Geography is the second most popular optional opted by IAS aspirants after Public Administration. In fact Geography and Pub Ad is quite a popular optional combination as well. The reasons for Geography being a popular optional are the well defined syllabus, its semi-scientific nature, map based questions that are easy to score off. No wonder Geography fetches good marks in the IAS Mains exam.
But to score well you need to study the recommended books as well. So which are the Geography books highly recommended by successful IAS aspirants? Find out below.
Comprehensive Geography by D.R Khullar
Whenever you start preparing a subject don’t dive into a specialized topic straightaway rather learn more about the subject as a whole, its key concepts so you can identify its important sections and plan accordingly. For this reason Khullar’s Comprehensive Geography is such a nice introduction about the key concepts of Geography.
From physiography, climate, environment to transport, agriculture, and foreign trade, Comprehensive Geography is truly comprehensive in scope. Written with a focus on India, this book for geography is equally useful and recommended for both, paper 1 and 2. Beginners to Geography should especially go through this book to get a hang of the subject.
Physical Geography by Savindra Singh
Physical Geography is a highly recommended book for physical geography by people who have emerged successful in the civil services exam. Physical Geography by Savindra Singh covers all relevant topics relating to physical geography like Earth’s origin, age, its structure, movements and physical features like rocks, plateaus, plains. Apart from this it covers all the topics relating to Atmosphere and Hydrosphere.
If you take a look at the Geography syllabus, you will realize Physical Geography covers a good part of Geomorphology, Climatalogy, and Oceanography. A must read book for Geography paper 1.
Geography through Maps by K Siddhartha
If you look at the Geography paper 2 syllabus you will notice it mentions
Candidates will be required to answer one compulsory map question pertinent to subjects covered by this paper
So candidates will surely encounter one map based question in the Geography paper. But you shouldn’t let go of this golden opportunity to score some easy marks by practicing maps through K Siddhartha’s Geography through Maps. K Siddhartha is a renowned coach for geography and his classes in Delhi at Ensemble are much in demand. In Geography through Maps the picture of the whole world has been presented in a sequential manner so that at no point the reader finds it monotonous, dull or uninteresting. In fact K Siddhartha has ensured that by studying Geography through Maps students will be able to locate places and natural resource regions easily and thus score guaranteed marks in the IAS mains exam.
Human Geography by Majid Hussain
The second paper focuses on Indian geography in relation to the human aspects of population, urbanization, planning, economy and so on. Human Geography looks into these aspects very lucidly. The book contains detailed maps and diagrams to aid your learning and contains references from the developed and developing parts of the world. Human Geography by TMH is recommended for getting a basic understanding of the second paper.
Geography of Population by RC Chandna
As the title suggests this book dwells on the Population aspects of the second paper and is a specialized book for this purpose.Population Geography explains all the relevant topics like migration, demographic attributes, patterns of settlements, etc in easy to understand manner. The latest edition of this book takes the 2001 census as its base to explore population aspects in detail. Population Geography is recommended to study this important topic of paper 2 in detail.
Regional Planning in India by Puri and Chand
Planning is the backbone of India’s economic system. The concept of 5-year plans was borrowed from the erstwhile Soviet Union and continues to form the basis of the economic system in India. But now the focus has shifted from top-down to bottom-up planning and hence the importance shown to regional planning in the Paper 2 syllabus.
For this reason you should study Regional Planning in India to cover topics like regional imbalances, tribal development and environmental issues, urbanization process etc. Regional Planning is recommended as reading a generic textbook for a specialized topic like planning may not be the best approach towards Geography paper 2.
Models in Geography by Majid Hussain
The final section of the Geography syllabus deals with models, theories and laws. To tackle these topics Majid Hussain has written yet another useful book called Models in Geography. This book explains all the important models and theories in a very lucid and cogent manner. Beginners as well as those having some background in Geography will find it useful.
More specifically Models in Geography covers the following models: Malthusian, Marxian, Agricultural Land Use and Demographic Transitional apart from these theories: Central Place Theory, Theory of Industrial Location, Rostow’s Stages of Growth, Heartland and Rimland Theories besides others. Hussain was thoughtful enough to also include a chapter on Climate Change, which is useful not just for Geography but GS Mains as well.
This wraps up books for Geography for IAS mains exam. If you have some more suggestions or doubts you can leave your valued comments below. Happy reading 
September 16, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Thank u very much sir for this post. I was waiting for it from 3 months….
Sir I have 2 doubts..
1. My dob is 26/02/93, can i sit in pre-2013 or pre-2014.
2. On which criteria candidates are selected for interview after mains.. are they top 2000.
or suppose if i have been selected for interview, then is it true i surely would get marks (either it is 100 or 200) and that would add up in my mains score?
