Back into the top 100 for all Software Books, This Time With NO Clever Tricks!
(Screenshot taken today, 12/4/2012, Around 2:30 PM US Eastern)
First of all, how cool is that? Back into the top 100 Software books on Amazon, which hasn’t happened since the flash mob pre-order shenanigans we pulled. This time, it’s organic. That’s hot!
It’s all thanks to the reviews!
OK, so the book gets printed, and it goes on Amazon. The pre-order wave ships, but after that, what happens? There’s no assurance it will continue to sell, at all. How does it get continued interest?
By word of mouth. That’s it. The only way a book like this continues to sell is via people saying nice things about it in public. And there have been some very nice people saying very nice things.
A sampling of some of the recent reviews, with hyperlinks to the full version after each:
My book came in yesterday’s mail, and I spent a couple of hours looking through it last night. This morning I started changing the way I’m doing things in PowerPivot.
I have the two other best-selling PowerPivot books, but this is by FAR the best! It’s clearly written, and has lots of screen captures that are large enough so that you can actually read the text they contain.
The explanations are careful and precise. The author often explains how PowerPivot is ‘thinking’, which is not the way you or I think. If you are an Excel person, you should know that it also is not the way Excel thinks. With DAX formulas, understanding the logic makes the difference between utter confusion and success.
Back to write some more DAX formulas, with a smile!
-“Chai and a Good Book” (name withheld, but thank you JB!)
What I love about this book is that Rob sat down and carefully thought through how an Excel pro should learn DAX, then started at the beginning. It progresses logically, is very easy to read, and actually gets you there.
I’ve gone from not being able to make anything but the most simple DAX measure to the point where I can create some pretty cool CALCULATE functions (my new best friend), with nested date/time intelligent functions as well. I’ve been pursuing that for TWO YEARS!
If you’re struggling with DAX, or just getting ready to start the PowerPivot journey, get this book. You owe it to yourself.
The book is a blast. Rob has a great writing style, honest and fun.
This not merely a reference book. It’s full of how to’s. Plus it’s got nice big illustrations. I do have a couple of warnings for this book though:
1) I found myself up very late playing with PowerPivot stuff while reading this book. Don’t start the book if something to do the next day, like go to work. Seriously, I’m not kidding.
2) Read the whole book. I had a personal project that coincided with some of the items in the book, so I started the project while reading the book. I ended up rebuilding the project twice as I worked through the examples. In my initial pass, my project was taking more than a minute to reload the data from the database. After following Rob’s performance tips at the end, the reload was down to 13 seconds.
-Mark Polino, CPA, MS Dynamics Consultant and MVP
I started reading his while sipping on my coffee this past Sunday morning. I was done with the book before lunch. Not because it was a short read, but because I just could not put it down.
Rob walks you through what is essentially the training program he uses with clients. He gives you step by step examples and ties everything back to clearly defined use cases.
In short you get years of data analysis experience at your disposal in just a few hours of learning.
Rob did something that I know other authors dream about: he wrote a technical book and made it seem human. He has an uncanny ability to communicate his thoughts and explanations in terms that others can understand. This is how technical books should be written.
I can’t recommend this book enough. It represents the future for data professionals.
-Tom LaRock, SQL MCM and SQLRockstar
The title doesn’t have the allure of an action thriller but it’s been a while since I’ve read a book so entertaining and effective at teaching a valuable skill.
I see a growing need to help business professionals do their own analysis and self-service reporting. To educate them, I need to think more like those business users.
This isn’t a book written for programmers or IT professionals but for the new generation of Excel business super-users. Reading it makes me feel like he’s personally showing me how to access all the cool trap doors and secrets.
For me, this is the best book I’ve found to learn how to think like my business clients and to understand the practical application for the self-service BI designer.
-Paul Turley, SQL MVP and Mentor at SolidQ
Thanks folks. Please keep the reviews coming 
MrExcel.com eBook Price Reduced to Match Amazon
We have no control over the prices Amazon sets, and we were a little surprised when they set the Kindle edition price at $9.99. (We had expected them to price it at $15).
But who are we to question the almighty Amazon? We’ve dropped the eBook price at MrExcel.com to match it, $9.99. And this includes the free reference card, and multiple eBook formats.
All of the best ordering options are covered on the book page, but in short, if you’re a US customer ordering the print book, or ordering the eBook (regardless of where you live), you get more for your money from MrExcel.com, plus purchases there benefit yours truly to a greater percentage.