#1 Best Books For UPSC: Top 10 Books For UPSC/IAS Exam
UPSC IAS Exam is one of the hardest exams in the world to crack. On top of competing with lakhs of people, there is the added challenge of being super informed on a wide variety of topics just to get through the prelim stage. Aspirants searching for the best books for UPSC to ease their extensive preparation. Since there are innumerable books out there from guides to previous year question papers and everything in between, it is understandable that many aspirants get bogged down by too many books and that becomes counter-productive. To crack the UPSC Exam, a surefire way is to find the best books for UPSC.
To help aspirants filter through the avalanche of books and choose the ones that are most likely to help them crack UPSC, here is the list of the top 10 books for UPSC:
- 29 Previous Years UPSC Civil Services IAS Prelims Topic-wise Solved Papers 1 & 2 (1995-2023) 14th Edition for GS Paper 1 and CSAT Paper 2 — by Mrunal Patel. Previous year's solved papers are the holy grail of study materials for UPSC. This one by Mrunal Patel is a best-selling book for UPSC that covers the past 29 years of UPSC question papers. The benefit of adding this book to your study prep cannot be overstated. That is why it features number 1 on this list.
- NCERT Digest — the complete package (History, Political Science, Economics, Geography, and General Science) + NCERT Plus — the complete package (History: Art & Culture, Indian Polity, Indian Economy, Geography, and Science, Technology & Ecology). NCERT books are the base on which all your UPSC preparation should be erected. NCERT Digest is a series of guidebooks that cover all the topics for UPSC but are presented specifically for preparing for the UPSC Exam. NCERT Plus series of books are the supporting books that make your preparation foolproof. A must-have series of books for UPSC aspirants.
- IAS Aniruddh Yadav Notes for UPSC & State PSC Civil Services Exams — set of 4 Books (1. Anthropology, 2. Economy Environment Security Disaster Management Science & Technology, 3. Governance, Constitution, Indian Polity, Social Justice & International Relations 4. Modern History, Geography, Art & Culture, and Indian Society). Who better than IAS Aniruddh Yadav (AIR 8 CSE 2022) to help aspirants find the right way to prep for and crack UPSC? This series of 4 books features hand-written notes by Aniruddh Yadav which cut through the fluff of many preparation books and get to the important bits.
- History of Modern India Text Guide for Civil Services UPSC & State PSC Prelim & Main Exams — by Abhishek Srivastava. Modern Indian history is a very important subject for the UPSC exam, and this book covers all the important events and dynamic actors of modern Indian history in the right context.
- India at 76: Post-Independence India — by Deepak Singh. Covering modern Indian history from independence to Amrit Mahotsav, this book is essential for UPSC aspirants as it covers all the important topics at great length until very recently.
- 35 Landmark — the complete package (Political Developments, Supreme Court Judgements, Economic Developments, Historical Modern India Developments, Environmental Developments, Scientific & Technological Developments, Social Developments) This series of books features the most important developments that happened in India till today. Since it accentuates many different subjects in a simple and direct way, it becomes a great addition to UPSC preparation, enhancing the understanding of aspirants in these important events.
- Compendium — the complete package (Indian History & Culture, Indian Economy, Indian Polity & Governance, Geography, General Science & Technology, Ecology & Environment, General Knowledge, Basic Numeracy & Data Interpretation, General Mental Ability & Logical Reasoning, and Comprehension, Decision-making & Problem Solving). This series of books act as supporting books for all important subjects in both GS 1 and 2 Papers. Including these books in your preparation will make sure you won’t miss out on any subject for any of the GS Papers.
- UPSC Files: Navigating the Path to Success in Civil Services Exam – by IAS Shubham Gupta - This is one of the most important on this list as it helps aspirants with creating a plan for their preparation. The right preparation is mostly always more valuable for cracking UPSC than trying to prepare with every book under the sun. It is the first book aspirants need to come up with the right plan for their UPSC preparation.
- 151 Essays for IAS/ PCS & other Competitive Exams 3rd Edition — by Disha Experts - GS 2 Paper Essay writing confuses many aspirants as it doesn’t involve hard facts like in GS Paper 1. This is why this book is essential as it shows a full-proof way of approaching Essay writing with the ultimate aim to crack UPSC.
- 11 Topic-wise UPSC Civil Services IAS Mains Previous Year Solved Papers (2023-2013) 5th Edition — the complete package (1. History, Polity, Economy, Geography, Environment, Science & Technology, Ethics & Integrity 2. Philosophical Essays 3. Precis, Comprehension, Essay Writing, Grammar 4. Essay & Compulsory English 5. Nibandh, Compulsory Hindi & English) - Ending with another Previous Year Solved Papers book just to reiterate the importance of understanding the exam pattern. To crack competitive exams such as UPSC, make sure to practice these 11 Topic-wise previous year solved papers. This will enhance aspirants’ understanding of what is most important, which will help in prioritizing.
You can also Buy UPSC IAS prelims and mains books from Disha Publication
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