As a primary resource for preparing for the GMAT this book is invaluable. The questions are organized from easy to difficult and separated in to topics to help you find weaknesses. That said, there are a few minor mistakes in the book that can lead to hours of confusion. Those mistakes can be found at

http://www.gmatix.com/blogging/index.php?x=25

Other than that the book suffers from to few questions. This is not a good comprehensive study plan, just the best first step.

I think this was a great first book to look at if you're planning to do the GMAT, though I wish there was a little more explanation with the statistical answers. Otherwise it's an easy guide.

Unless you are one of the lucky few who don't need formal instruction to prepare for standardized tests, you can not use this GMAT book as your only resource. But, if you are using other instruction or practice materials the Official Guide is great for testing the accuracy of the strategies you've learned.

It's true that this guide will not tell you how to test better, but some people have left reviews saying there aren't any explanations. I don't understand why they're saying that though, because I thought one of the best features of the GMAT Review is that it explains every single answer in both the quant and verbal sections very clearly. There are some typos, but it's not like you can't figure what they meant to say. Some people have also said that random questions they tried from the book were too easy. I wonder what sections they tried, because at least in the quant portion the questions become increasingly difficult. So the first 50 questions are pretty easy, but the last 25 are much harder.

Just as a side note, I took the 7 week Veritas GMAT prep course and scored a 630 on the test right when I finished the class. But afterward I spent the next month testing the strategies in this Offical Guide and improved my score to a 700. So I would definitely say it's helpful.

I've been working with this book for about a month, and I'm very pleased with the progress I've made thus far. Reviewing questions in order of difficulty has allowed me to slowly build my skill level- I'm feeling much more confident than I once was about taking the GMAT. The only thing this book is missing is extended explanations of some of the concepts commonly used in questions.

It is ofcourse a must buy because it comes from the makers of the test.
But then this is not exhaustive. Atleast it doesn't look exhaustive to me. Moreover, the level for Problem Solving looks really low to me in this book.

The books are great, and the service is too! Thanks for saving our school a ton of money over the last year.

The official guide, along with the quantitative review is good for extra problems. The overall math review in both books is not that great. So if you are in need of a good math review I would turn the Ez-solutions gmat series.

This is the best book to start the GMAT Studies. With the Official Guide you will be able to cover all important GMAT topics.

Can't believe there are so many typos and mathematical mistakes in this OFFICIAL guide. If you have a weak mathematics background, you will be definitely confused or misled.

I love this book. People are saying that the questions in this one and the verbal and math supplements books are the same so I went to Barnes and compared the reading comp sections and all passages were different. So...I don't know if they're comparing with the 10th edition or they're on something. If you're studying for the GMAT, at least get this book. It has a gang of questions from actual exams which is great for the verbal section because I would think verbal questions are harder to mimic than math questions.

AT LEAST PURCHASE THIS BOOK OR THE SUPPLEMENTS.

Manhattan books seem good too. I'll be ordering them within this month.

This book stinks. It has a VERY limited review of the concepts covered in the math section of the GMAT and absolutely no strategies on how to get a high score on the test.

If you're rusty in high school level math, you're going need a serious review, which this book does not provide.

This book is mearly a catelog of old GMAT questions for the user to practice with.

I went through this book, the Kaplan book, and the Princeton Review. This is by far the best of the 3. It has the most review questions and doesn't try to teach you any garbage strategies, just how to do the questions. The one shortfall is that the answer explanations are sometimes not in depth enough.

I just want to give some advice before you buy the book.
First, The problems are way too easy compared to Kaplan. I bought Kaplan Before buying this review, and the problems overall are way harder in Kaplan.

Second, If you don't know what the GMAT is all about, I highly recommend the Official Guide. After you finish this book go on an do Kaplan, and I will guarantee you a good score in your GMAT.

Having spent 30 minutes studying out of the Math review section, I found considerable errors similar to others who posted. I've found 7 in 20 pages. Come on.
The errors go beyond having "x2" instead of x^2. The errors go to basic concepts that if a trusting reader were to follow, the test-taker would be in trouble. Sometimes the diagrams don't match the word descriptions. In the review of coordinate geometry, the equations given and the graph representation are way off. If you don't have your high school notes handy or are a little more than rusty, this could hurt you.
While I'm sure the rest of the book is helpful, I am giving this 1-star because it smacks of laziness and it's kind of insulting. It's troubling to think that these mistakes are acceptable for an organization that administers a major graduate admissions test. We wouldn't get into B-schools with errors like these.
To the GMAC: take notes from the LSAC, and leave the test review to the pros.

