The Best Books and Resources for EDAIC Part 1 Preparation

ESAIC does publish an official Recommended Reading List for candidates preparing for the EDAIC — you can download it from esaic.org, and it is updated in several languages. It is a thorough, sensible list. It is also close to useless as a shopping guide, because it names dozens of titles and, quite reasonably, tells you that "a standard textbook of anaesthesia favoured in your country" is a perfectly good place to start. That is honest advice. It is not, however, an answer to the question every trainee actually asks: with a clinical rota, an on-call commitment and maybe three free evenings a week, which EDAIC books should I actually buy and open?

Nobody reads twenty textbooks before September. This guide is the ruthless version of the reading list — the same core titles, sorted into what to buy, what to borrow and what to leave on the shelf, with an honest verdict on each. A quick note first: AnesCORE is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ESAIC. The official reading list and the ESAIC EDAIC Trainer are the official options; everything below is our own view, informed by what genuinely helps people pass the EDAIC Part 1 written papers.

The verdict up front

If you read nothing else, read this table. Verdicts assume you are a working resident preparing over six to nine months, not a full-time student with unlimited evenings.

The pattern is deliberate. Two books cover most people. A handful of subject texts exist to plug named gaps. The enormous references are for looking things up, not for reading. Buy against your weaknesses, not against your anxiety — and whatever you buy, plan to pair it with an EDAIC question bank, for reasons we return to below.

Must-buy: the two books nearly everyone needs

How to Pass the EDAIC — Varvinskiy, Zerafa & Hill (Oxford University Press)

This is the only widely available book written specifically for this diploma, edited by current and former ESAIC examiners and published by Oxford University Press in 2023. It carries roughly 300 practice questions with model answers spanning Part 1 Paper A, Paper B and Part 2 oral questions, which means it also orients you to the way ESAIC frames a stem. It will not teach you physiology from scratch, and it is not a substitute for a proper question bank because the volume of items is modest. Buy it for exam calibration and worked reasoning, then do the bulk of your practice elsewhere.

Fundamentals of Anaesthesia — Pinnock & Smith (Cambridge University Press)

If you buy one text to build knowledge rather than to test it, make it this one. Now in its fourth edition from Cambridge University Press, it folds physiology, pharmacology, physics and clinical measurement, and clinical anaesthesia into a single volume pitched squarely at exam candidates. The depth is enough for most Paper A statements and the clinical sections give you a foothold in Paper B. Some readers find it dense and prefer to lean on the dedicated subject books below for their weakest topics; that is fine, and the two approaches are complementary rather than mutually exclusive. As a one-book foundation, nothing else on this list beats it on coverage-per-page.

Nice-to-have: subject texts to plug specific gaps

These are excellent books, but you do not need all four. Buy the one or two that match the topics you keep getting wrong.

Principles of Physiology for the Anaesthetist — Power & Kam

Physiology is the single largest source of Paper A marks, and this is the anaesthesia-focused alternative to a general medical physiology tome. The current edition (CRC Press) is reorganised into short, revision-friendly chapters with applied clinical context, so you are not wading through material a physician needs but an anaesthetist never sees. If cardiovascular, respiratory or renal physiology is where you bleed marks, this earns its place. If Fundamentals is carrying your physiology comfortably, you can skip it.

Pharmacology for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care — Peck, Hill & Williams

Pharmacology is relentlessly examined and rewards precise, mechanism-level understanding — exactly what the MTF format probes. Peck, Hill and Williams (Cambridge University Press) is the standard trainee text, strong on pharmacokinetic principles, the core anaesthetic drugs and cardiovascular agents, with clear diagrams and tables. It is a nice-to-have rather than a must-buy only because Fundamentals covers the essentials; if pharmacokinetics or drug mechanisms feel shaky, upgrade this to essential for you personally.

Basic Physics and Measurement in Anaesthesia — Davis & Kenny

Physics, equipment and clinical measurement are where clinically strong candidates most often come unstuck, because the material is unfamiliar rather than difficult. Davis and Kenny is concise, exam-oriented and explains the principles behind monitoring, gas laws, flow and electrical safety without drowning you in engineering. It is a targeted purchase: worth it if physics is a genuine weak spot, easy to skip if you already reason comfortably about exponentials and transducers.

Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia — Allman & Wilson

For Paper B, a compact clinical reference is more useful than another doorstop. The Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia (Oxford University Press, fifth edition) is the pocket companion most trainees already recognise, covering preoperative assessment, general and subspecialty anaesthesia and common emergencies in a quick-lookup format. It will not give you the physiological depth of a dedicated text, but for consolidating clinical breadth and settling "what is standard practice here?" questions, it is efficient and reliable.

Skip unless...: books to borrow, not buy

None of these are bad books. They are simply the wrong shape for a time-limited candidate — either too narrow to justify a purchase or too vast to read. Use a departmental or library copy.

Anatomy for Anaesthetists — Ellis, Feldman & Harrop-Griffiths

The classic applied-anatomy text (Wiley-Blackwell), particularly relevant to regional anaesthesia and airway topics. It is genuinely good, but for most candidates the anatomy yield in Part 1 does not justify a whole book. Skip it unless anatomy is a named weakness — and if regional anatomy is the issue, the free NYSORA regional anaesthesia resource, with its ultrasound images and needle approaches, often does the job faster.