I mean that if i would do better in mains then some compromise in interview is possible..
September 18, 2011 at 10:12 am
Hi Ashish,
You can appear for Pre in 2014. The top X no of candidates get a interview call where X is about 2.5 times the total no. of vacancies in that year. Obviously this means top X in each category.
September 17, 2011 at 10:17 am
Thanx Sir. I m greatly indebted 2 u for all dz books. Pray for me Sir. Once again, thnx for d books.
September 18, 2011 at 10:13 am
You’re welcome Tahir. My best wishes are always with you.
September 17, 2011 at 7:34 pm
Hi Sir,
Thank you so much for the valuable post. These suggestions are helping for the aspirants who start their preparation. Really you are helping out a lot. Thanks a lot sir.
September 17, 2011 at 9:52 pm
Hi Sir,
Can you please guide me about the Mains syllabus. What is the exact pattern of Mains? I am a bit confused about it. Is General Studies a compulsary paper or can we select any two optional of our choice. Please help me out.
Thanks.
September 18, 2011 at 10:15 am
Hi Saranya,
You can find the mains pattern here:
http://thriller.hubpages.com/hub/IAS-Exam-2012-Details-Syllabus-Tips-and-Strategies
May 2, 2012 at 7:56 am
hiii…. i want to know few books to start up with public adm as i m from medical profession, i really dont have any knowledge related to the subject… kindly suggest me whether i should go with it or not..
September 17, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Hello Sir,
Really a commendable work for beginners like us.Getting such thorough knowledge about the structure,preparation and resources will prove really helpful in our preparation for the exam.Hopefully we will get more such stuff from you.Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge with all of us.
September 18, 2011 at 10:06 am
You’re welcome Saurabh….just trying to help
September 18, 2011 at 5:29 pm
Thanks for this useful information
September 18, 2011 at 10:18 pm
thnx lazylord….
could you plz guide me with anthropology n psychology books 2………
thnx in advance…..
September 20, 2011 at 12:21 am
thank u for such a valuable information,
Sir i have Savinder Singh physical geography which covers almost all portion of Section A of paper 1.
But i am in urgent need of such a book which covers section -B of paper 1 which deals with HUMAN GEOGRAPHY.
Which book is preferable for Paper II which covers Geography Of India…in short which can cover PAPER II.
Please help me sir i am running out of time…
September 20, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Dear Sir,
I want to know if there is requirement of some specialised books for studying physical geography like climatology by D.S.Lal and Rupa Publication Series. Kindly clear my doubts.
is there is always useful to stick on the basic books and read them again and again.
October 3, 2011 at 9:53 pm
i desire that one day i will become ias officer so please give some information about ias syllabus
October 4, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Sir,my english is weak but i want to crack ias.Is it possible?Please tell me some tips to improve my english as soon as possible.I
October 21, 2011 at 8:24 am
Ok will write a post about improving English skills soon
October 6, 2011 at 10:33 am
Sir,
I am a 3rd year computer science engineering student,please guide me how should i prepare for the preliminary examinations as a beginner and what are the books which will be beneficial for me that i should refer and some tips to crack the prelims.I am sincerely ready to work hard.please provide your valuable suggestions.
October 21, 2011 at 8:23 am
Please refer the free eBook listed below jabin
October 8, 2011 at 6:44 pm
sir please list out the names of books for history also
thanks
October 21, 2011 at 8:23 am
Yes I will do so shortly Dhanjit
October 8, 2011 at 9:13 pm
thank u sir for ur valuable suggestions sir i am a student of b.tech 2nd year having computer science as my branch sir am very cnfuse about opting my optional subjects. can you plz tell me abt how should persue my optionals.
sir,
i m also very very much confused abt how can i start my prepration from nw only as i am reading the hindu newspaper daily and make notes on every important topic bt what is nxt……….. i mean wt step should i take nw
pzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me out sir.
October 21, 2011 at 8:22 am
Hi Ritu,
Please go through this free ebook to start your preparation
http://bit.ly/gVuqYb
October 10, 2011 at 9:28 am
thank you sir for ur detail analysis of books…
October 16, 2011 at 7:12 am
Dear sir, I am confused between geography and sociology, I am from engineering background and working in a company. Sir I want to know whether its possible to complete the syllabus of geography given that I m working… My other optional is pub ad. I hv heard that socio has a compact syllabus and can be covered easily. The same is not the case with geography. Plz suggest me fr revision.point of view. Though I know that geography is highly scoring but again would I get enough time to revise 2 to 3 times before exam? Thanks in advance….
