Rating: 
Summary: Will change the way you write code
Review: If you study this book as I have for the last month or so, you'll find that it changes the way you code. You will write better stored procedures than you'd ever have imagined. You will write better adhoc queries. You will design better databases. You will build better applications. If you read and follow the techniques in this book, you'll see your skill level go up - perhaps dramatically.My time with SQL Server began seven and a half months ago. Before that, I was an Oracle DBA for some nine years. Since then, I've been reading every book I could to get a handle on SQL Server. This is easily the most helpful of all the books I've read. It gets down to business quickly and immediately immerses you in the technology. You have no choice but to either sink or swim - fortunately, I began to swim almost immediately. When I first came over from the Oracle team, I was really disappointed when I started writing stored procedures because T-SQL seemed so weak compared to PL/SQL. Turns out I was all wet on that. I didn't know just how powerful the language could be. Having digested this book, I'd say T-SQL is easily as powerful as PL/SQL, if not more so. Moreoever, I'd say that SQL Server is now in the big leagues -- it can hold it's own with Oracle, DB2 or anyone else. I wouldn't have said that before I read this book. It has shown me a lot of the power under the hood in SQL Server that I'd never have guessed was there. All I can say for Oracle is that they better watch out. SQL Server is definitely right up there with them. Back to the book. It's a wonderful book that will change the way you write code. Get yourself a copy, then mark off a couple weeks to do nothing but work through it. I hope it helps you as much as it helped me.
Rating:
Summary: Superbly written
Review: In a time of rush to market hacks, it's nice to come across a computer book that doesn't offend the aesthetic senses - the literary taste people should have when they read things. I've seen good computer books in my time, but this one is very easily the best one I've ever read. It is concise, loaded with useful info, and engaging. I felt I'd just come upon that "undiscovered country" when I began reading this one. It is one groundbreaking piece of work. The thing I like the most about it is that it takes no shortcuts. The example code had to be a bear to put together. By my count, there's at least 10,000 lines of it. A lesser book would have had simpler, strawman examples. A lesser book would have avoided going into detailed discussions about things like transaction management and cursor use. Not this one, though. It is everything I could have hoped for and more. For the money, this is the best SQL Server book in print, bar none.
Rating:
Summary: Changed the way I look at TransactSQL
Review: Before I read this book, I had no idea you could do half the things you can with TransactSQL. OLE Automation? Statistical computations? Scheduling? Set algebra? Who knew? This book has really changed the way I look at TransactSQL. I came into the language feeling like it was really a crappy piece of work. Now I know what a great tool it can be. Now I see the kinds of elegant solutions you can craft with it if you know what you're doing. Thanks Ken Henderson for opening my eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, great examples, great writing
Review: This is one great book. Each chapter is a separate treatise on the things you need to know to master tsql. Each one is exquisitely written and loaded with ingenious examples. Want to know the secrets of the gurus? This is this book for you.
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Summary: THE ultimate tome on Transact-SQL
Review: I saw the author speak at a conference last month and bought this book because the talk was so packed full of useful info. I assumed that if he could provide that much info in a hour long presentation, surely an entire book would just inundate me. Fortunately, that's exactly what happened. I've just spent the last month going through this book cover-to-cover. It seems that everytime I open it, I find some new tidbit I can use. The chapter on SELECT, for example, is just loaded with good stuff. The chapter on statistical functions - again - it's loaded with useful info. The Undocumented chapter - it alone is worth the cost of the book. The Automation chapter - it opened a whole new world to me in terms of TSQL-based solutions. The stored procs chapter could be its own book as well, as could the performance and tuning chapter. I spent a week each on each of these two chapters, and if you want to get the most out of the book, you'll want to do the same. All told, this is THE ultimate tome on SQL Server's Transact-SQL. I cannot give it a higher recommendation than that.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, But Not That Good
Review: I bought this book because of all the hype reviews. But after having read it, I didn't find the book that good. This book is like another version of the Book Online documentation with fancy wordings inserted here and there to take up space. Also, I find the author's writing style difficult to comprehend. Phrase like "In this chapter, you will explored the ubiquitous, omnipotent Transact-SQL...". Gee, since when sql programming have to be written in POETIC language? I find this book boring to read after a while - lots of fast forward reading to find the BEEF! This book contains tons of code samples, but many of them dealt with trivial materials unfortunately (in my opinion); and having to compile these trivial materials can only strain your eyes and focus. Though there are some very good chapters in this book. Chapter 6 on the SELECT statement is very good. It covers a wide range of scenarios, such as sub-correlated and alias queries, plus some new features of Transact-SQL. Chapter 16 on performance is also good. Finally, chapter 18 on Full-Text search is excellent. Clear and concise, straight to the point with clean code examples. Also, it pointed out some very important issues. I don't regret buying this book at all. Infact, this book does contains some valuable tips that will no doubt elevate your sql programming skill. Unfortunately though, you will have to do a lots of filter reading to extract those goodies.
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Summary: Code, code, and more code!!!
Review: The book starts off telling you: "this is a coder's book." That's exactly the way it is. It *is* a coder's book. If you want the ultimate book on stored procedure, TSQL, cursors, DML, etc., etc., etc., get this book. It will change the way you look at Transact-SQL.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I could give it ten stars
Review: Before I read this book I didn't know what I was missing. Now I know the full power of the language. Deep stuff, deep deep stuff. Thought the book might be a little on the light side since it was relatively short (app. 600pages), but every page is jampacked with useful goodies. I find myself rereading pages whole chapters even to get everything thats there. Bottom line: best darned SQL book out there, bar none.
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Summary: Not for the faint of heart, the book is ADVANCED!!
Review: If you are brand new to SQL Server, get a simpler book. If you've been working with SQL Server for awhile and want to improve you Transact-SQL skills, look no further -- this is the book for you. I've been working in MSSQL for many years now and this book taught me loads I didn't know the first night I opened it. Undocumented DBCCs, cool statistical functions, array handling, extremely useful administrative code (you can use lots of it right out of the box), etc., all combine to create the most comprehensive body of TSQL work I've ever seen. Note: the book requires and repays careful rereading. You will not be able to read it in one setting. I spent a week and a half on it the first time through, and that was hitting the book every night. It's very dense, and you'll want to study the annotated code listings to get the most out of them. Like the other reviews have said, this book is not just for gurus. It's also not for the faint of heart -- you will have to study it to get the most out of it. However, if you learn everything in it, you'll be a guru yourself when you get done. I'm still working on that one myself.
Rating:
Summary: The best of the best
Review: Let's see - 600+ code samples, in-depth coverage of all things TSQL, top-notch writing, poignant quotes, code you can actually USE -- what else is there? This one is over the top. My favorite things are: 1) The motherlode of undocumented features - some real sleuthing went into uncovering these 2) The inclusion of abridged results with the sample queries (allowed me to read through most of the book commuting back and forth to London without breaking out my laptop). That said, Henderson avoids repeating the obvious, and clips where it makes sense (as he promises in the Preface). 3) The exhaustive coverage of subjects technically not TSQL-specific, such as full text search, OLE automation, transactions, and cursors. For the first time, I think I finally have a handle on how transactions work. I had to buy a second copy of this book because I wore the first one out! If you'd like to learn the nuances of Transact SQL from a master teacher, get this book and read it cover-to-cover.
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