Rating: 
Summary: Good for beginners, but that's about all.
Review: If you've never used SQL before, then this will be a great introductory book if you don't intend to create complex queries or use some of the more advanced SQL features. It is by no means an SQL reference. (Not that it claims to be, mind you.) For someone who needs to retrieve simple data from databases and who has a hard time remembering the syntax, this book will be a god-send.I've always shied away from these "10-minute" type books, and now I can see why. It is NOT at all a bad book; I guess I just incorrectly evaluated my needs. Be sure you carefully evaluate yours before purchasing.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Basic Introduction to SQL
Review: Before I picked up this book, SQL and databases in general petrified me. But once I started reading it, I asked myself why I had waited so long to learn about SQL. Ben Forta 'demystifies' SQL and does it in a way that simplifies learning about this database language. True to its name, this is a book that can be read quickly. Ben keeps all concepts clear and simple. By the time I'd finished the book, I had a basic understanding of SQL and realized my own fears had kept me from learning about it. While I'm not ready to program in SQL, this book has now allowed me to at least be conversant in it and has given me a good general understanding about this database language.
Rating: 
Summary:
What a fantastic little book(let)
Review:
I'm not a great fan of Sams books, but this little SQL book has made me say (for the first time) there is a truly great Sams offering. If you are like me and feel that 400+ pages on a subject such as SQL is overkill (for the amount of SQL features most of us use), then this is the answer. It covers all of the most useful features of SQL with examples and analysis to a level that will enable effective application in the real world. It even points out proprietary differences in implementation (Oracle/Microsoft mainly). If you are a beginner to SQL this book won't frighten you off (nor will it leave you baffled and confused by being too short a volume to effectively cover the subject - with SQL you can get away with such a small volume, basically because it's most used functions are very simple to understand and use). Some of the coverage will leave you needing (wanting?) to read more, in particular Transactions/Triggers and Stored Procedures will demand the purchase of much larger volumes to get full mileage from them. But for what it claims to be, SQL without the fluff or overkill, this book gives you in 208 small pages, what other volumes I have read give in 800 long and tedious pages.
Rating:
Summary: Cut to the chase
Review: I work for a software company that makes database reporting tools that has compatability with over 35 databases. Those of us who use these programs and provide support for them do not have to know SQL in any way, the applications write the SQL for the user. Having so much exposure to databases, I naturally wanted to learn the language that makes them run. I already know good database design by looking at bad design. I found it rather easy to figure out the interface for databases like SQL Server and Oracle, but I did not know how to use iSQL. This book says right up front that it does not cover any topics specific to any database and does not go into design or other administrative tasks. All I wanted to learn was SQL and that is all this book presented. I have recommended it to everyone on my team.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: This is indeed a rarity for computer books: a lot of good information in a compact format that plainly explains the basics of SQL and is easy on the wallet. In 3 years of buying computer books this is EASILY the best value I have ever gotten! I would recommend this book to anyone learning database programming for the first time, I wish I had had my hands on this book when I took VB database programming in college! Excellent book!
Rating:
Summary: I Agree With the Positive Reviews of This Book
Review: It took me about a week to read this book. As a software developer, I need to know how to access data using SQL, and not, genrally speaking, database design. This book was a great tool for me to refresh, practice, and expand my SQL. Ben Forta has done a good job of presenting essential material concisely.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful SQL Reference
Review: Forta's books are always exceptional... the examples are easy to follow and perfect for the beginning SQL programmer. As the title suggests, only 10 mins are needed to grasp the basics of SQL. Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: True to its title, and easy to understand
Review: I'm so tired of the "XXX for Dummies" and "XXX in 500 easy lessons" books -- they are usually either so general as to be useless, or require so much prior knowledge as to be redundant. Forta's book is none of the above! I had to learn the bare essentials of SQL (enough to be conversant and somewhat functional) in under a week, and this book was the ticket. There's enough information and detail to be useful and accurate, without the jargon and technical minutiae only the hard-core techies *really* need or want. It's organized logically, and the table of contents and appendices are wonderful! I have been able to avoid using the "official" [1200+ page] SQL documentation for my application/system because of this book, and for that I am very grateful! I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Very good job at its intended job
Review: Ben Forta has done a great job distilling the most pertinent basic SQL concepts into simple, easy to read form. Befitting its "10 minute" moniker, this is a wonderful book for new SQL programmers. But it's also subtly different in a way that will particularly suit folks coming into SQL for the first time as part of their involvement in using web database development tools such as ColdFusion and Active Server Pages. One one level, any new SQL programmer using any DBMS will appreciate the easily digested coverage of the fundamental query and update basics. The books is well-written, an easy read, and goes beyond those basics without going too far. Even moderately experienced readers will be well-served by the clear, simple discussions of important topics (like data manipulation and aggregating functions, grouping data, subqueries, views, etc) that can be easily forgotten, as well as other topics (such as using transactions, constraints, triggers, etc.) that can get lost in wading through other more voluminous tomes. Ben presents a very nice balance of fundamental topics. But there's more to this book than being a simple intro to SQL. That audience of web db developers is an exploding one, and they bring some unique needs for which Ben provides a valuable perspective. Most SQL books have some DBMS-specific bias, despite SQL's purpose as a tool for accessing any kind of database in a consistent manner. Web application development environments like ASP and CF are also similarly database-agnostic. There are subtle points about using SQL in such environments that are different from using it, say, in a query builder or in a client/server environment. Ben, who was lead author of the highly regarded ColdFusion Web Application Construction Kit, presents the subjects in a manner suitable to such programmers and the way they'd code SQL and use its results, and he also sprinkles in discussions of how to take care of cross-platform issues on particular tasks, and often offers specific solutions for the most popular DBMS's used by that audience, such as Access, SQL Server, and Oracle. On still another level, other books also get bogged down in issues of database design, creation, administration, security, etc. Important though those topics are, most development shops are growing to a point where those tasks are being handled by different people, and the developer who simply wants to code retrieval and update applications is challenged to find a good intro sql book that doesn't wade into detail on topics that they may not yet be able to understand, let alone ever need to perform. There are other great books that do cover those subjects, and readers would do well to seek those out as they progress in their learning. It certainly makes it challenging to find (and no less to write) a SQL book. There are just so many potential audiences. For its intended purpose though, "Teach Yourself SQL in 10 Minutes" is very well done. As in his previous books, Ben is right on the money--and for a very low price, at that!
Rating:
Summary: Very Focused
Review: This is a very focused basic book on structured query language (SQL). It doesn't go into super depth and doesn't talk much about database software administration or installation. It was perfect for me to learn how to construct efficient SQL queries covering all the basics.
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