Availability of the Yukon editions of my books

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People have been emailing me quite a bit about when my SQL Server books will be updated for SQL Server 2005.  Good news:  they will be in print this Monday.  Important details:

1.  All three books have grown to over 1200 pages each.  This is as much due to an inclusion of a collection of short stories I've written in the first two and a mini-novel in the third as it is to increased technical content.  There is also a new photos section in the first book, and some detachable posters in the third.

2.  Commensurate with the page count increase, Addison-Wesley has decided to increase the retail price of each book to $109.95.  You'll be able to get it for much less at places like Amazon, but that will be the retail price.

3.  Buyers of the first 20,000 copies of the book will receive a free signed 8x10 photo of me.  This photo was taken on my recent excusion to Gallapogos and features me in a Speed-O.

4.  In the interest of time, we have decided not to update the technical details in the books for SQL Server 2005.  Releasing the books so early necessarily means we have to cut something, so we decided to cut the SQL Server 2005 coverage.  I know this will be disappointing to some, but at least you get the picture if you order early.

One final detail:  check your calendar.  It's April 1st -- Happy April Fool's Day!  Now the actual facts:

I don't know when my SQL Server books will out for Yukon.  If you look at the history of those books and when they were published (in relation to the SQL Server product cycle), I've never worried about being first to print.  I know that sells more books upfront, but I really shoot for the long-term.  I want to produce the best books I can, irrespective of what's happening in the marketplace.  For me, that means getting a considerable amount of experience with the product and building some real software with it before I write about it.  It means learning from how other people are using the product -- what works, what doesn't, and what people need to know in order to be successful with it.  IOW, I think an author on a technical topic should write from an abundance of knowledge on the subject, and that's difficult to do when the technology hasn't even been released and isn't yet in wide use.  

Having a book ready when Yukon ships is really not that important to me.  I think long-time readers appreciate this, and I'm grateful to everyone for their patience.  Trust me, when the books are ready, you'll know :-)