority; the NSDAP never won a majority in free elections. Q 3 offers either no or 3 correct answers, depending on how you interprete it - all countries mentioned had colonies in Africa from the 1880es to 1914, the British, French and Spanish had a colonial Empire in Africa before and only expanded it in those years. Q 56 the intended answer is D - chronological order Berlin Wall, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis. The author here seems to confuse the construction of the Berlin Wall (1961) with the erection of the Iron Curtain (1949) Q 86 intended answer E Curus the Great Empire in 486 B.C. Cyrus ruled 559-529; in 486 Darius I. was sitting on the throne of the Persian Empire. The map shows the Persian Empire with Egypt (conquered after Cyrus), but without India (part of Darius' Empire). 4 questions make quite a difference in an SAT II test. The text section of the book is similarily unreliable, the 'maps' or should I say geographical sketches are very sloppy. The book is in my view unprofessional; spreading often incorrect knowledge, it is confusing rather than informing.
Rating:
Summary: Readers should watch out
Review: As a teacher of World and European History I am concerned that many students purchase Marilynn Hitchens' SAT II World History (I refer to the 1996 edition) simply because the abbreviation SAT II features in capital letters on the cover and it is part of a widely used series of SAT II preparation books. Let us take a look at Model test 2 : Q 1 offers two wrong choices where there is supposed to be only one - D is the intended wrong answer, but B is wrong two. Adolf Hitler's NSDAP became the strongest party in the 1933 elections, but in order to govern it had to form a coalition with other parties; only that coalition then had a majority; the NSDAP never won a majority in free elections. Q 3 offers either no or 3 correct answers, depending on how you interprete it - all countries mentioned had colonies in Africa from the 1880es to 1914, the British, French and Spanish had a colonial Empire in Africa before and only expanded it in those years. Q 56 the intended answer is D - chronological order Berlin Wall, Korean War, Cuban Missile Crisis. The author here seems to confuse the construction of the Berlin Wall (1961) with the erection of the Iron Curtain (1949) Q 86 intended answer E Curus the Great Empire in 486 B.C. Cyrus ruled 559-529; in 486 Darius I. was sitting on the throne of the Persian Empire. The map shows the Persian Empire with Egypt (conquered after Cyrus), but without India (part of Darius' Empire). 4 questions make quite a difference in an SAT II test. The text section of the book is similarily unreliable, the 'maps' or should I say geographical sketches are very sloppy. The book is in my view unprofessional; spreading often incorrect knowledge, it is confusing rather than informing.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the available choices
Review: I bought both the SAT II Barron's and SAT II Kaplan World History books. Considering both, the Barron's is superior. Its fairly concise, and its easy to read through. The chronological order makes alot of sense and has alot of fluidity. A major advantage it has over Kaplan is its large number of maps/images/visual aides. All important terms are bolded. The book does have its weakeness, it lacks a scale for practice tests for example. If you have the money, I'd recommend both books, inpart because the additional practice tests are very helpful, and Kaplan has some quick summeries after every section. I scored an 800.
Rating:
Summary: Good (but not great) study book for the CLEP tests.
Review: I recently took the CLEP history of the western world I & II exams. However, as far as I can tell, no one makes a study guide for "these" CLEP exams (not enough history lovers taking CLEP test I suppose). So, I purchased "this" book too study for the CLEP tests. I figured any world history book made by Barrons would do the job. I was right! I took my time and studied for two months, using only this book as my study guide. I got a sore of 64 (50 is passing, 80 is the highest score you can get). That translates into a B- or an A-, depending on which school you apply too with your test results. I had too keep on reminding myself not too read "ALL" of this books world's history (the test was on history of the "western" world). Also, I took only one chapter-ending test. Since I did not read the whole chapter, the scoring process was more trouble than it was worth. A test guide just for these CLEP tests would have been my first choice. However, this did the job just fine.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: I studied the 2 weeks before the test using this book and I scored a 740. The questions at the end of the units and the two practice tests are tough-a lot tougher than the actual thing which is why if you read the book and do all the questions you are guaranteed a good score, but you have to be dedicated.
