I would not recommend the Microsoft Self Study guides.

First of all, there is a difference between learning to become a good DBA and trying to pass the certification exams. Certification will definitely look good on your resume, but the skills needed to be a DBA are not entirely the skills tested by the exams. And there are skills tested on the exam that you will probably never use in real life.

I am not working as a DBA, but I have passed the Design and Implementation exam. For the purposes of preparing for the exams, my experience with these books is:

(1) what the self study books try to explain they do a horrible job of explaining it, and even if you can figure out what they are talking about

(2) the books don't go to sufficient depth so that you are prepared for the depth of questions you will get on the test.