Rating: 
Summary: A must read for data modelers
Review: I bought this book about a month ago based upon a recommendation from a colleague. Technical books don't tend to be the most interesting reading material, but this book with its practical and entertaining format kept me engaged. I have over 9 years of modeling experience (mostly transactional but getting more into data warehousing), and yet I picked up several new techniques. I have already created a Reality Check Subject Area Model of our data warehouse, and am currently working on a Family Tree of several operational systems.
Rating:
Summary: Great modeling book!
Review: I have less than one year of data modeling experience and I thought the whole book was a great read, but I got the most out of the discussion on Abstraction in Chapter 9. After reading this chapter, I feel I can spot opportunities to make my modeling structures more flexible. Definitely recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for modelers!
Review: I like the way Steve uses analogies to help us better understand modeling. His introductions to each chapter are both amusing and a great intro to the subject matter in each chapter. His creative way of introducing techniques and the innovativeness of the techniques themselves have had a large impact on the way our department does data modeling. There are two books every data modeler must own: This book and Data Modeling Essentials by Simsion.
Rating: 
Summary: A real farse.
Review: I read the other reviews and thought wow, a good source of knowledge. Instead I got a book full of ridiculous "so called tools" to help in defining the data model. Meta Data Bingo? If I sent mail out as suggested in the book to play this sort of game I think I would lose all credibility with my peers. This book just does not add any value unless you are a complete idiot. Actually the only value add is $54 to the author. A real waste!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable and very useful
Review: I really enjoyed this book. I have been data modeling since 1994 and was able to still pick up some useful techniques. I especially liked the terminology for each of the different tools, like the Normalization Hike and Meta Data Bingo.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Informative
Review: I've been waiting for this book! It's an amazing collection of really useful tools and checklists for modeling. And the book is really fun to read. I really enjoyed the examples, and they showed that the author has really learned by doing.
Rating:
Summary: Very Practical
Review: I've read books before on the theory of database design, but this is the first book I've read that focuses on reality. These are practical techniques that are explained with the help of actual examples and at times with humor, making it a very good read. One topic in particular, the Abstraction Safety Guide, I can apply almost immediately to a design I am currently working on.
Rating:
Summary: Data Modeler's Workbench
Review: It is an excellent hands-on source for beginners and experienced data modeling professionals.
Rating:
Summary: The Best New Data Modeling Book in Years!
Review: Steve Hoberman has written a truly valuable book that is sure to advance the discipline of data modeling. The writing style make it a comfortable and interesting book to read, and the organization makes it useful as a reference. Steve's concepts, definitions, and classification schema help to advance data modeling as a learnable and repeatable process. Many aspects of this book added to my knowledge of data modeling. I learned some new techniques, and I've been a data modeling practitioner since the early 1980's. This is a must for every data modeler's bookshelf. I believe the single greatest impact this book will make is in its attention to data modeling as a human process as well as a technical one.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent repository of checklists in the book
Review: The book is based on actual experience as opposed to the theoretical treatment modeling receives in many books.Steve has shared a lot of practical REAL LIFE checklists which help in extracting domain ... very useful !!!
| 
