Obviously you will need books to read for
Prelims. This is the most definitive list of CSAT/Prelims books you need to
refer. Nothing more, nothing less.
§ Past 10 year’s Solved papers and the IAS syllabus are a must. Read this great post on why the Solved Papers and Syllabus are Your Best Prelims Guide. A must read.
Current Affairs:
· Manorama Year Book, not just for current affairs but a very good source for general knowledge as well
· The Hindu newspaper and/or The Indian Express
· A good magazine like Civil Services Chronicle or Pratiyogita Darpan or Wizard in that order of preference
Indian Polity:
· Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap
· Bare constitution (containing just the Articles and Amendments) by P.M Bakshi
Indian History:
· NCERT Books. Class VIII to X
· India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
· Spectrum's Brief History of Modern India (useful if you are short of time)
Geography:
· NCERT Books. Class XI and XII
· Oxford Student Atlas for Map based questions
· Certificate Course in Physical Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
Indian Economy:
· Economic Survey that comes just before the annual budget. (Also very useful for Mains)
· Spectrum's Indian Economy or Vajiram Notes for fundamentals
General Science:
· NCERT text books. Class IX and X
General Studies Manual:
· A good manual for paper 1 of CSAT/Prelims. I recommend the highly popular GS Manual by Tata McGraw Hill (TMH). Another good choice is the CSAT Manual by Pearson covering both the papers.
Books for CSAT Paper 2 Fortunately IAS Prelims paper 2 requires far less books compared to Paper 1. Here I list all the popular books for CSAT Paper 2. Remember, you don’t need to refer all of them and different people will like different books so I have listed more than one book.
Crack CSAT 2011
Crack CSAT by Disha is quite a useful book for IAS paper 2 as I have mentioned in this post. Not as popular as Unique Publication’s book for CSAT but equally effective, nonetheless.
CSAT Paper 2 by Unique
By far the most popular book for CSAT, Unique Publication has come out with a comprehensive book for Paper 2 covering all the topics in the 2nd paper. Something about Unique Publications. Although it’s not as popular as TMH but its books are trusted by many IAS aspirants for the comprehensive and correct approach to any subject. And CSAT Paper 2 is no exception to this.
Cracking CSAT by Arihant Publications
This is another good book for Paper 2 by Arihant Publications. Although it has been released quite late in the market I feel it is no less useful than the books listed above. The plus points of this guide for CSAT paper 2 are:
§ It claims to be the only book to cover the CSAT Paper 2 completely
§ There are many sample questions for understanding and many practice questions
§ Difficult concepts are explained quite well to a beginner with non-Science background
§ Decision making, interpersonal skills, comprehension are also covered
Although there are minor grammatical errors in some sections I feel, overall, Cracking CSAT by Arihant will add value to your CSAT preparation.
§ Past 10 year’s Solved papers and the IAS syllabus are a must. Read this great post on why the Solved Papers and Syllabus are Your Best Prelims Guide. A must read.
Current Affairs:
· Manorama Year Book, not just for current affairs but a very good source for general knowledge as well
· The Hindu newspaper and/or The Indian Express
· A good magazine like Civil Services Chronicle or Pratiyogita Darpan or Wizard in that order of preference
Indian Polity:
· Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap
· Bare constitution (containing just the Articles and Amendments) by P.M Bakshi
Indian History:
· NCERT Books. Class VIII to X
· India's Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
· Spectrum's Brief History of Modern India (useful if you are short of time)
Geography:
· NCERT Books. Class XI and XII
· Oxford Student Atlas for Map based questions
· Certificate Course in Physical Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
Indian Economy:
· Economic Survey that comes just before the annual budget. (Also very useful for Mains)
· Spectrum's Indian Economy or Vajiram Notes for fundamentals
General Science:
· NCERT text books. Class IX and X
General Studies Manual:
· A good manual for paper 1 of CSAT/Prelims. I recommend the highly popular GS Manual by Tata McGraw Hill (TMH). Another good choice is the CSAT Manual by Pearson covering both the papers.
Books for CSAT Paper 2 Fortunately IAS Prelims paper 2 requires far less books compared to Paper 1. Here I list all the popular books for CSAT Paper 2. Remember, you don’t need to refer all of them and different people will like different books so I have listed more than one book.
Crack CSAT 2011
Crack CSAT by Disha is quite a useful book for IAS paper 2 as I have mentioned in this post. Not as popular as Unique Publication’s book for CSAT but equally effective, nonetheless.
CSAT Paper 2 by Unique
By far the most popular book for CSAT, Unique Publication has come out with a comprehensive book for Paper 2 covering all the topics in the 2nd paper. Something about Unique Publications. Although it’s not as popular as TMH but its books are trusted by many IAS aspirants for the comprehensive and correct approach to any subject. And CSAT Paper 2 is no exception to this.
Cracking CSAT by Arihant Publications
This is another good book for Paper 2 by Arihant Publications. Although it has been released quite late in the market I feel it is no less useful than the books listed above. The plus points of this guide for CSAT paper 2 are:
§ It claims to be the only book to cover the CSAT Paper 2 completely
§ There are many sample questions for understanding and many practice questions
§ Difficult concepts are explained quite well to a beginner with non-Science background
§ Decision making, interpersonal skills, comprehension are also covered
Although there are minor grammatical errors in some sections I feel, overall, Cracking CSAT by Arihant will add value to your CSAT preparation.
