Product Description

Cracking the GMAT brings you proven techniques from the test prep experts! The 2009 edition includes over 200 practice questions and exclusive free access to practice exams and further review online. In Cracking the GMAT, we’ll teach you how to think like the test writers and

·Solve complex sentence correction problems by recognizing key errors
·Crack tough data sufficiency questions using simple techniques
·Practice online with full-length tests, lessons, and drills
·Get the most out of your prep time with the study plan that’s right for you

We give you plenty of practice problems to help you master our proven techniques. In addition, you can access 2 full-length GMAT practice tests online. Our practice questions are just like those you’ll see on the real GMAT–but with detailed answers and explanations for every question.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #230320 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-10
• Released on: 2008-06-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

About the Author
Adam Robinson graduated from Wharton before earning a law degree at Oxford University in England. Robinson, a rated chess master, devised and perfected the Joe Bloggs approach to beating standardized tests in 1980, as well as numerous other core Princeton Review techniques. A freelance author of many books, Robinson has collaborated with the Princeton Review to develop a number if its courses.

Customer Reviews

3.5 Stars Actually
I thought this book was pretty good for the review portions. It helped me relearn a lot of math (especially) that I had forgotten over the past 15+ years. However, the practice tests in the The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 11th Edition Official Guide were better. Those are old questions from actual tests.

As I wrote in my Official Guide review, the best thing you can do is to download the free (as free as the $250 you just paid to take the test) practice tests from the GMAT site. They look and feel exactly like the real test. I believe the reason I scored 70 points higher then when I took the practice test was because I was more comfortable with the process. It wasn't because I got smarter over the 36 hour period between the practice and real tests.

frustrating
I'm in the midst of studying to take the GMAT test and have been using the Princeton Review "Cracking the GMAT 2009 Edition".

This book does some good teaching. Lots of basic knowledge that I had forgotten in the years since high school and college math. However, significant amounts of the book are more about how to take the GMAT test, not on teaching the basic skills. When it does impart important information, it mostly just encourages you to memorize formulas while not following through on why the formulas are important.

Most frustrating is that the book contains many typos and misinformation. It is maddening that the test questions require so much attention to detail, and that the editors apparently did not use the same level in proofing the book. There have been numerous examples that I have come across. For example, on pg 196, there is a data sufficiency question. After giving the sample question, the explanation misquotes the question! In some of the review areas, answers are given to questions that are not even in the quizzes. It seems like they didn't fully proof the book between editions or something.

It would be great to be able to use this book without continually questioning whether the given answer has been proofed correctly by the editors. Highly disappointing and frustrating.

Don't waste your money.
This book does a nice job of introducing the format of the GMAT, what it is, etc. If you are completely ignorant about what the GMAT is, then it may be worth your time to drive over to the local bookstore and thumb through the first couple of chapters. Beyond that there is very little useful information to be found in this book. In fact, I think that the strategies outlined for the quantitative section are simply misleading and wrong.

For example, early on the book describes a guy named "Joe Bloggs," who is essentially a complete idiot who did not prepare at all for the exam. Most every math problem explanation shows one or two answer choices that Joe would have selected because either they are intermediate solutions (solutions that are found during necessary, but preliminary steps on the way to the final solution), or they are just "too obvious." That's real cute, and perhaps makes people more comfortable with the test, but let me tell you that it will not help you on test day, and will likely hurt you.

The best thing that you can do in your preparation is learn the basics cold. Do this by frequenting some of the GMAT prep site forums, where a plethora of practice problems with expert solutions can be found. To sum up the quantitative tutorials in this book- "Make sure that you find out what the question is asking, and make sure that you do not stop short of the full solution, as they will tempt you with answer choices that they know you will encounter during your work to solve the problem." Well, that is sound advice, and much harder in practice than it sounds, but hardly worth basing an entire book upon.

If you are somebody who is really struggling with sentence correction, I would actually recommend that section, as I feel it does do a nice job of summing up the ideal approach to those questions.

In closing, I would say that if you are somebody who is simply trying to get to a 550-600 score, then this book may well be right up your alley, as the concepts are introduced in a very friendly and frankly, childish way. However, if you aspire to a 700+ score, this book is beneath you, and you really need to pass this one up. I bought this book on a whim early in my preparation, because I heard good reviews of it, but promptly closed it and set it aside for the duration of my studies and only used it once for the aforementioned reasons, and I scored a 750. I honestly believe that the reason these books sell so well is that reading them is in a way therapeutic, as it makes you feel comfortable with the test. Trust me that that is not a good thing. You have to make a realistic assessment of your weaknesses, and work to improve those, not waste your time practicing some cutesy methods that you won't have time to use on test day.