He is well prepared when he lectures and he is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. The problem is that there is so much material It is impossible to know everything. Studying is a crap shoot. When it comes time to take a test all your hours of studying could be in vain because the few questions asked cover material you didn't focus the most on.

BEWARE!!! This class has the requirements of a WRIT GE, however you do not receive credit for it because the department did not file its paperwork correctly. You have to make sure the department has made it a writing requirement BEFORE the class begins, which was rather frustrating. Besides that, not a bad class. Very interesting material.

The class can be very hard at times, but he is enthusiastic and happy to help if you show you're trying. He puts his lectures online, but he brings up so many important things that are not in the slides that not going to class would guarantee a bad grade. Also, definitely do the readings.

Hard class but awesome. Be prepared to do a lot of reading and self-learning but this is a upper-division history class...no hand-holding; not 4 wimps.

Very hard but excellent class; tough grader. Prof has passion for material. Articulate, funny.

Workload of this course makes it not worth taking. McCray obviously thinks this is the only class you are taking at UCSB. Not worth it! Also, one of the toughest graders I have ever had! AVOID THIS CLASS. And I'm a history major. Very interesting, but work load and difficulty outweigh any possible good of this class.

Well organized; good class.

Lots of work; great subject. Prof is ez to understand and will make time to meet with you.

Not so much hard as demanding...but that's the point of being at a major university. If you want ez, stay at SBCC. the guy works hard...just visit his office hours and you'll see

Hard class with lots of reading but ultimately very rewarding. Prof goes out of his way to meet with students depsite large lecture format.

An excellent class...best i had at UCSB so far. Hard but fair and very helpful.

Excellent!

Great class and certainly one of the best professors on campus... Make sure you go to class!

One of the smartest, funniest, and sexiest professors to ever grace this campus. One of the best classes I have ever taken and I plan on taking any other classes he is going to teach!

This class was super interesting. He presents it from a social history rather than a history of ideas. Really nice guy, very easy to talk to in office hours.

The best class I have ever taken at UCSB. The subject matter is SO interesting, and McCray covers everything thoroughly with cultural, scientific, and political history. (Also, he's just a hot man). His jokes are dry and hilarious. He loves the Simpsons.

I agree. He's hard but fair. good jokes too.

The subject is SOOOO interesting..but he totally destroys it. Whoever thought that the Atomic Age could be made boring? Well leave it to McCray!

One of the best classes I've ever had and a fascinating topic.