Oh's Intensive Care Manual — Bersten & Handy

A superb ICU reference (Elsevier) covering sepsis, ventilation, organ support and the pathophysiology behind them. But it is a manual for practising in intensive care, not a revision text, and most trainees can meet the Part 1 ICU requirement through Fundamentals, the Oxford Handbook and current guidelines. Borrow it — most units have a copy — and dip in only if intensive care is where you lose marks.

Miller's Anesthesia — Gropper and colleagues

The definitive multi-volume reference, now in its tenth edition (Elsevier, 2025). It is authoritative and comprehensive to a fault, which is precisely why you should not try to read it for this exam. Use it the way consultants do: to resolve a specific, stubborn question when a question-bank explanation leaves you unconvinced. Buying it to prepare for Part 1 is the classic mistake of confusing owning knowledge with acquiring it.

Matching your reading to the syllabus

Part 1 examines fourteen subjects across two papers. Use this map to point each recommended text at the syllabus areas it actually serves, so you read with purpose rather than by chapter order.

Two things stand out. First, Fundamentals of Anaesthesia appears against most of Paper A, which is why it earns must-buy status. Second, the "Guidelines and Current Literature" subject is not served by any textbook at all — it is examined precisely because it moves faster than books can. Keep an eye on current guidelines and a couple of major review articles in the closing months; no purchase covers this properly.

Books alone won't pass Part 1

Here is the uncomfortable truth every honest examiner will tell you: reading is necessary and insufficient. Part 1 is a Multiple True/False exam — a stem followed by five independent true/false statements, marked with no negative penalty, so you answer everything. That format tests retrieval and precision, not recognition. You can highlight a chapter until it glows and still fail to recall, under time pressure, whether a specific statement is completely true as written. The only way to build that skill is to practise the format itself, repeatedly, and to read the explanation for every statement you get wrong.

This is where an EDAIC question bank does what no book can. A large bank of MTF items in the real exam style, each statement individually explained against a source, converts passive reading into active recall and shows you — topic by topic — where your knowledge is thin before the examiners do. The workflow that works is simple: read a topic in one of the books above, then immediately attempt questions on it; when an explanation contradicts what you thought you knew, go back to the text and fix the gap. Reading and questions in a tight loop beat either one alone, every time. For more on running that loop well, see our guides on building an effective study plan and the wider strategies to pass EDAIC Part 1.

The practical division of labour looks like this. In the early months, reading dominates and questions diagnose your weak areas. In the final two months, questions dominate — full-length timed mocks in the 60-question paper format build the stamina and pacing that a textbook cannot — and reading becomes targeted repair of whatever the mocks expose. Get that shift right and a modest bookshelf will carry you further than a groaning one ever could.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an official EDAIC reading list?

Yes. ESAIC publishes a Recommended Reading List for candidates preparing for the EDAIC, available to download from esaic.org and maintained in several languages. It is deliberately broad and, in ESAIC's own words, a standard anaesthesia textbook favoured in your own country is a reasonable basis, supplemented by familiarity with current journal topics. Treat it as a menu of acceptable options rather than a mandatory shopping list — you are not expected to own everything on it.

If I only buy one book, which should it be?

For building knowledge, buy Fundamentals of Anaesthesia (Pinnock & Smith): a single volume that covers most of Paper A and gives you a clinical foundation for Paper B. For orienting yourself to the exam itself, How to Pass the EDAIC (Varvinskiy, Zerafa & Hill) is the only book written for this diploma. If forced to pick one, choose according to your need — Fundamentals if your underlying knowledge is shaky, How to Pass the EDAIC if your knowledge is solid but your exam technique is not. Whichever you choose, pair it with question practice.

Are books enough to pass EDAIC Part 1?

No. Books build understanding, but Part 1 tests retrieval under time pressure in a Multiple True/False format that reading alone does not rehearse. Candidates who rely only on textbooks tend to recognise material without being able to reconstruct it against a specific true/false statement in the exam. Pair your reading with a large, well-explained question bank and timed mock papers so that active recall, not passive familiarity, is what you carry into the exam hall.

Which books cover Paper A versus Paper B?

Paper A (basic sciences) is best served by Fundamentals of Anaesthesia as a base, with Power & Kam for physiology, Peck, Hill & Williams for pharmacology, and Davis & Kenny for physics, equipment and clinical measurement. Paper B (clinical anaesthesia and intensive care) leans on the Oxford Handbook of Anaesthesia for breadth, Oh's Intensive Care Manual if intensive care is weak, the free NYSORA resource for regional anaesthesia, and current guidelines for the fast-moving topics. Miller's Anesthesia sits behind both papers as a reference to consult, not to read.

Do I need the latest edition of every textbook?

Not usually. Core physiology, pharmacology and physics change slowly, so a recent — but not necessarily the newest — edition of a basic-sciences text is generally fine and often much cheaper second-hand. The exception is anything guideline-dependent: for resuscitation algorithms, sepsis management or airway guidance, do not trust an older edition, and go to the current published guideline instead. Spend your money on the newest edition only where the content genuinely dates.

The bottom line

The official list is long because it has to be comprehensive; your list should be short because your time is not. Buy How to Pass the EDAIC and Fundamentals of Anaesthesia, add one or two subject texts aimed squarely at your weakest topics, borrow the big references rather than buying them, and put the money and hours you save into structured question practice. That combination — a lean bookshelf paired with disciplined MTF drilling — is what actually gets people across the line in September.

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