Rating: 
Summary: Enlightening
Review: I found this book full of valuable info. The author is clearly knowledgeable and clever. I liked expecially the chapters on the business case. I do not grant the fifth star because the writing is sometime obscure (at least for a non-native-english-speaker). I also spotted some errata.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the elite
Review: I think this book has everything a novice and an expert would want. The author has made great progress on the Online Analytical Processing subject by making it not just a reference but also a detailed cover. I praise him. Especially, I adore the way OLAP was put forth such exclusively. This book is a must for every data architect out there. The critics give it a 5*
Rating: 
Summary: A word of caution
Review: In contrast to the excellent OLAP Solutions, the Microsoft version has been affected by the almighty Microsoft. The desktop standard windows 95 is not sufficient to test drive the examples on the CD and in the book. SQL Server 7.0 and Windows NT are now necessary, so the resource requirements are much much higher than those for prior TM/1 product. I have been waiting for this book since it has been announced, and I am bit disappointed. Also, you can't see which chapters have been written by Mr. Thomsen and which by the other two authors. Microsoft is riding on Mr. Thomsen credibility, and I am not sure if this is the greatest service this author gets.
Rating:
Summary: The book I have been waiting for
Review: Microsoft's OLAP Services is a landmark product. This is the first book that goes beyond the manuals to help us make good decisions about how to use the product. The authors are planning the second edition already, and I can hardly wait for more info on areas like "write-back partitions."
Rating: 
Summary: Microsoft Olap Solutions
Review: OLAP is a very large topic by itself. No single book can adequately cover everything that everyone wants. The authors did an extremely good job of covering the topic while adding enough detail so that both novices and advanced users will find it extremely useful. The beginner may need to read it several times to grasp the concepts, but it is definitely worth the time and money. I haven't found anything even close that covers MS OLAP Services. If you are using OLAP Services or plan to, you need this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good book and good coverage
Review: OLAP is a very large topic by itself. No single book can adequately cover everything that everyone wants. The authors did an extremely good job of covering the topic while adding enough detail so that both novices and advanced users will find it extremely useful. The beginner may need to read it several times to grasp the concepts, but it is definitely worth the time and money. I haven't found anything even close that covers MS OLAP Services. If you are using OLAP Services or plan to, you need this book.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest book on OLAP so far
Review: The book has the fundamentals + the extra edge on how to implement over Plato technology. The great thing about this book is that it presents some warehousing theory first, and then it focuses on specifics, including two excellent case studies (for analyzing databases for health care and a grocery store) at the end of the book. It also offers chapters on implementing changes and optimizing OLAP databases once they are up and running. This book gives you all the information you need to apply your data warehouse knowledge to this new Microsoft platform
Rating:
Summary: Decent Book, but you could do better.
Review: The book is covers the OLAP BOL, and Mr. Thomsen's OLAP Solutions in a single volume. So if you have SQL Server, and OLAP solutions save yourself the money. I found the book stragely lacking in areas such as doing a variance across a very granular dimension, amongst other things. The book leaves you wondering wether you made the right choice. However it is excellent for someone who is unfamiliar with OLAP, in all fairness. Otherwise youd be better off with some other book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't buy this book
Review: This book has many words, but does not explain OLAP very well. Absolutely no mention of the word INTERNET and how to use OLAP with the INTERNET. This book is another example of programmers/DBA placing their past work for clients in a book and placing confusing explanations on how to use the product. I would recommend waiting until a real book that explains Microsoft OLAP comes on the market.
Rating:
Summary: OLAP for the elite
Review: This book is for programmers with substantial experience with OLAP tools with syntactical development capabilities. Experienced programmers who may not have used OLAP technology but who have a good grasp of advanced technical issues related to report generation will benefit from the book too. The book is written in a dense academic style with poor organization. (You will see this right away in their first chapter when they start discussing more esoteric design issues while giving the reader minimal context as to why they bring up these points at that time.) However, the authors know their stuff so readers experienced in the areas just described will be able to muddle through. As a side note, this book is fascinating in a way the authors may not have intended. Microsoft, in this person's opinion, has been quite successful in selling developer technology (e.g., Visual Basic, SQL Server, Access) where a developer with a small to medium amount of knowledge of the specific technology can go pretty far without "plateauing". This book, which is subtly critical of the product, describes a product where that plateau is hit relatively quickly. It is very odd that an OLAP product, which most developers will not use every day, is designed this way. Similarly, this design rules out this tool as something for the non-IT "power user" to use for developing anything more than relatively simple applications. - Anyway, it would have been very useful if the authors would have been more overt in their criticism of the product. Yes, it might have been biting a hand that's feeding them but in the long run it would strengthen the technology.
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