The first copy I got of this book had a lot of typos in it. For example, one of the values in a math problem read "28" instead of "2^8".

There was another math example where they printed "=" instead of "-", which made the explanation incoherent.

I was feed up when they misprinted the Pythagorean Theorem: a2 + b^2 = c^2 instead of a^2 + b^2 = c^2.

I thought to myself, if I'm catching all these typos, I wonder which ones am I missing. Luckily, I was able to exchange my copy for a typo free copy. There were 6 copies of this book on the shelf at my local Barnes & Nobles, 5 of them contained typos like my first copy. So beware...

Great service! Recieved the book faster than expected. Great communication and service!! Will buy from again.

This book is even better than I supposed. And it was delivered even earlier, that is nice :)

For a more detailed review please refer to user Youssef J. Habbouche's review. I'm only going to include what I he hasn't.

I'm actually giving this book 3.5/5 stars. Reason is because as the official prep book by GMAC, I think the number of typos and errors are unacceptable. For example #20 of the Problem Solving section:

20. Of the five coordinates associated with points A, B, C, D, E on the number line above (diagram included in text), which has the greatest absolute value?


(A) A = -2
(B) B = -1
(C) C = 0
(D) D = 1
(E) E = 2
Quick glance at the options and you know there are 2 possible answers A and E. Answer according to text is A. There are other errors and typos like this scattered across the pages of this book. If you have a keen eye they shouldn't be too hard to pick out. Although it can be quite frustrating since the last thing one needs while preping for a test like this is to start second guessing one's ability.

Overall it's a very good prep material especially because some of the questions in the book did show up on the actual test. If the errors and typos are a minor thing to you, this book is the way to go. Using other books as supplement might also help. Good luck!

This is some fantastic prep material. There are a few typos and there's some overlap between this book and the GMATPrep software. However, neither are showstoppers and I believe this is the only prep book with actual questions from previous tests so it doesn't get any more real than this.

Here's what I did to study for the test:

1. I took the first practice test from the GMATPrep software without any studying and got a 580.
2. I put much dedication into finishing this book and thoroughly understanding the answers. This took about two weeks (a couple of hours after work everyday and all weekend afternoons).
3. I had almost two weeks to go before the test so I took a week off from studying so I could get in a couple of days' work with the EZ Solutions Advanced Math book right before the test.
4. I took the second GMATPrep test a couple of days ago and scored a 700.
5. I took the real test today and got a 740.

In hindsight, I'm not sure the EZ book helped that much beyond getting my brain going again after the break but I am 100% sure that this OG plus the GMATPrep were mainly responsible for the jump from 580 to 740. Good luck!

If you're taking the GMAT, you must work through this book. I made the mistake of buying every study guide out there (Kaplan, Princeton Review, Barron's...), but on the day that I walked into the test center, the Official Guide was the only book that I had used.

I took the GMAT a single time and scored a 770. Here's how I did it:
1. I bought the Official Guide.
2. I bought Jeff Sackmann's two e-books, The "GMAT Math Bible" and the "Official Guide to GMAT Review" and used them to work through each problem in the Official Guide.[...]
3. When doing a set of problems from the Official Guide, usually 10 to 15 at a time, I timed myself. Anytime I took longer than 2 minutes to complete a a problem or I got it wrong, I read Sackmann's explanation and re-did the question from scratch.
4. I worked through the Math Bible methodically, trying to do at least one full chapter a night.
5. Six weeks before I took the test, I[...] This is the official site of the GMAC, and the only place that you can access these two practice tests that use the same scoring logarithm as the actual test. Two weeks before my test date, I took the second practice test.

All in all, I spent about two months studying for 1-3 hours a day - and I work full-time, so it wasn't easy. But it was worth it. You *need* the Official Guide if you're studying because it's the only resource with actual questions from the GMAT. The rest of the books out there use made-up problems and many of them aren't very accurate. Because the Official Guide doesn't rate each problem's difficulty, you should consider a companion book (like the ones mentioned above) that rate the problems and offer better explanations.

This is such a great study tool. The questions and answers are GREAT! The answers walk you through each question in detail, as well. Purchase this book before you pay for the GMAT Prep Class!

She tells me this will help tremendously but results will not be known for several months when she actually takes the test.

No matter what you read or don't read, this book is a must for all those who prepare for GMAT. Though some of the explanations/concepts are not so well written, this book has the "REAL" content. Most of the questions listed in this book are supposedly taken from previous GMATS. And that explains why you see such a similarity between problems/questions in this book and the real GMAT ones.