October 21, 2011 at 8:21 am
Except for Pub Ad no other popular optional has a compact syllabus Abhishek. I suggest you stick with Geography if you find it exciting and easy to grasp. You will find time to revise.
October 16, 2011 at 10:54 pm
dear sir..
i m in 1st yr civil engg..i wanna do IAS..i dont hve to start with..!! what should i do..?? please help me…
October 21, 2011 at 8:19 am
First go through this free ebook here to know how to start preparing…
http://bit.ly/gVuqYb
October 19, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Hi Sir,
I had done B. Sc in physics and maths and then I did B.Ed. with Science and Maths. After then I completed M.Sc. in Physics with spl in comp science. After that I had worked as a software engineer in IT industry for 3 years. Now I had left my job and preparing myself for IAS 2013 after which I had 2 more attempts. I want to give this attempt with full preparation. I believe in understanding things and then retaining instead of mugging up.Could you please suggest me which optionals should I choose for IAS Mains?
Also suggest me some good IAS coaching institutes in Pune.
Thanks,
Vibha
October 21, 2011 at 8:18 am
Well Vibha, since you have a post-grad degree in Physiscs why not opt for it? Concerning the 2nd optional you could combine it with Maths (ur under-grad optional) or take some humanities subject like Socio Geog or Psycho. Unique classes in Pune are quite well known for IAS coaching. but there might be others as well.
October 21, 2011 at 11:40 am
Hi Sir,
I want to know if there is requirement of some specialised books for studying physical geography like climatology by D.S.Lal and Rupa Publication Series. Kindly clear my doubts.
Is there be always useful to stick on the basic books and read them again and again.
October 27, 2011 at 8:51 pm
What is better to prepare on your own geography or public administration.
If I do self preparation for geography how many hours I need to study geography (2,3,4) hours in a day.
November 19, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Hi Sir,
I want to know if there is requirement of some specialised books for studying physical geography like climatology by D.S.Lal and Rupa Publication Series. Kindly clear my doubts.
Is there be always useful to stick on the basic books and read them again and again.
December 15, 2011 at 12:16 pm
hello sir , i am working as a software engineer , i am selected subjects geography and political science .
can u please tell me is it good combination for mains and sir i am doing job , so is it posible to crack upsc by working 4-5 hrs per day, i want to apper in 2013 prelims. thanks for your valuable response in advance.
January 5, 2012 at 10:45 pm
Hello sir, I am a starter and have joined Vajiram for IAS GS mains, but since I was late in joining or rather coming to delhi so I am in a mess, I have opted for Pub Ad and Geog, please help me with the list of books and your suggestions to cover geography, pub ad, GS prelims and mains and Gs paper2(CSAT). Thank you sir.
January 6, 2012 at 2:35 am
hello sir,thanks for your valuable suggestions.Can you please suggest me on how to prepare for geograhy as i will take my prelims in 2014?
January 20, 2012 at 5:45 pm
hello sir, i am preparing for hpsc and upsc….presently i am studying geography(volume-1) by k.siddhartha and s. mukherjee of 2007 edition. can u plz suggest me can i study this book only or also refer to other book also. if yes plz suggest me other book name with their writers
January 29, 2012 at 4:15 am
Well Akash I’ve already listed books for geography on this page for your reference. I don’t have much knowledge about coaching institutes in Gurgaon, unfortunately.
January 20, 2012 at 5:47 pm
plz also suggest me some good coaching institute located in gurgaon
January 23, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Sir,
I want to know if there is requirement of some specialised books for studying physical geography like climatology by D.S.Lal and Rupa Publication Series. Kindly clear my doubts.
Is there be always useful to stick on the basic books and read them again and again.
January 29, 2012 at 4:08 am
If you want to go deeper than surely you can refer specialised books. I will post about the specialized books you’ve mentioned soon.
January 23, 2012 at 7:09 pm
sir can u plz tell some gud buk fr economic geography
January 29, 2012 at 4:11 am
Try Economic And Social Geography Made Simple by Rupa Publications here
February 1, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Sir,
I am preparing for Prelims 2012 and have completed CSAT 2 paper. I have referred TMH CSAT Paper 2 manual.
Please suggest how I should go about Paper 1.
Thank you.
February 22, 2012 at 12:19 pm
These books are worth the money.
March 3, 2012 at 2:51 pm
thanx sr..fr all the info. u r making available fr us…thanx a lot..!!
March 3, 2012 at 2:54 pm
thanx sr..fr all the info u r making available fr us..thanx a lot..!!
March 10, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Welcome Ashish!
May 8, 2012 at 3:56 pm
Hi Sir,
Thanks for all your valuable posts. I will really be indebted if you provide Book list for History..
Thanks in advance.