The 5 best GMAT exam prep books

Preparing for the GMAT exam takes time. While taking practice questions is important, it’s also crucial to sharpen your time management skills and test-taking strategies. 

Luckily, there are many GMAT prep books available that can help you ace the all-important business school admission exam.  

Here, we’ve compiled a list of five of the best GMAT exam prep books so you can give yourself the best chance of achieving a top GMAT score.

1. The GMAT Official Guide 

The GMAT Official Guide is the one book you can't do without. 

Simply put, there’s no substitute for the genuine GMAT questions that you get in the Official Guide—and there are more than 2,100 of them if you take advantage of the GMAT Official Guide Bundle 2026-27.  

There are patterns in real GMAT questions that are missing in those devised by test prep companies, so much so that a seasoned GMAT coach can often spot imitation questions. 

With the Official Guide you’ll also be able to review detailed explanations to understand correct and incorrect answers—also written by the makers of the test.  

2. The Critical Reasoning Bible (PowerScore)

The PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible is one of the best non-official GMAT prep books out there. It focuses on the Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT, which is split into two parts: Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. The book mainly focuses on Critical Reasoning, but the concepts covered will also help you with the Reading Comprehension section. 

Rather than giving you genuine GMAT questions to answer, the book focuses more on the underlying concepts behind Critical Reasoning. It’ll help you understand how to answer typical questions and the theories behind them, which you can then bring into the exam.

3. All the GMAT Strategy Guide Set (Manhattan Prep) 

Manhattan Prep’s All the GMAT set consists of two books: All the Quant + DI and All the Verbal. The first book focuses on Quantitative Reasoning and Data Insights, while the second covers Verbal Reasoning.  

The set also comes with online bonus materials, including a 12-week study syllabus and an exclusive ebook with harder quant content

4. Total GMAT Math (Jeff Sackmann) 

While the Critical Reasoning Bible focuses exclusively on the Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT, Sackmann’s Total GMAT Math is all about Quantitative Reasoning. 

It covers math-based topics extensively, but you’ll need a solid foundation in math to get value from this title. If you are rusty with math, or you need to go over the basics, this book might be a little challenging to get your head around. Still, if you’re hoping to get a top score in the Quant section, this book may well help you do it.

It’s also worth pointing out that this book hasn’t been updated to reflect the new GMAT exam structure that came into place in 2024. However, many of the underlying concepts outlined within still apply to the test.

5. Mometrix GMAT Prep Book

If you’re looking to improve your score across all sections of the GMAT, the Mometrix GMAT Prep Book is a comprehensive option.  

Aside from detailed breakdowns of each section, the book also has a vocabulary section breaking down the words used in the exam, sections to help in improving your time management skills, and links to online video tutorials by GMAT experts. 

It is also regularly updated, meaning the concepts in the book apply to the latest version of the GMAT. 

This article was first published in April 2024 and updated in May 2026