List of Essential Books for UPSC Prelims - Prelims - UPSC 2013

6/17/2014 List of Essential Books for UPSC Prelims - Prelims - UPSC 2013

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PrelimsList of Essential Books for UPSC Prelims

witwiki October 2012

hello,

I have written PT for the first time in 2012 and also wrote mains after that. i have engineering background and

got through PT because of CSAT. in short, i had very low marks in GS. it also hampered my confidence for mains

until result came out. as a result i could not study till PT result was out.

this time, my plan is to have a comprehensiv full-proof plan for UPSC PT 2013, so that when I write PT, I am

sure of clearing it and so i can prepare for mains with all my heart.

i am looking for guidance here from experienced people here who have cleared PT by hard work and not by

luck (like me). can some experienced aspirants an successful candidates guide us with the Essenstial List of Books

neede to clear PT 2013?

it will also help other candidates who are misguided by coaching/confused by coaching/outside Delhi candidates

who have no access to coaching.

thanks in advance.

Neyawn October 2012

I am pasting here list of the Essential Books for Prelims 2013 for beginners. It is taken largely from ASingh's list, and

let me add, that I have more or less followed the same. So has Dr Shaleen, Rank 81 as he vouched for it.

The most important thing with this booklist that you must follow this religiously. Which means you MUST

know everything word by word. Cracking prelims is a matter of 5-6 questions which the successful

candidate does and the unsuccessful candidiate missed.

The list is put below:-

There's no problem with living a double life, it is the triple and quadruple lives that get you in the end. - Yuri Orlov, Lord Of War. | I am

not knighted, don't call me Sir | Read Posting Rules | Books to Read for Pre | Compromise on everything, but not on Books

Thanked by 2: Sanjeev0120, citizen.

Neyawn October 2012

I am trying to give you full plan, please follow it religiously. Clearing Prelims is all about doing same things again

and again from a single source, and not running for study material here and there.

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MISSION IAS PRELIMS 2014

0. Arihants Cracking the CSAT

1. Indian Polity by M Laxmikant

2. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

3. Dutta & Sundaram - selected chapters

4. Spectrum History

5. India's Struggle for Independence

6. Spectrum Facets of Indian Culture

7. TMHs General Studies Manual for

uncovered portions

8.NCERT 11th & 12th Class

9.Certificate Physical & Human Geography

10. The Orient BlackSwan School Atlas

11. Shankar IAS Environment Printed Notes

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1. Indian Polity by M Laxmikant Latest Edition [click] No any second source. Just one book. There is no

alternative to it. You must read it at least 5-10 times. Dont make notes. Its not possible. Read every line and when

u read every chapter, every line 4-5 times, u will remember most of it. here u shud be able to answer any question

that comes from anywhere in the book.

2. Indian History - Spectrum Modern India by Rajiv Ahir[click] . It is a summary of Bipin Chandra's India's

Struggle for Independence . every question in last prelims and before that which was in "ANSWERABLE" category

(some questions are not to be answered by anyone - dont waste time and energy on finding where those questions

came from). The debate over Bipan Chandra vs Spectrum will be saved for later times.

3.Indian Culture 's Spectrum Book - Culture has become very important. While you must buy this book as most

people buy it, you can also refer to NECRT books on Culture. There are more than one, so if you can't find them all

then buy the above book. It largely covers most culture questions asked in UPSC Mains+ Prelims

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4. Geography - You will need to do 3 books here.

For Principles of Geography Just do Go Cheng Leong - Certificate Physical & Human Geography[click] line by

line 4-5 times - every chapter..dont by-heart, but read closely..only memorise conecpets. This is the single book for

most Geography concepts. Chapters are short and easy to understand.

Note:- Three topics , namely :-

- Monsoons

-EL Nino

-La Nina

is not given very well here, and it is not sufficient from UPSC point of view. You will have to take help from your

geography optional friends and either understand it from them or get their notes.

- Indian geography books (2 of them) 11th & 12th NCERT. Again do 4-5 times. Any question comin from it should

be answerable. Dont be the fool who has read the book but is not able to answer question from it. if u r not able to

answer, it means u r not honest in ur effort. You have to do all of the above.(Not my Lines; copied from source )

4. Indian economy - For best strategy, you will need to have a two level approach:-

1. TMH Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh[Latest Edition][click] I struggled with Economy for a long time since

I did not have it neither in school nor in college. I struggled with Vajiram Economy tests and even Khan's Economy

questions until I read this book. I am not saying that this is a must read, but it will give you amazing confidence. It

is a must read if you don't have access to Vajiram or any other coaching teacher. I was able to be in top 50



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GambiTTT October 2012

Is magazine really necessary?

If it is, how to choose between CST, wizard and chronicle.

When you have a hammer, everything resembles a nail.

