Rating: 
Summary: A Great Book about a Very Interesting Company
Review: A fascinating book. I should note that I worked at Oracle for 12 years (1989-1991), though much too far down in the hierarchy to have had dealings with Larry Ellison himself. But when Symonds writes about the people that I did know and work for and with, he hasn't struck a single false note. He has captured very accurately the Oracle culture--a lot of very bright and very driven people, with of course a few inevitable mistakes thrown in.In this book, Ellison comes over as one of the most insightful leaders in SV in the 80s and 90s. I wasn't always able to see this side of him, as I kept hearing negative reports from those who had been subjected to his (earlier, and admitted by him in this book to have been wrong) MBR (management by ridicule) approach. I believe Symonds has done an accurate evaluation of Ellison, and Ellison, in his footnotes, comes over as a thoughtful person able to admit where he was wrong.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but not impartial...
Review: A pretty good book for Larry Ellison!! The book heaps praises on Ellison even when it is ridiculing his short sighted approach. Everybody nowadays tries to say that they saw the internet coming. The only people who probably saw it coming were those that never wanted to make money off it. Anyway, the book gives a background on how Oracle came about and is pretty candid in some areas about how it nearly broke apart. The book certainly fires up a readers imagination and takes them back to the heady internet boom times. Some parts of the book however read more like a script.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing Read Even for Technophobes
Review: About 80% complete with this book and must say that it is a thoroughly engrossing read. Not being familiar with technology and software, I found the book very articulate, clearly written and a joy to read. One of those books that you look forward to breaking open each day to see where the story takes you. As the title says, you will feel a much more intimate knowledge of Oracle and Mr. Ellison given the tremendous access given to Mr. Symonds. You do not have to be an expert on or even familiar with software development issues to appreciate the general business thoughts and decisions made during Oracle¡¯s development. The portions of the book describing the company¡¯s successes and mistakes, why certain decisions were made, why certain decisions were not made, the internal politics, the personality clashes, the learning from bad experiences and the maturation process of both Oracle and Mr. Ellison are compelling. I think the direct comments made by Mr. Ellison in the footnotes are a very unique feature of this book and one that sets it apart from others in the field. It doesn¡¯t surprise me that it¡¯s the first of its kind that I¡¯ve read given that Mr. Ellison was involved. The footnotes are so informative as they are from the man himself and help to shed light on his thinking and, to some extent, his personality. The book also provides good insight into Mr. Ellison himself. The path that Mr. Ellison took to maturation as a human being and his willingness to admit and confront all the ¡°difficult¡± things about his life that he has repressed can be learning for all willing to admit or seek some explanation of our life¡¯s purpose. His insights and reflections on his past mistakes in his personal life, their resolutions and life's continual development and exploration is very refreshing. Given my lack of interest in technology in general, I found the portions of the book describing Sanshiba (his home) and the thoughts behind the plans for the house, the construction of his new yacht, Rising Sun, and his personal pursuits to be very interesting. You understand that it¡¯s not about having the ¡°biggest and the baddest¡± or doing the ¡°most dangerous¡± things that are important but there are real personal meanings to these things. It¡¯s hard to explain when describing one of the wealthiest men in the world but if you read you will understand the philosophies involved. Mr. Ellison¡¯s life has been so interesting and while his path will most certainly not be the same for the everyday reader I feel that most will appreciate his lust for life and for living large. Though I have no real interest in technology or software, I certainly will be intrigued when reading about Oracle and Mr. Ellison in the future. Mr. Ellison is a truly unique individual leading a truly fulfilling life. If you are a fan of biographies this is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing Read Even for Technophobes
