Business Consulting: A Guide to How It Works and How to Make It Work, by Gilbert Toppin and Fiona Czerniawska.

Typical of The Economist series of books, this is an excellent guide to the consulting industry. It includes an in-depth analysis of the composition of firms, clients, and the market dynamics that are, in a word, fluid.

Anyone serious about a career in consulting should read this book.

Renewable Advantage: Crafting Strategy Through Economic Time, by Jeffrey Williams.

This is not only a wonderful guide to understanding key strategic concepts such as Economic Time and the Laws of Competitive Renewal, but it's also the companion text for Dr. Williams' own course by the same name taught right here at Tepper.

How to Get Into the Top Consulting Firms: A Surefire Case Interview Method, by Tim Darling.

This is not only an excellent guide for case interview mastery, it's written by a former Tepper student (Class of 2008). Tim also served on the Consulting Club board during his tenure at Tepper.

It's a wonderful book for anyone who's serious about understanding the art and science of consulting interviews.

Vault Career Guide to Consulting, by Eric Chung and Laura Walker Chung

This book, typical of the Vault series, does a great job of telling the whole story in detail. It gives you a broad overview of the industry and then dives into the nuts and bolts. Naturally, there's a lot of good advice about what to expect in interviews, and what makes some firms different than others, both from the perspective of the client as well as the employee.