Top Books To Read For IAS Mains GS Paper 1

Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society are the two broad subjects under which 11 topics are covered for the GS paper I. In this brief writeup; we include Top Recommended Books for UPSC Mains GS Paper 1 within three general subjects. 

• Indian Culture asks questions on literature, architect and art forms ranging from ancient to current times. The best book to study the same is Indian Art & Culture. The great part is that the book is also helpful for preparing CSE prelims. So, with one reading material, you kill two birds.
• Indian History 1750 to present is another topic prescribed within the UPSC syllabus for GS Paper. It encompasses “Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.” The best book to prepare the subject matter is B.L. Grover’s New Look at Modern Indian History: From 1707 to the Modern Times. From 1707 to 1998, it talks about all the vital events in history, which makes for 80% of the IAS curriculum. For the rest, read current affairs. 
• Post-Independence India and World History is one more heavy chunk of the GS paper 1 syllabus. As per UPSC, it includes:

• • Post-independence consolidation and reorganization 
  • History of the world – events from the 18th century like capitalism, socialism, the industrial revolution, colonisation, world wars, political philosophies and their forms and effect on the society

The best book to prepare this topic is Bipan Chandra’s India Since Independence. It is extremely popular among civil aspirants because it provides an extensive understanding of all event after independence. Moreover, it talks about policy and economic reforms.

These three books for the three topics form a foundation. More reading material is needed to capture the IAS Main GS 1 syllabus thoroughly.

Two Books That Everyone Should Read

Ask any voracious reader what they are reading, and they will not only tell you the name of the current book but also of the many that are in their TBR pile. The to-be-read shelf of every bibliophile is always brimming with books, yet we are never satisfied. The search for Best Books To Read is constant and relentless. 

Since it takes just too much effort to find books that you can fall in love with, again and again, we lighten your burden. Here are two books that everyone must read at least once in their lives. 

•     Turn Right at Machu Picchu

Written by Mark Adams, it tells Mark’s own story of following the footsteps of Hiram Bingham. Hiram was an archaeologist who explored the ruins of Inca and the surrounding ancient cities in Peru. The book, a travelogue, is written in such beautiful prose that it will inspire even home-bodies to explore Peru. A wonderful introduction to the wonders of Machu Picchu, after reading the book you too will be tempted to turn right.

•     The Alchemist

When Paulo Coelho released The Alchemist, it made a huge splash across the world. Not just book-lovers but everyone was hankering to get their hands on it. It is why it is one of the most-read books of current times. The tale is about a shepherd who travels from Spain to Egypt. The youth follows where his hearts leads only to find what he was searching for right where he started. 

The book inspires the reader to follow their dreams and talks about a heavy subject – the very meaning of life. Those are two reasons the book makes a must-read for virtually every person.

Give both (or one) of the books a try; we promise you will not regret picking up the paperbacks!

The Two Best Sites For Free Books

 

The advent of eBooks has been especially beneficial for readers. Why? Because there are many websites and platforms that offer eBooks for free or at a fraction of the original cost. Furthermore, since publishing eBooks is not a costly affair, many writers have self-published which has increased the number of free books accessible to readers. Though there are many sites to get cheap books from, the best of them are:

•    Bookhub is one of the few places that offer free or cheaply priced books in British Pound instead of US dollars. Some of the formats you can buy on the site are Kobo, Google Play, Apple and Kindle.
• Book Gorilla is another repository of books that are available either completely free of cost or at meagre prices. Plus, they cover a boatload of categories and send notifications via email of new books. You can choose from 12, 25 or 50 books per day.

Besides these two platforms, there are many other sites and libraries online that sell or lend out books at dirt-cheap costs. Gutenberg Project is one such place any book lover can use to get free books especially those which were not covered under copyright and patent laws.

Read More : Awesome-books-for-web-designers-which-you-should-not-miss