Review: About 80% complete with this book and must say that it is a thoroughly engrossing read. Not being familiar with technology and software, I found the book very articulate, clearly written and a joy to read. One of those books that you look forward to breaking open each day to see where the story takes you. As the title says, you will feel a much more intimate knowledge of Oracle and Mr. Ellison given the tremendous access given to Mr. Symonds. You do not have to be an expert on or even familiar with software development issues to appreciate the general business thoughts and decisions made during Oracle¡¯s development. The portions of the book describing the company¡¯s successes and mistakes, why certain decisions were made, why certain decisions were not made, the internal politics, the personality clashes, the learning from bad experiences and the maturation process of both Oracle and Mr. Ellison are compelling. I think the direct comments made by Mr. Ellison in the footnotes are a very unique feature of this book and one that sets it apart from others in the field. It doesn¡¯t surprise me that it¡¯s the first of its kind that I¡¯ve read given that Mr. Ellison was involved. The footnotes are so informative as they are from the man himself and help to shed light on his thinking and, to some extent, his personality. The book also provides good insight into Mr. Ellison himself. The path that Mr. Ellison took to maturation as a human being and his willingness to admit and confront all the ¡°difficult¡± things about his life that he has repressed can be learning for all willing to admit or seek some explanation of our life¡¯s purpose. His insights and reflections on his past mistakes in his personal life, their resolutions and life's continual development and exploration is very refreshing. Given my lack of interest in technology in general, I found the portions of the book describing Sanshiba (his home) and the thoughts behind the plans for the house, the construction of his new yacht, Rising Sun, and his personal pursuits to be very interesting. You understand that it¡¯s not about having the ¡°biggest and the baddest¡± or doing the ¡°most dangerous¡± things that are important but there are real personal meanings to these things. It¡¯s hard to explain when describing one of the wealthiest men in the world but if you read you will understand the philosophies involved. Mr. Ellison¡¯s life has been so interesting and while his path will most certainly not be the same for the everyday reader I feel that most will appreciate his lust for life and for living large. Though I have no real interest in technology or software, I certainly will be intrigued when reading about Oracle and Mr. Ellison in the future. Mr. Ellison is a truly unique individual leading a truly fulfilling life. If you are a fan of biographies this is a great read.
Rating:
Summary: One of The Most Interesting People Alive
Review: Are we any farther along in knowing the real story of Larry Ellison after this book? I think we are not but it is all very entertaining. To me he remains an enigma wrapped in a riddle ... as the saying goes. We already knew that he had a lavish lifestyle and was fond of yachts and anything Japanese, which is quite ironic since Japan is a very submissive and bureaucratic society - the complete opposite of our American Horatio Alger Ellison. But maybe it is an appropriate association since the Japanese historically ruled by the sword and in modern times they rule their inferiors with undemocratic force and elaborate social pressures. In any case Oracle is essentially what we knew all along. It is where one brilliant man calls the shots. It is a company run by a hard driving, energetic guy with a huge ego and extremely good in the modern business world. Anyone in his way is driven into the ground as he steam rolls over them. Even the author had to endure the imprint of Ellison's "two cents" on many pages in the book. That was a biography first. Having said that, it is always nice to see some of the details spilled in a nicely crafted and entertaining fashion. Nobody can ever accuse Larry Ellison of not being a resounding success nor of being dull. For those reasons it is worth buying and reading and merits 4 stars. A good story but he still remains a mystery. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating man, great stories, slightly tedious at points
Review: At first hesitant to buy this book because of Ellison's negative image in the media, I am now glad to have completed this book about a fascinating man with a truly unique life story of ambition, innovation, stumbles, and personal triumphs. My criticisms of the book are few: many of the ideas are stated, restated, and stated again, often with the exact same wording, as if the author (and commentator) feared the readers would not grasp certain ideas the first or second times described. While software engineering and competitive sailing are both highly technical subjects, the author chose to use rather tedious descriptions to authoritatively tackle matters which could have been better delivered in easier to digest chunks. Finally, while the author does freely criticize Ellison and Oracle where mistakes were made or behavior was not acceptable, at other times, the book seemed like it was just another piece of slick marketing collateral for Oracle, especially in the promotion of the E-Business Suite (Oracle 11i). I was enthralled to read about the intense office politics surrounding Ray Lane, the true stories behind Oracle's State of California contract debacle and the sexual harassment charge against Ellison (with the book clearly outlining Oracle's and Ellison's exonerations in detail), and to read about Ellison's attitude and treatment towards his competitive enemies, especially "Tommy" Siebel. The brief segment on Ellison's passing aspirations to become California's governor in 2006 are dramatically out of date (although his joke about "Arnie" is ironic and timely). Anyone working in or who does business with the software industry (just about everyone!) should read this book, a detailed bio of a substantially misunderstood Silicon Valley icon.