Having said that, just this book alone will not be sufficient for most of the people as there is a very less emphasis on explaining the basic concepts. I recommend using Princeton and/or Manhattan series books as a supplement to brush up the fundamentals and then use this one for practicing GMAT-like questions.

This book can't be beat if you're looking for a book that will give you an overall picture of the format of the GMAT. The book contains questions for all the math and verbal sections as well as providing essay examples.

Another benefit of this book is that the questions are real questions from past GMATs. I think this is especially helpful in the verbal section as it is difficult for other authors (Kaplan, Princeton Review) to create realistic verbal practice questions.

Use this book to get some great practice working a whole lot of real GMAT questions, but if you are looking for a book that helps you re-learn math concepts and has more of a textbook feel, look towards Kaplan.

Forget kaplan or courses on preparing for GMAT. This book is essential if one wants to score a hihj grade. The more you use it, the better. A final remark: On each chapter, the most diffcult questions are the last ones. That's where one should start.

The GMAT review book was brand new and completely unmarked. This was very helpful in doing exercises and utilizing the book to the fullest. The book is also a good guide so far, as it explains the answers and breaks down each section into lessons, after taking the diagnostic test. I was glad I made the purchase.

This is a good review book if you are current on the types of problems you will be solving. I haven't taken a math class in 5 years and need a lot more help with the general theories than this book provides. A great practice book, but only if you understand the theories behind the questions.

This was shipped to me very quickly, even though I just orded it with regular shipping. It was also in perfect condition.

I had to return two copies of this review because they were printed with examples that are hard, if not impossible, to read.

The examples are blurry or in a font that is hardly legible. I would recommend checking your copy right away if you buy it.

I will look for it somewhere other than Amazon, which seems to have many copies with this defect.

I have worked for both Princeton and Kaplan. This is the material that I used in class, because no company gets the questions in the verbal section quite right, and good verbal practice is important since you need to get less verbal than math questions correct for a higher scaled score.
Everything in the guide is accurate (except for the first combined sets question in the diagnostic exam!), though not particularly well organized. The unofficial guides give you a better summary of test content and strategies - use this book to practice those strategies.
The only other problem is that this guide does not give a good sample of 700+ level questions. I scored in the mid 700s on the real test and most of the questions I saw were on a whole different order of difficulty. Also, if you want to score above a 600, make sure you practice combinations and permutations - they aren't covered very well in this book.
The official guide is the only way to study for the verbal section (if you need more problems, use LSAT logical reasoning and reading comp questions; they are like GMAT questions but harder), and gives you an overall accurate picture of what to expect. Look over this book before you decide whether to spend 1300+ on a class you might not need

I have been studying for GMAT for a few weeks now and I think the OG is a great source for a good practice on real GMAT questions. But having said that, use the OG only once you grasp all the basics and when you are almost ready to take the GMAT. The OG does not contain any math conceptual content, so use it only for practice towards the end.

In order to get a real GMAT prep - I would recommend you buy the set of 9 books of "EZ Solutions," or whichever book(s) you think you need most help with. These books are very detailed oriented and cover everything on the GMAT math. First use the review modules to get the concepts and then use the workbooks for practice. Some of the most challenging topics in GMAT math, such as permutation/combination, probability, geometry problems, complex word problems, etc., are brilliantly explained in these books. Also, the EZ Advanced Workbook is a "must have" if you are aiming for a high score. It may be a good idea to buy Barron's without the CD (don't waste money on the CD version for any book). After doing all this, use the OG and you will see a dramatic difference in your scores. If you still need more practice, you may consider buying the Kaplan book (but really not needed). Save your money by not buying anything else. You don't even have to take any of those pricy courses. I followed this process and my scores have jumped from the 500-range to the 700-range. Good luck!

The questions are good, but only good enough to score 600, if you want to score beyond that then you should try online or other books.

The book gives all the necessary information and before doing any other book all the questions in this book are worth solving.

This is a clearly written product for success. I'm grateful I bought it. Very concise and to the point....I'm taking the GMAT at the end of April for Admission into MBA program at College of WIlliam and Mary. Wish me luck

Great! They are very reliable. I got the book very fast in a great condition.
Want to buy more from this particular seller.

exactly what I wanted and very quick on the delivery.

thank you!

After 3 months of study, I just took the GMAT last week. This is my first and only attempt at the GMAT-CAT. In fact this is the first standardized test I have taken in 12 years. Overall I am happy with my score (770 Q51 V44).

