SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration
$39.99
This book is one of the best. It covers all grounds. Just what a DBA need. This is not a beginner's book. Prior knowlege with DBA work would certainly help.

I strongly recommend it.

SQL Server 2008, Developer Edition
$69.38
Received the product and with little effort were able to install and start working with the developing environment.

Murach's SQL Server 2008 for Developers (Murach: Training & Reference)
$52.50
WHY I WANT TO GIVE IT 5 STARS:
I learn better when I understand the "why," in addition to the "how." Even if the additional explanations of the "why" add to the total page count, they are well worth it, in my opinion. The explanations of the practical uses of various features are extremely helpful to someone like me because it makes things "stick." The "paired pages" approach is very effective. The book is down-to-business without any stupid attempts at humor, which I appreciate.

WHY I WANT TO GIVE IT 1 STAR:
As someone who went paperless several years ago and appreciates the excellent commenting (i.e., highlighting, notetaking, etc) and navigation features of PDFs and Safari Books Online, I am extremely disappointed that such a terrific book is relegated to such an awful e-book format. The "LockLizard" viewer is a far cry from Adobe Reader, Acrobat, or Safari Books Online. The publisher claims that the LockLizard format is used because it is more user-friendly than other viewers, but I don't buy it. I assume the real reason for the LockLizard format is copy protection. I think copy protection is a good idea, but only if the ebook experience isn't severely degraded as a result of it.

WHY I GAVE IT 3 STARS:
I'll happily raise my rating to 5 stars when the book is published in PDF format or added to Safari Books Online. Until then, I'm giving it 3 stars. I plan on purchasing many more of these Murach books because the content and style is excellent, but I'll remain frustrated with the ebook interface unless the move to PDF or Safari Books Online is made for the whole Murach catalog.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals (Pro - Developer)
$59.99
Interesting, but some times for advanced sql server users and some times for beginners :)