Barron’s How to Prepare for the TOEIC Test has both positive and negative points, but the negatives outweigh the positives. First off, the positives. (...) You get six complete TOEIC practice tests and a fair number of practice exercises for each of the seven sections. All of these exercises somewhat approximate an actual ETS TOEIC test. In addition, the author gives explanatory answers to the practice tests and exercises. However, this is where the positives of Barron’s book end. On the negative side, the author’s analysis of the construction of the TOEIC is very confusing. For example, his presentation of the material in the listening comprehension sections is less than helpful. It attempts to mix all four sections together which, in my opinion, doesn’t work well. Peterson’s TOEIC Success presents this listening material in a much clearer manner. In addition, the author’s analysis of Parts 5 and 6 (grammar) of the reading section leaves much to be desired. Simply put, the grammar points reviewed in the Barron’s book are not an exact reflection of the grammar you will find an actual TOEIC test. I do feel that the author’s analysis of Part 7, the reading comprehension section, is the stronger than his analysis of Parts 1-6. For Part 7, he provides a useful “question type chart” and realistic TOEIC-style reading passages. However, even here, there are problems: The reading passages are on the short side and there is an overabundance of chart-type passages. Overall, Barron’s How to Prepare for the TOEIC Test is not terrible, but mostly confusing and unenlightening. Buy this book if you want a lot of practice tests, but not as a way of giving you a full understanding of the construction of the TOEIC exam.