The only study materials I used were:

- Official 11th Edition
- Official Verbal Review Guide
- Official Quant Review Guide
- Official GMATPrep Software (sent to you once you schedule your test)
- Manhattan GMAT Guides (reviewed for techniques only)

The three official books are the absolute bible for sample problems. I am a firm believer in quality over quantity. I NEVER did any problem that was not provided by the real GMAT company...NONE. Using problems written by other vendors is not needed, and could be counter productive. I would rather fully understand 200 official problems, than slog through 1000 non-official problems.


STUDY TIPS:

- First master all the problems in the printed official guides (11th, Verbal Guide, Quant Guide). NOTE: Getting the correct answer is not the same as "mastering" a question.

- Any problem you miss or find changing, repeat many times (even after you may have memorized the answer). Keep repeating the problems, until the basic skill is fully understood.

- Keep accurate records every time you do a problem (correct / incorrect, easy / challenging / stuck).

- Focus on core concepts. In truth, the GMAT tests very few concepts, but will use these simple building blocks to construct an unlimited number of tricky problems. Know the core concepts, become aware of the tricks, and the rest is timing.

- Only once the printed materials are exhausted (took me about 2 months), then you should "graduate" to the GMATPrep software. This should be used mostly for developing timing skills. In the end, you need to gain the confidence to flex your time during the actual test. You should be able to answer simple questions quickly, so you can invest more time in higher value problems.


This book is not a problem solving technique book. You will not find tips and tricks. Basically this is book should be considered a "question bank". In the quantitative section it will provide the questions and an answer key...period. For the verbal section, it will provide very useful detailed explanations of the correct answers. If you are you looking for a book on techniques, I would recommend the well organized Manhattan book set.

Bottom-line: you need this book for any serious attempt at the GMAT.

I only used, "The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 11th Edition" and the free CD to study for the GMAT. I found the book very helpful, but when I went to use the free CD that is sent out after you register for the GMAT, I found the questions to be identical. However, it is nice to have it right in front of you so you can work out the problem right next to the question. Using these two resources alone helped me score a 710 GMAT score.

Book is helpful mainly as a long list of sample questions and answers. Doesn't provide much teaching of what you need to know in certain sections (eg the math section doesn't cover some of the more complex rules of geometry etc that you need to answer the questions). Advice on how to take the test is pretty basic too. I would say this is a good book if you are reasonably confident that you will do well and it really is just a review book to remind you of a few things you may have forgotten; the answers are clear and well written, and so are helpful for 'brushing up' on what you may have forgotten, although at least one is wrong (or not fully right), and there are quite a few typos, but if you know your stuff this won't really through you off (beyond the fear that there could be mistakes on the GMAT itself!)

Received my book on-time and in the condition (new) as I had expected! Thanks!!!

I may not be a quant geek like a lot of people who apply for b-school, but I guess that's what makes me a more well-rounded candidate. I'm one whose verbal scores tested in 80th percentile while Quant was a dismal 45th percentile. I bought the GMAT review, and found the Math reviews a bit overwhelming, particularly since it's been >10 years since high school calculus for me. While questions are plentiful, I felt I needed add'l. help. I bought the Princeton Review Math Workout which dumbed concepts down a bit, but the questions were way toooo easy and you need to be prepared for the more difficult questions if you want to do well. So, I eventually invested in this MLIC course at [...] and though the online version was pricy, it was worth it (very intense, thorough Quant program). My Quant percentile nearly doubled the second time which was good enough for me. Also, don't let these books tell you that you've got to rush and guess at the remaining answers before you run out of time. You CAN leave the last 4-5 questions unanswered and STILL score above a 44 (or 72nd percentile), as long as you answer the first 10 questions especially well and remaining questions decently well. It's almost better to answer more of the challenging questions right, rather than guess and miss a bunch of moderately difficult questions. Test this yourself in the GMAT's simulated software if you don't believe me. Remember that the more challenging the question, the better you're doing!!!

The GMAT itself is not that hard to master if you can do one thing: practice, practice, practice.

This book is a good resource to get a feel for the real test. When I took my GMAT, I used this book as an extra resource to go in tandem with the online prep class, and I received an above average score. I specifically recommend this book because it provides you with old GMAT tests, which are the best way to prepare.

In addition, if you have a particularly troubling area, this review has two companion books that focus specifically on the verbal or quantitative sections.

But whatever you do, practice, practice, practice!!

It was a great experience! I bought the book as a gift, and it came in plenty of time for me to open it and wrap it for my brother!

