Cracking the GRE Mathematics Subject Test

by The Princeton Review and The Princeton Review

Book Overview

The GRE subject tests are among the most difficult standardized exams. Rather than testing general problem-solving skills, they require highly specialized knowledge. The experts at The Princeton... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375429727
• ISBN13: 9780375429729
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Princeton Review
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.4" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Well Organized

I haven't taken the GRE math test yet, so I can't personally evaluate how well the book covers the exam material, but I hear from others that it does a solid job. The book is well-organized and easy to read. There are sample questions after every major topic, and a review section at the end of every chapter. Major and minor concepts are reviewed, although many of the more subtle aspects are raised during the sample problems. Concepts and theorems are reviewed without excess wordiness -- its not a textbook, you'll get the most out of it if you have already been exposed to the material.

Excellent book! Recommended.

I really like the author's style of presenting mathematical material - it is clear and lucid, devoid of unnecessary mathematical obfuscation. The book gives you a clear picture of the topics that are asked in the GRE test, as well the depth of preparation you want in each topic. You probably want to use this book as "study guide" - to figure out what to study and how much, and to get you started on the topics; and refer to "standard" mathematical textbooks to get some more practice and indepth explanations. Overall, I have no real complaints - the book is very good. If you're preparing for the GRE Math subject test, I highly recommend that you buy it.

Best Review Book on the Market, However there are mistakes

I used this book to get into grad school. However, I had my department in tears with all the mistakes this book has. One example is page 125. The mapping is a mess and wrong. If anyone is looking to take the test, make sure you review your abstract. This book has bad absract and number theory review. The up side to this book is the depth in calculus.

great book, quite a few typos though

the material in this book is great review for the exam. unfortunately, there are quite a few typos in this book, but if you already know what you're reading (which you should since this is meant to be a review book) then it shouldn't be an issue. haven't taken the practice test yet; can't comment on it. definitely worth the purchase.

It will thoroughly prepare you

I used the 2nd edition book (GRE subject math exam), and from the sounds of other reviews, this book is about the same, which means it is an excellent book to use (and it is an excellent price). I used this book during the summer for several weeks to prepare for the GRE, including making note cards of most definitions and working out all of the practice problems. I then didn't look at this book for 3 months and then my GRE finally came around and I reviewed for a few days with the book, primarily working problems. The problems in this book are tricky and train you to find the tricks for problems on the GRE. After having taken the GRE (Dec, 2005), I can say I would have faired poorly without the preparation of this book since I would have missed so many little tricks that came in useful and I would have gone through the test without carefully doing every problem. Having used the book, the tricks for nearly every problem on the GRE were easy to see. The book problems seemed to have a general theme: if your approach has overwhelming computations, look at the problem for a trick, as this book will teach you to do (and some of the problems it gives have a trick that can be molded to other problems). Having receiving my scores, I can wholeheartedly say this book helped. Some other books to consider looking at for subject review (check out from a library -- not worth buying unless you want more info than you need for the GRE): "Topology" by Munkres (I thought the GRE book was insufficient to get a good feel for topology without previous study.) "Complex Variables and Applications" by Brown & Churchill (I was a bit fuzzy on residues from the GRE book alone -- Brown & Churchill's book is worth reviewing.) Both topology and complex are small portions of the exam, so reviewing these topics may not be worth the time unless the GRE book is no help to you.