Dude, I think DS's textbook was going for personalities, but it really bugged him to see it refer to Yeltsin as "erratic and hard-drinking" and a German leader as "roly-poly". Personally, I like history in the context of a story or how it impacts a particular concept (like my current history of afternoon tea in England). Like you, DH is a STEM guy who always has a couple of history books going.
I don't approve of the use of the term "roly-poly," but that description of Yeltsin is accurate.
I wonder if all APUSH is taught the way yours was? Or was that a function of your teacher?
Well, yes, ALL of APUSH the world over is taught that way, in my experience.
I did take AP European History the following year, with a different teacher, and it was taught much the same way... with the added bonus that, being not a story of ourselves, it was an impartial review and stripped of the kind of propaganda that has its way of embedding itself in social studies courses at all grade levels. That's where my conversion to history junkie began in earnest, but APUSH was a major stepping stone.
