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Rating: 
Summary: Not Disappointed!
Review: ...This covers what some of the other tuning books covers - but every book shows you something the others don't. This book showed me quite a few undocumented commands and tips I didn't get from other books.I think what I liked best about it was the writing style. It doesn't read like a technical manual or textbook... it reads more like Ken England is talking to you personally. He explains concepts and techniques in a way that even I could understand. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: If you are a DBA, this is the book
Review: I have been amazed about how much information is in this book. The writing is clear and concise. The long section that details query tuning was an education in itself. I finished the book with a clear understanding of the types of queries and how SQL Server uses them. This book is sitting on my desk now. If you want the information on how to optimize your queries, or the database, this is my recommendation.
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Summary: Excellent Coverage on Indexes
Review: I read this book online at ACM (by books 24x7) and was impressed with the clarity of Ken England's writing style. Finding a good reference on how SQL Server treats clustered and nonclustered indexes is no easy task, since most of the time a clustered index is described recursively (e.g. a clustered index is an an index that clusters data) and a nonclustered index is also defined based on not being clustered. That's useless. Ken makes it very clear what these differences are in terms of the data structures used, and more importanly helps you understand the ramifications. Reading this book has given me a black belt understanding of the Query Optimizer and Indexes. In fact, my first project after reading this book resulted taking a long running 8 hour query written by someone else and turning it into a 5 minute query. Needless to say I am purchasing a physical copy. Thanks Ken!
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Summary: Light on Fluff Heavy on Stuff
Review: I would say this this is one of my favorite SQL Server books and I have alot. If you want plain english internals, query optimization, information on locking and the things to think about when you are designing a new system or improving an old one, then Ken England has the book for you. I agree with another reader that this book reads like Ken is in the room talking to you. What is my favorite part...the part on the default data cache which if you are a Sybase DBA or a guy from way back this is something that they teach you right away and you would configure yourself along with the stored procedure cache. In SQL 2000 they are integrated and have been for a while but Ken does a real nice job of explaining them so that you can understand the need for memory how things come in and out of memory etc. I also like how he gets you to ask yourself the same questions that he asks himself, " Is this going to cause a locking problem in the future." I would say that If you want a book that is down and dirty to the point for every DBA to learn about and understand sql server and how to optimize it, look no further all of the essentials that you wished that you had known years ago are here. While there are other good authors out there like, Kalen Delaney, Rob Vieira, Mike Otey, Ken Henderson, etc.. This book is in the catagory of.. You need to have it and know everything in it. Any DBA worth their weight would own this book.
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Summary: Best SQL Server Book I've Seen
Review: If you want to really understand SQL Server, and get a better insight on database technology in general, this is the book to read. Ken England covers everything from SQL Server's internal workings (how it accesses tables & indexes) to query and index optimization. This is the kind of thing they don't teach you in college. Real-world, useful examples and techniques abound in this book. For instance, England goes over a few undocumented DBCC commands and includes an extended section on using the query execution plan to fine-tune indexes and queries. Also covered is the use of lock hints (as well as the underlying technology), hardware considerations, and a lot more. That said, I would recommend this book to anyone who deals with SQL Server on ANY level, from DBA's to web developers. Pair this book with The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL by Ken Henderson and you've got a great start on real database development.
Rating:
Summary: Great book. Best if used in pair with inside SQL Server 2000
Review: There is much overlap with the inside sql server 2000 book from microsoft but that book is more a detailed survey with a intuitive technical foucus while this book is a more pratical focus. These two books work together to form the ultimate 'book'. This book covers everything in detail and has many practical expamples, but the examples are not page fillers. It actulaly has many less pages than inside sql server.
Rating:
Summary: Great book. Best if used in pair with inside SQL Server 2000
Review: There is much overlap with the inside sql server 2000 book from microsoft but that book is more a detailed survey with a intuitive technical foucus while this book is a more pratical focus. These two books work together to form the ultimate 'book'. This book covers everything in detail and has many practical expamples, but the examples are not page fillers. It actulaly has many less pages than inside sql server.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book. Period !!
Review: Very useful book for query tuning, optimization etc.
(for both SQL server and Sybase)
Period.
Rating:
Summary: Highly useful for experienced developers
Review: What I really like about this book is that it is cheap compared to its competitors. The author does not waste paper with wordy sentences that is only meant to take up space to create a 1500+ book to justify a price. The author explains three things in depth and better than any books I have ever read (and I have read lot of SQL books): Index optimization, query optimization, and locking. These three topics are usually for advanced SQL developers who must performance tune a complex database. This book is not for the beginners. Having said this, if you want to be a serious database developer, this book will put you ahead of your competition. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to be or is a database developer.
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