Cracking the Boards: USMLE Step 2, 2nd Edition

This book is divided into 2 main parts, the first includes cases which are good but their explanations contain many information that are beyond the scope of the exam or are not high yield. The second part is great for the quality of questions it contains, I think these 400 questions cover the main ideas of the exam with a format that looks nearly like that of the USMLE step 2 exam, I reccomend this book for its great questions.

If you were awake during 3rd year of medical school, most of the basics are in your head already. This book is a good case-oriented review of the major topics likely to show up on Step 2. It quickly got me up to speed across all of the different specialties.

I think reviewing cases is the way to go. Books like First Aid are good for step 1 when you are just reviewing lists of facts, but Step 2 requires you to understand how to manage cases. I didn't have a lot of time to study and this book was a good way to review material across all specialties in a short period of time.

I disagree with the Dr. from Bahrain. I am a US medical student and found this book very helpful. The cases that were covered all appeared in one form or another on the USMLE Step 2. Is it an all encompassing review of medical school? NO. But it is a thorough review of high-yield cases that are likely to show up on the exam. I recommend it to anyone who has a limited amount of time to study and wants to review some high-yield topics. I scored very high on both Step 1 and Step 2 and am applying for orthopedic surgery residencies. I bought a lot of books for studying for Step 2 and this was one of the more helpful ones.