Official GRE Value Combo, 2e 2nd Edition

I am really pleased with this book combo. These were the only resources I used to study for the GRE, and my scores for Verbal & Quantitative Reasoning were both in the 160's (max score is 170 for each section).1) The books were formatted well, easy to use, and the mixed practice problems give you a really accurate view of what the actual exam will look like. There are detailed explanations of the answers to help you improve how you arrive at your answer choices.2) The books prepare you for what the computer-based and written exams will look like when you go to take them. I felt like I had a really good idea of what to expect and how to navigate the computer testing system. They also gave me great tips about test scoring, "Marking" problems I wasn't sure about and using the "Review" function to go back and check my work. This really helped me manage my time and answer the most questions.3) I found the QR book particularly helpful. It gives you many strategies in your tool belt for how to approach a huge variety of problems. If you are on a tight budget and can only afford one of the two books, I would recommend focusing on the Quantitative Reasoning. Honestly, I found the practice problems in the book more challenging than the actual test questions--which is GOOD, since you are on a pretty tight time limit for completing the test. I probably would have done fine on the Verbal Reasoning section without studying, but I would have been lost on the Quantitative section without this.4) The VR book also has a short section at the back to help with your Analytical Writing section of the test. I wish I had spent a little extra time reading the examples given and practicing writing my own essays with a time limit.TL;DR - I am SO glad I bought this. Very worthwhile.

Covers the basics of everything I needed to refresh on. Will likely be buying more study material to go more in depth.

After studying with the Manhattan Prep GRE series, these final books were 100% necessary. Don't skip the practice tests and problems from ETS. Manhattan Prep is great if you haven't seen math in a really long time, but ETS gives you practice questions that are much, much closer to the actual GRE. I don't think I'd invest in the ETS super pack because these two cover what you need with practice questions, etc. There are a few errors on the questions, but if you've studied well, it's not too annoying. I got into the B-School I wanted. :)

Going through this book there are occasional typos and blatant errors. These are distracting and can make it difficult to accurately evaluate your work. Other than that, the book provides a good amount of practice. With dedicated effort you can get through the book in a week or less.

A lot of the information about the exam is on the GRE website. After having already taken the exam, the questions with solutions were very helpful in studying for the exam and were similar to questions I had on my exam (similar concepts, not same exact questions).

Awesome books. Definitely the best pair of books you can get to study for the GRE. Although I'd suggesting consulting/complementing these with the Manhattan GRE books, e-books or online resources, these are the best you can get to really simulate the real GRE. Manhattan has a great math section but the Official GRE ones are very well-rounded to practice. Do not expect lots of exercises. IT is quality over quantity. In my experience, I used them once or twice per week as simulated exams (on paper).

These ETS books are obviously the best choice for anyone looking to take the GRE. No other company is allowed to write questions very similar to the actual type of questions you'll see, so getting it straight from the source is a great opportunity

These books really helped me study for the general GRE. I should have studied way more, but I got above average on English and average on Math and I got into Grad School, so I'm happy!! I think the best part of these books is that they explain the layout of the GRE in detail, which is crucial as it is a timed test. The practice problems helped a lot as well.