Rating:
Summary: Better to get an AP Euro Hist Review Book
Review: If you are taking AP European History AND the SAT II in World History, you might just want to buy an AP Euro review book. That way you'll be 'killing two birds with one stone' and have a lot of time
Rating:
Summary: Lots of info, but completely irrelevant to the test
Review: Let me tell you something about the SAT II in World Hisotry: This is actually a test in Modern European History with a few questions on Greece, Rome, China, and Japan, and maybe one question on India, American Indians, or some other non-Western civilization. Calling it "World History" and having a few token non European questions is probably the ETS's attempt to be PC or something.This book has a lot of information, none of which you will need to know for the test. It goes into great length about the histories of China, Japan, India, the Middle East, American Indians (i.e. Mayans, Aztecs, Incas, etc) but barely deals with European history at all. I think the majority of people who would take this test (as opposed to the SAT II in US History) are also the people who took AP European History in high school. Fortunately having taken AP European History will be a pretty good preparation for this test.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad memories with it, but it's a good book
Review: Skipping a few grades ahead, I took the World History SAT when I was 10. I studied with a textbook and this book myself w/o taking a class in World History. Although I skipped a few grades, it was still very early for me to be taking SAT's at that time, and I didn't really know how to prepare for them. As a result, I did pretty poorly, in my standards, on the test (600). I never took the World History test again, but I did take 7 other SAT II's and managed to get 700+ on every one of them (perfect on 2), so I know what the tests are like. Basically, looking back, I found this Barron's book to be a great book. It crams a comprehensive and useful review of World History into 300 or so pages, and if you can take it all in, you will definitely do great on the test (by that I mean probably 750+). The 2 practice tests are pretty good because they are similar to the real ones. My point is: had I crammed those 300 pages, I would have done excellent on the test, and so would you if you cram this stuff in. Note: The World History SAT is actually much easier than the US History SAT if you are the type of person that has a good memory and like or at least doesn't hate history. This is because on the World History test, the scope (range of topics) is too broad, and so the test makers have to test on things that are more commonly known (thus more likely to be included in summaries like Barron's). On the other hand, US history is relatively short (~200 years) and so the test takers can pick more pinpoint detail questions, which are omitted in summaries. So, this leads back to my old point, if you can cram the comprehensive review in Barron's guide, you'll ace the World History test.
Rating:
Summary: Bad memories with it, but it's a good book
Review: Skipping a few grades ahead, I took the World History SAT when I was 10. I studied with a textbook and this book myself w/o taking a class in World History. Although I skipped a few grades, it was still very early for me to be taking SAT's at that time, and I didn't really know how to prepare for them. As a result, I did pretty poorly, in my standards, on the test (600). I never took the World History test again, but I did take 7 other SAT II's and managed to get 700+ on every one of them (perfect on 2), so I know what the tests are like. Basically, looking back, I found this Barron's book to be a great book. It crams a comprehensive and useful review of World History into 300 or so pages, and if you can take it all in, you will definitely do great on the test (by that I mean probably 750+). The 2 practice tests are pretty good because they are similar to the real ones. My point is: had I crammed those 300 pages, I would have done excellent on the test, and so would you if you cram this stuff in. Note: The World History SAT is actually much easier than the US History SAT if you are the type of person that has a good memory and like or at least doesn't hate history. This is because on the World History test, the scope (range of topics) is too broad, and so the test makers have to test on things that are more commonly known (thus more likely to be included in summaries like Barron's). On the other hand, US history is relatively short (~200 years) and so the test takers can pick more pinpoint detail questions, which are omitted in summaries. So, this leads back to my old point, if you can cram the comprehensive review in Barron's guide, you'll ace the World History test.
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