Neyawn October 2012

Yaar, I used to refer to Chronicle, and almost everyone refers to it only. This time I referred to CST, and found it very

useful. It is structured in a manner that you get most things in a question-answer format.

For example, Chronicle always does too much copy paste from newspaper and it takes too much effort to extract

relevant information from it. CST is more original and authentic and gives unique coverage to foreign affairs. If you

follow it for over 8-10 months, you will know the whole story, and be super confident. It NEVER misses the smallest

news, and takes a pro-India stand usually, which is expected of us.

in Vajiram test series once I had done Economy from here.

What it does not have? - Not good enough for mains.

2. You may want to read either Vajiram Economy class notes OR Sriram's IAS Economy notes . This will help

you for both Prelims as well as mains.

Again..reading is to be line by line..every chapter..at least 5-6 times. You will see ur knowledge grow by leaps and

bounds. And GS will be conquerable.

Magazine Read at least one magazine every month - dont change ur magazine - try chronicle or wizard. You

should have all issues of past one year when u write prelims.

To be clear, if we are scoring less in GS, prelims or mains it only because of lack of honest and hard work. Its not

possible to NOT clear prelim after having done all of the above 5-6 times. honest , hard work discipline is required.

Why it is getting difficult is because everyone else is doing it. So if u are not doing it, u lose. I was scoring around

115-120 in GS paper..So anyone who has not scored that much will say that its not possible to score that much.

But that is what i said when i was near cut -off in my 1st attempt, my seniors used to get net 70-90 out of 150

questions correct while i got 40-50 correct - i used to say 70-90 is impossible.



Thanked by 4: ashutosh_aditya, Sanjeev0120, citizen, falcon21.



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Having said that, both Shaleen with 294 in GS and Priyanka Soni , who lived across the street , with around 280

marks told me that they had read Chronicle religiously in 2010. Rukmani Riyar, again has preferred CST.

The choice of magazine is really personal. But studying 1 magazine will ensure you don't miss any big news.



Thanked by 1: m8yvijay.

Aks October 2012

Personally, when I read all the suggestions on booklists, I find almost all to be the same. They have to be because

there is no other alternative! Laxmikanth, Spectrum, Bio NCERT, Geography NCERT's etc etc...

What I do feel is that many seniors, of course unintentionally, overburden the newcomers by laying down some

unamendable gospels of perceptual truth like "must read every word" and phrases like such.

I, for one, studied only the important chapters of all the essential books and still it took me 8 whole months to

revise them twice, or maybe thrice. That too, when I clocked a substantial amount of hours studying. So the point is

that if this is your first attempt, then it is quite literally impossible to cover all the books in entirety.

The key is not to get yourself demotivated, demoralised or depressed during the preparation. It is bound to happen

if you buy 8 new books at one go and try to go at them with the aim of covering everything "word by word". No,

you don't need to know everything!

So, here I will try to enlist the essential chapters and topics of all the most essential books.

Spectrum History

4 chapters cover the entire national movement. A careful reading of these 4 chapters gives one a factual clarity of

what all events occurred, why they occurred and in which particular order did they occur. This, honestly, is sufficient

for the prelims.

The analytical aspect of the book is given in another 4 or 5 chapters. Socio-Religious Movements, Peasant and

Tribal Movement, Press, Economic Aspect. This portion is relevant for mains but it is much advisable to cover these

chapters before the prelims itself as after it noone finds time to read new chapters of history.

Your history is over in these 8 chapters.

Geography

The only books which I read from cover to cover are perhaps the 2 ncerts of Geography. Physical Env and

Fundamental. Apart from them, I did read Goh Cheng Leong to prepare a chart of world vegetation types and

honestly, GCL is the best source to cover the vegetation portion.

Polity

Here again, finishing Laxmikanth from cover to cover would require more than 1 attempt. The most important

chapter in that book is "Parliament". It is the most beautiful chapter ever written and covers each and every aspect

in fine detail. Other important chapters are FR, DPSP, Supreme Court, NHRC, CAG, CVC etc. this is like 50% of the

book. That is all I read.

Economy

I relied on Vajiram yellow book and class notes. Nothing much that I can add here. It wasn't my forte either, just

learnt enough to get through.

There it is, an advice is only as good as the mouth it is spoken from. So, take it for what it's worth. I did manage to

get under 100 a few times in Vajiram tests and my probable score in pre was 238. What I feel is that everyone

knows which books to read but very few know what to read from them given the extreme time constraint that

every beginner is under.

A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.

Thanked by 1: abhpr.



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robinolds October 2012

@Aks

beautifully explained, +1

So many books, so little time. Frank Zappa | Indian Police Service 2013

skaremor October 2012

Can one go for D D Basu instead of Lakshmikanth for polity?. The thing is I have D D Basu so do I need to switch to

Lakshmikanth or D D basu will serve the purpose?

