I’ll start by saying this isn’t a paid review nor do I have any association with SolidQ publishing.
T-SQL Fundamentals (third edition) was highly recommended as a read for the 70-761 exam along with his other two books, T-SQL Querying and Training Kit (Exam 70-461): Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
Looking at the three books, you can gather the fundamentals book is probably more base skill set and the exam is structured for obviously an exam. So are all three books worth a read? Which ones should you read and in what order?
The 70-461 book is unbelievably deep and well written. While it is ultimately meant to help pass an exam, I think you can take a lot of practical application from it. That said, I think if your goal was not to pass the 70-461 exam, the T-SQL Fundamentals and T-SQL Querying books would be a fine read on their own and you could pass up the exam book. If you had the training exam available for you to read for free however, I would definitely recommend to at least cherry pick the chapters you felt needed additional attention and study time!
T-SQL Fundamentals is definitely the book I’d read first though. This is also the book I wish someone had told me I needed to go and read when I first began work in databases. It touches on the basic key concepts for SQL Server then it gives practical examples and application use. The code is easy to follow and expertly written, no word is wasted and it’s extremely well edited. If you are a manager of junior to intermediate data professionals who primarily use SQL Server, you should make time for them to read this book. (Just my humble opinion.) This is what I’d consider to be, the single best compilation of the must need to know basics that any T-SQL developer will use. If you are on the senior end, it’s a fun read and you may re-remember some lost tidbits or perhaps you had a few holes in your knowledge that you needed patched. I still think it’s worth the read, including the other exam book. But this is definitely geared to the junior to intermediate folk with splatterings of expert advice.
Comparing to T-SQL Fundamentals, T-SQL Querying does not hold back, it’s a tome of information. This would be the book I’d want my team of senior SQL Server data professionals to read. T-SQL Querying may be too advanced for junior to intermediate readers however. I would recommend to try and read through samples or page through it in the store prior to purchasing. It’s a big book and extremely in depth with amazing detail. If you are in a senior SQL role and primarily use SQL Server, this is a great book for you. I’d recommend the Fundamentals first to make sure the first base layer of knowledge is in place, but it is skippable if you have enough experience. The exam booklet would be a great secondary read, otherwise I’d read T-SQL Querying last.