An absolute necessity... as is Kaplan... both of which are handy from day 1 of med school to follow class. Don't bother with '1st Aid for Step 2' - get 'USMLE Step 2 Secrets' instead.

You'll need Netter (ISBN 1929007159), Rohen (below), Moore (below) and Grant's Dissector. And this for the 30 minutes of cramming before the exam.

If nerves were yellow, arteries were red, and veins were blue, then anatomy would be much easier... but they're not - they're all pretty much brown - and this book helps you distinguish things.

This is the only book you need to memorize to pass Biochem... and it's thin. Save the heavy textbook money for Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology. This newest edition is hot off the presses!

Unusually easy to understand, & you'll use it on the floors when the attending throws you an EKG and says, "What do you see?". The answer invariably includes an axis deviation or hyperkalemia.

Immuno's complicated. Books that make it simpler will save you.

Easy to read, chock-full of great pictures with precise descriptions, small and comprehensive... (Hint: The older edition has a spiral binding which is nice when you're with the microscope, because it stays open.)

Use this as an adjunct to the Phunny Pharm (if you can get the Phunny Pharm!). Lange's Basic & Clinical Pharm is longer & more detailed.

More important than any book here, and easy to read! The pocket edition is not a replacement. Read the big one... twice. Did I mention this is the most important book here?

In the hospital: When your resident asks you to write orders for 17 medicines on one patient, you'll be glad you have this... also in everyone's pocket. Make sure you have this year's copy. This is the one with small print and no spiral binding. This new edition comes out Dec 09.

Indispensable on rounds. It's a tiny little book with tiny little print and all the answers you could possibly need. It's frightening how much info is in this well-indexed treasure.

Medicine: extremely well written, & easily understood. Stresses only those topics that we absolutely have to have a clue about by graduation. It's not a pocketbook, but at about half the physical size of Harrison's, it's not easy to carry around, either. Out of Harrison's, NMS, Blueprints, & this, get this. It's well worth the money.

Wait - a surgery note isn't the same as a medicine note? What should I put in a progress note for a 6 month old? And what do they want from me????? This book answers those questions before you've screwed up in the first week trying to figure it out on your own. It gave me an edge over my lost fellow med students.

12th edition: I only used this and High Yield in Psych. Get the whole PreTest series: Ob/Gyn, Surgery, Peds, Medicine... They fit in your pocket and are great for reviewing questions.

As you're changing in the locker room to go into the case, you flip to the parathyroidectomy page and cram... In the OR, the Attending will ask you three of the questions you just read. Don't worry about what to read in surgery - just sleep and take your antidepressants. You'll be done soon.

This and "How to Choose a Medical Specialty" by Taylor are great resources for those of us who don't have nepotism going for us. Get it at THE START of med school, so you can have some idea of what to do to get what you might eventually want. (90% of 1st years change their choice of specialty by the time of graduation.) Make an informed decision.