Thanks

khajoor October 2012

skaremor said:

Can one go for D D Basu instead of Lakshmikanth for polity?. The thing is I have D D Basu so do I need to

switch to Lakshmikanth or D D basu will serve the purpose?

Thanks

take a look at laxmikanth before deciding....dd basu is too much detailed & uses a language difficult to comprehend

sometimes....laxmikanth is simple, point wise, easy to recall.....if you want to complete polity in a short time, then go

for laxmikanth

A blessed companion is a book--a book that, fitly chosen, is a lifelong friend...a book that, at a touch, pours its heart into your own.

manisha October 2012

i think a close look to D D Basu will furnish your knowledge about polity...definatly it shud be read out after 4

readings of laxmikant...otherwise u may skip the points(the author is trying to say).

it will boost your confidance as well as conceptual clearity in polity.

GambiTTT October 2012

I have heard a lot about basu, but some friends say dont read, laxmi is enough, some say read. Is it a must read?

When you have a hammer, everything resembles a nail.

ASingh October 2012

laxmi is good for prelim. D D basu is good for mains analytical point of view...in my opinion...because the weightage

of classical polity has decreased..so u can even do with laxmikant...

if u hv done vajiram's polity class or notes, i can assure u 100% that u dont need to even look at DD basu..

@gambittt No, it is not a must read. by no means.

ASingh October 2012

+1 to @aks from my side also. but i feel that when u make rules like know every word, people do it more

seriously...the problem with saying something like...go through this book...is that most people skip those portions

which they find difficult (but are important)..

@gambittt i will say that see the current 2-3 years question paper and tell me ki DDbasu parh ke kya ukhaad lete ?

note:- humne DD basu parhi hia..per aaj bhi revise karne ke liye laxmikant hi parhni parti hai..again..that is maybe

me alone..

MISSION IAS 2014

Top Books on Ethics

1. Ethics in Governance - click here

2. Ethics Integrity & Aptitude - click

here

3. The difficulty of being good -click

here

Philosophy Booklist

1. An Introduction to Indian

Philosophy[link]

2. Critical Survey of Indian

Philosophy[link]

3. Critical History of Western

Philosophy by Y Masih[link]

4. The Story of Philosophy by Will

Durant[link]

5. Social and Political Philosophy by O

P Gauba[link]

Sociology Optional 2014

1. Haralmbos - Themes & Perspectives

- click here

2. Indian Sociological Thought by

Nagla - click here

3. Harlambos Blue Book [Get

photocopy] - click here

4. Modernisation of Indian Tradition -

Yogendra Singh - click here

3 Essential Books for Public



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robinolds October 2012

I am very reserved while suggesting anything as things are very dynamic. What if questions appear next year from

DD Basu's analytical point of view rather than Laxmikanth's direct explanation based(as appeared in 2011).

However, Laxmikanth is the step 1 for polity. By no means, one can understand DD Basu without going through

some base book like Laxmikanth. So, conclusion is that do Laxmikanth first and if you find time go for DD Basu.

So many books, so little time. Frank Zappa | Indian Police Service 2013

khajoor October 2012

jmmeena said:

I am very reserved while suggesting anything as things are very dynamic. What if questions appear next

year from DD Basu's analytical point of view rather than Laxmikanth's direct explanation based(as

appeared in 2011).

yup....very right....was going through a topper's blog....he'd suggested to read the NCERT to understand DD Basu

(CSE & the NCERT)

there are so many books on every part of GS......we need to mix & match well to come up with the perfect recipe

A blessed companion is a book--a book that, fitly chosen, is a lifelong friend...a book that, at a touch, pours its heart into your own.

joya October 2012

hi, for Group Discussion & Interview preparation, read all editorials at:

http://www.ziddom.com/comments.aspx/57

witwiki October 2012

Thank you everyone for your response. Thanks @neyawn @manisha, and thank you @Aks for your observation,

which I agree to 100%.

Thanks again to @ASingh for all his efforts at guiding us.

Abhijeet357 November 2012

Please read the blog by Mrunal Sir, http://mrunal.org/2012/11/strategy-upsc-civil-service-exam-ias-ips-csat-

general-studies-part1.html .

CSE 2014

witwiki November 2012

Thank you @Abhijeet357 for your link!

echodelta November 2012

hello everyone and a very very happy diwali to all of u , my self k.s.sharma , 2013 is my third attempt and m from

english medium , my qualifications - B.A , LL.B , LL.M ( CRIMINAL and FORENSIC SCIENCE) AND MY OPTIONALS -

POLITICAL SCIENCE and SOCIOLOGY

Neyawn November 2012

Welcome @echodelta

Administration (Optional)

1. Laxmikant's Public Administration

[link]

2. Prasad & Prasad Administrative

Thinkers[link]

3. Mohit Bhattacharya [link]



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