Rating:
Summary: Not the Average Business Book...
Review: But Larry Ellison is no average businessman. This well-researched book doesn't know whether it wants to be a portrait of the mind and life of the Oracle CEO, or an analysis of Oracle Corporation. Can it be both? Yes. Does it work? Yes, surprisingly. Matthew Symonds's dryly earnest Economist-flavored prose comes crackling to life with the addition of Ellison's quotes and written commentary, and the reader closes the book with the impression that Ellison and Oracle remain deeply linked. The twenty-year development of the corporation from a brash-but-promising upstart into a dominant industry force mirrors the development of the man. (Despite the maturity, though, each seems to have maintained an edge). Ellison's comments describing his own learning curve are one of the most honest and interesting parts of the book. His frankness and humor will surprise some readers. He's a risk-taker and--much of the time--a winner. Love him or hate him, you can't deny that the guy is smart.
Rating:
Summary: Watch out, BIll Gates!
Review: Ellison started as a computer programmer, lied on his college info, got a job and went on to create the greatest database software firm in the USA! What a story! In between, he went through several divorces, got two great kids, many one-night stands and had a reputation of using F-words continuously. A good coverage of A. Lee and Safra Catz. Was there any romance between Catz and Larry? Is Catz the next CEO? If Larry cannot stand any male CEO due to his ego, how about Safra as the CEO? Who is Safra? Is she married? There is little info on her, yet she seems to be the #2 person at Oracle now. Larry is the true American hero everyone loves, only next to Howard Stern? All the people that built Oracle with him, Lane, Siebel, Gloom, Conway, Benioff.... left him and became CEO in their own right. Lederberg, Jobs, McNealy are some of his closest friends. Oracle is trying to take over PeopleSoft now with the $7.4 bn bid. Why not buy/merge Apple Computer and Sun MicroSystems so you can really beat Bill Gates! Bill Gates is almost 20 years younger, look Larry, you are running out of time!
Rating:
Summary: If you want to know a lot about Ellison AND Oracle
Review: For years it seems like I've heard about Larry Ellison being the complete antithesis of Bill Gates while at the same time earning almost as much money. Knowing this about him and very little about Oracle, I decided it was time to look into it. "Softwar" appears to blend a few things that I find very desirable into one book. First, its written by an independent observer-- Matthew Symonds of the Economist. While who can say whether this is truly an unbiased account, the vast majority of the book seems to portray Oracle in good light, but contains quips that allow the reader to see where all the Oracle detractors might have a point. Second, Larry Ellison. When Symonds writes something or quotes someone (like Tom Siebel or other former employees) and Ellison disagrees, he gets to chime in and tell his side of the story through footnotes. After looking at so many books that just don't seem to have any proximity to Ellison, I chose this book mainly because you can get Ellison's rhetoric straight from the horses's mouth. Third, if you read this book soon, the information will be more practical than books that seem to focus on interesting, but outdated info about a companies products or strategies. I personally knew nothing of Enterprise software or hardware other than hearing people complain about SAP. Now I at least have a semblence of knowledge about a field I'll probably end up at least working with. If you want a book that puts Oracle in a good light while displaying its bad side at times and to hear mostly about Oracle with a brief biography of Ellison and how he commands the world's second largest software company, read it! PS I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Merry X'mas Larry
Review: I particularly enjoyed the pictures in this book -- especially the one when Larry was little holding his good brother. He continues to hold various things and people that are dear to his heart. I also like the fact that Larry starts to think about philanthropy, not just as competition to Bill Gates, but as something he wishes to take active control of. It is about time. Melanie Craft is beautiful, although I prefer her sleepy-eyed look in the past over her eyes-wide-open look nowadays. It is a gift to be able to stay by Larry's side for so long.
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