After going through all the GMAT books, here is my honest opinion about some of the most popular GMAT books:

Official Guide:
Pros - Excellent source of GMAT questions. Very well organized with real test like questions.
Cons - No review of any math content or test-taking strategies. Not enough explanations of practice questions.
Overall, the Official Guide is a must have for all test-takers. It will give you a good idea about the type of questions to expect on the GMAT; however, if you need more than just a bank of questions, you need to look at some other source.

Kaplan:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Unrealistic questions.

Princeton:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Weird sense of humor.

Barrons:
Pros - Good math review. Big list of questions. Good test taking strategies. Very well organized. This is by far the best of the all-in-one kinds of books.
Cons - Although the book has a good math review, it doesn't go deep enough into each concept. Not enough explanations to practice questions. Does not have a good section for logical reasoning (permutation, combination, probability, etc) questions, which is one of the most important question-type. Does not break down the concepts/questions step by step.

Manhattan - Not even sure what is in these books. It has nothing, no content, no concepts, no strategies, no real questions, just a guide to refer you to the OG.

EZ Solutions:
Pros - Thorough math review from A to Z. Effective test taking strategies. Abundant solved examples. Numerous practice exercises. Great practice question bank in basic and advanced workbooks.
As with most books, you are expected to already have a good knowledge about the various match concepts, but with these books, you can literally start from scratch and reach the most advanced level of the GMAT.
Cons - To get the best result from these books, you have to invest in buying several books, but if you compare the cost and benefits, the benefits outweigh the cost, or you can buy a few not all. Missing the verbal section. This is not a good option if you are looking for a mediocre score or just looking for a very basic brush-up. Recommended for serious test takers only.

Others - There are some other GMAT books but I haven't yet had an opportunity to review them, may be some of them are good supplementary aids.

I hope my review will help some of you in making the right decision.

After going through all the GMAT books, here is my honest opinion about some of the most popular GMAT books:

Official Guide:
Pros - Excellent source of GMAT questions. Very well organized with real test like questions.
Cons - No review of any math content or test-taking strategies. Not enough explanations of practice questions.
Overall, the Official Guide is a must have for all test-takers. It will give you a good idea about the type of questions to expect on the GMAT; however, if you need more than just a bank of questions, you need to look at some other source.

Kaplan:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Unrealistic questions.

Princeton:
Pros - Good for additional practice questions as a supplement
Cons - Review of math content is not thorough but just the very basics. Not enough explanation of test taking strategies. Full of guessing techniques with no real mathematical solutions. Not good enough explanations of practice questions. Weird sense of humor.

Barrons:
Pros - Good math review. Big list of questions. Good test taking strategies. Very

The book is brand new and the shipment is fast!
Good deal to make!

The content isn't organized very well in this book, but it was still extremely helpful in terms of the type of problems. The only issue I had was that I was more advanced than many of the problems and couldn't get harder ones from this book.

I purchased this book as my primary study book for the GMAT but I think it makes a better supplement to the Princeton Review or Barrons book since it has tons of problems but no actual tests. I didn't realize that until I bought it so be warned. If you are just looking to do question afer question to get practice, with none of the time contraints you face in the actual GMAT, this is the book for you. I found it useful overall, but not as useful as I thought I would. One last point, in terms of knowledge and improved learning, the quant explanations are very very useful, but the grammar and sentence correction ones didn't really help me improve my score.

This is definately a book you should get if you are preparing for your gmat. I was able to raise my scores by 200 pts. This book has everything in it that you will need to study for this test. I got the book in just a few days and started preparing.

This book is definitely necessary if you are planning on taking the GMAT, even if you are planning to join a test-prep course.

The book contains +800 retired questions, which are the best approximations of what you'll see on the actual test. The good side is that you'll be able to focus on the type of questions that you feel you need more pratice and you may practice a lot if you want. The weak side is that the answers for some verbal questions are not really convincing, it lacks test taking strategies (that's why many people go to Kaplan or any other test-prep courses) and in my opinion it should provide a separate section for hard, challenging questions (which are scarce in the book).

Overall, this book should be the cornerstone of your preparation and should be used as a complement if you will be taknig a test-prep course.

As a professional librarian, one geared to meeting the reading, research, educational goals of many people - faculty and students, I base my assessment on a book on many things, including: clarity, conciseness, utility, and the audience. I found this book to be usefulful in preparing one for the GMAT. Althought it is not suitable for everyone taking the GMAT - as everyone is not on the same educational level, it does relate to the test at hand, it will help you increase your skill level - if you use it, and it will teach information regarding the test to help you score better. This is an excellent resource for the serious student.