try this in SQL Server:select * from
(select top N * from
(select top M * from authors order by au_lname) as t
order by au_lname desc)
as t2 order by au_lname^_^
(select top N * from
(select top M * from authors order by au_lname) as t
order by au_lname desc)
as t2 order by au_lname^_^
(select top M-N+1 * from
(select top M * from authors order by au_lname) as t
order by au_lname desc)
as t2 order by au_lname