Inside SQL Server 6.5

Inside SQL Server 7

Ron Soukup was one of the founding fathers of SQL Server. He led the SQL Server Development Team at Microsoft for over ten years. His introduction and history of SQL Server is first-rate. And is a most entertaining read. Although SQL Server 6.5 and 7 are old-hat now, these books have retained their status as the best thing to read once one has mastered the basics of the product.

Ron has a crystal-clear style and is frank in describing a living product warts-and-all. After reading these books one can, at last, understand why the product has so many quirky design features, yet remains the best Relational Database on the market. This book really has everything you need in order to become a SQL Server expert, so there is no excuse for not buying it and reading it.

I would personally suggest reading the 'Inside SQL Server 6.5' volume first, as it was all then a simpler world, and the later books become more comprehensible after you've digested the first. One gets a better sense of the history of the way it all developed.